July, the 26th
Genre: Real Life (2005) 'Mumbai will be made into a Shanghai' announced our PM back in 2004. A massive infrastructure boost was planned - flyovers, metro rails, monorails, freeways, skyscrapers, etc etc and finally a slum free Mumbai! I always hated these slums. They made my walk everyday to Andheri station into such a messy ordeal. The hypocritical Indian media had told me they steal my share of power, water and infrastructure without paying any taxes. So true I thought; Throw them back to their villages for spoiling my beautiful city. It seemed just another day at college. Except that the calendar read 26/07/2005. Rains were deficient again for July. The Met Department had given out its customary 'Heavy rains in isolated areas likely' warning. Yawn… Around 10am, the sky was turning gloomy. I played Nostradamus and advised my friend who stayed far away to leave early as ‘there will be rain today like no other this season’. I thought I was just joking! But the assault ...