Cyclone alert!
It was as dark and wet as it could get. Incessant rains that spelt imminent flooding, howling winds that left their rattling signature on my windowpanes and an enforced leave that left me all alone in my flat. There was no power too and therefore, the cell-phone had to be used carefully. Handicapped as I was with a painful sprain, I was in no mood to try an adventurous get-away to a friend’s place. So I decided to wait out the storm with books and an occasional peek at the storm. The day just flew by and in the evening when I tuned in to the radio news at a music channel. Here were a couple of RJs, in some obscure studio, who were asking the city to be thankful for the rain. “Yes,” they said, “there was flooding, terrifying traffic jams and no power, but it was temporary. But the city was no longer dry. Wells that had been left dry for years were now brimming with water. Reservoirs were overflowing. That’s permanent and that’s to be thought about.” They also asked callers to share ideas on how to wait out the storm. They were talking about family bonding and bailing out water together. I was suddenly forced to laugh. The day became exciting for me. Soon I was calling up friends and family and having a whale of a time, alone.
It needed a certain measure of spunk to be able to send out encouragement to a city that was reeling under nature’s fury. Thanks guys! You made a difference!
