hints, allegations and things left unsaid...: A walk in the rain

hints, allegations and things left unsaid...

A walk in the rain

Evening yesterday brought with it a strong longing for a long evening walk. For past 3 days it has been raining Leopards and Wolves (I chose superlative members of the Cat and Dog families to illustrate the intensity of the downpours). The skies were looking reasonably threatening last evening and since I seem to be amongst one of Murphy’s favorites, I made it a point to carry my brand new umbrella along. I had barely covered a kilometer that a plump toad (which was looking rather amused with itself) crossed my path. That it was a portent of things to come did not occur to me then. Within minutes of the incident, big drops of rain came drumming down. Having an umbrella with you is one thing, disengaging it from your bag and unfurling it in time so that it actually serves the purpose it was meant to, is another. And though my fingers displayed little interest in obeying orders from my brain I did eventually manage to operate the umbrella without getting soaked. Drainage of rainwater in most parts of the Bangalore is inefficient and hardly ever keeps up with inflow. A decent downpour doesn’t need to last long for little eddies, puddles and streams of muddled water to materialize everywhere. Surely enough, my shoes and socks were now sustaining an entire aquatic ecosystem. Suddenly I found my desire for a long stroll displaced by a sudden fondness for being at home (a phenomena I am now inclined to attribute to my wet socks). Getting an auto for a short distance on a Sunday evening is a tough call even when it is not raining; a downpour simply complicates matters beyond reprieve. Just when I had made up my mind to drag myself home on foot, an auto relented (though for the double the amount I usually pay) and I got to enjoy a hot bath, and piping hot food a little sooner than I would have otherwise.

Musical notes to self: Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony is eminently enjoyable on a rainy evening. (Carry those headphones into the bed if it is still raining when you are about to sleep and play Chopin’s Piano Concerto #1).

Here is a galaxy of raindrops clicked off the window pane of my office just after a heavy shower earlier last week.

posted: 11.7.04

7 Comments

Nice..very nice! Btw was the new umbrella from Bombay stores? ;-)

By

G Shrivastava, at 12.7.04

that is some fantastic writing! & a brilliant photograph!

love the rains in B'lore, inspite of everything else.

D

By

Anonymous, at 12.7.04

Hey Geetanjali,

I did try buying one from Bombay Store, but the small foldable ones they had were not only expensive, but also tawdry! Ended up negotiating with a road-side pedlar and getting one for 150/- (I have a feeling I've been conned :-))

Cheers!
Deepak

By

Deepak, at 13.7.04

Hi D,

No doubts about it! I love rains - more so in Bangalore! The stagnated water can be a turn off if you want to go for a long walk. Other than that nothing comes close to sitting near a window in a cafe and watching the world scamper by under showers..

Cheers,
Deepak

By

Deepak, at 13.7.04

Interesting picture! It somehow reminds me of Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' and makes me want to sing "Starry starry night" (to the utter dismay of certain others).

By

Vivek, at 13.7.04

Thanks Vivek!

Thanks Pinks!

By

Deepak, at 27.7.04

Hi Deepak,

A post in a friend's journal reminded me of the picture you had posted here earlier. But it seems to be not there anymore... in fact, a good number of your early images aren't there. Temporary problem?

Now he's curious about this picture. Could you post it somewhere if you still have it around? Or email me (sajith at gmail)? Thank you.

By

sajith, at 18.10.04