It Rained that Night...oops...DAY!

Dedicated to all those Smart asses that stayed at home
Dedicated to all those Adventurous asses that ventured out
and last but not the least….
Dedicated to all those Miserable asses that got stuck…you hoo!

It was the second day of the sales training. We were supposed to report at 8:30 at Goregaon Warehouse .It was raining heavily overnight. At 6:00 when I woke up, I saw that the rains had still not relented. They were coming Full-on. I called up my friend at Parla. The smart guy said, said,”Chalte hain yaar…lets make it. I am coming.”. “Ok then meet you at the station”, I said. This was the sentence….THAT CHANGED IT ALL…..

Left the house at 7.Was still down for another twenty minutes.No auto,bus in sight!.A few school children were excited, their bus had not come. So obviously they sensed an off. Unlucky me, my sixth sense had died the previous month !.

I took a rick to the station. Boarded the train which took 5mins just to move out off the station. The guy in front of me got down, brought a Vada Pav and came back. WOW....was that Rajnikant!!.

It was pouring heavily by now. All the daredevils who took great pride in standing at the door,including me, returned safely to the confines of the compartment drenched in monsoon glory. Looked like someone up there was just enjoying himself, leaving everyone wet.

The train was moving at a snails pace. Between Kanjurmarg and Vikroli,both notorious for giving in quickly whenever it rains, the inevitable happened. The train came to halt.

OhhhhHooo oho!!!…went the chorus. What a moan man!! Reminded me of a “certain play” I had watched the previous week. Everyone was wet too!!!. Our track was flooded and what was partly visible was the adjoining track. Believe me its quite a distance. And with the rains lashing the distance seems a distant dream to overcome.

The cell rang. It was my other friend. The usual conversation in such times……
“Kahan hai be”!!
Tu bol……….Are phle tu bol na !!!..
Bhidu tu jidar hai…..main bhi udreech hai….
Both of us were stuck right in the middle of nowhere,with only flooded tracks around.
“Let’s tell the guy whom we are supposed to meet”…I said. Ghar chalte hain…
“……Fuck it yaar” came the usual reply….yaa lets go home!!

We were a group of four who were supposed to meet. “I’ll call up the parla guy ,tu andheri phone kar”,volunteered my friend .Ok I said. I called up our last groupmate and dear friend .The poor guy stays at Sakinaka, a virtual whirlpool during the rains.
“Kahan ho aap, I asked….not once..not twice but Thrice!!!...

Are main naa……haan……RAASTE mein hoon...came the drowning reply.I didn’t probe further because i realized that he being the tallest in the group,water levels would have reached his nose by now...
Glug... glug…..glu…gl…………GLUG!!!.
“Ghar jaa saale”, I said…. an answer which i am sure would have made him feel relieved.


After that I called up the sales guy and told him about our predicament. The rains added to the background score and the dramatic impact came to the core when he said,“OK aaplog ghar jayiye…Kal aa jana.”.Those words always sound sweet when you are working but today the effect was mindblowing. I got so rejuvenated at hearing those that I jumped off the train to the adjoining track accomplishing a feat that would have made Anju Bobby George proud!.
Shangai Olympics…..I said to myself…HERE I COME!.

It was water everywhere.There were three trains standing back to back. People were getting off them. Women,Children,Young and Old,all were struggling to just get back home. So much for the GDP growth,I thought. Is this the so overhyped”Incredible India”. As was lost in my thoughts, a water current shook me up. I realised that now it was not the time to be sentimental but practical. The water levels were rising. A few tracks were already submerged. Wading through Mud, slush. shit,plastic,bags,broken branches and a few condoms floating around merrily(imagine what all we throw),I finally saw the land of my dreams.. Kanjurmarg station….. PHEW…land at last…ship ahoy!!!

My house was still far off. The roads were flooded. Rickshaws were packed. Best buses were rare to be seen.The other two friends of mine had reached by now and as I thought about the amazing waterflow which connected me to my friend at sakinaka,even better than the mobile network…there came the bus!.Overcrowded,overpacked..well u run out of adjectives here…Finally I reached home…Ya still in one piece!

As we have been asked to give our Recommendations and Observations at the end of the sales training…I can say proudly that I have prepared my slides

Observations
When its Raining heavily…you don’t do sales training !
Stay at home!!

Recommendations
When its Raining heavily…you don’t do sales training !!
Please Stay at home!!!

Comments

Ash said…
hmmm.....i miss bombay :( and its floooded roads !!

very well written....and btw..."a water current shook me up"....for a big guy like u...looks like this is an hyperbole ;)
Unknown said…
Interesting description... I got to know what pple must have faced on that day as I chose to stay home.
Anonymous said…
Why is condom a tag ? :P
-Poo

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