The drive on the Jungle Road towards Patia was different - being on the outskirts of the city it passed through green foliage on both sides of the road with lesser houses. Still lesser number of vehicles were plying on the road, small enough for me not to smell petrol on the air, nor could I see the air unlike in the heart of the city.
I came out of the vehicle to take a deep, lungful breath of fresh air which fluttered the coconut trees standing tall amongst long lines of vegetation on the both sides of the road. Mounds of red ant hills were surrounded by wild flowers of different hues. It felt very peaceful to escape from the din and buste of city - far from the madding crowd.
Bicycles passed by with bamboo baskets tied behind them using black rubber tubes, their wheels almost touching the ground because of scant air pressure inside their tyres. A few irritants on bike approached us from the opposite side inside our lane. With cellphones well tucked under their head drooping sideways, they were epitomes of living dangerously.
Wednesday started with a gray sky and cool breeze filled with promise of rain as the outer bands of Cyclone Titli kept rolling in. It made gray, the color of gloom, turning to be the harbinger of joyful expectations in a city already swamped by non stop sultry heat for last few days.
Then suddenly it started to rain - first came the small droplets as light drizzle, followed by larger ones in waves. It kept on raining on and off, accompanied by on and off power cuts. The scattered showers wasn't a heavy downpour, nor the wind close to devastating. Yet, the electricity kept on playing hide and seek throughout the entire day.
There is no sidewalk (pavement) on the road near our house. When I take a short walk, I always prefer to walk on the right hand side of the road, so that I can see the incoming vehicles and protect myself from any eventuality. Walking on the left side of the road is too risky as you have no idea about the vehicle behind you. On this raining morning when I went out to fetch some ALUCHAP (Mashed Potato cutlets), I had to be extra careful not to get a muddy shower flashed by the tyres of numerous vehicles honking and screeching, wading over tiny rivulets and cesspools of water.
The stray dogs and bulls were quenching their thirst slurping from the puddles all over the place. One thing this cyclone has done to the city - it has cooled down the temperature considerably. It reminds me of last year when I, along with my family was waiting for a ride back home after fresh monsoon hours. 3 guys started oggling at Tanujaa like they hadn't seen a woman before.
Distracted, one of them fell on a muddy poodle covering a pothole, while the other two got busy extricating their buddy from the mess. We had a hearty laugh at the fallen hero's expense. Rain definitely brings in its share of fun and joy. More later....
No comments:
Post a Comment