RESIDENT'S WRITING GROUP - September Stories
To begin with I will choose the subject and our writers will interpret it in their own way. I am not looking for good English or for correct grammar. It is the story that matters! Sometimes a little editing may be necessary for brevity or to avoid repetition.
It remains for me to say THANK YOU to the contributors and hope that they enjoyed expressing themselves and sharing their experiences with Awaas readers.
SEPTEMBER STORIES
WALKING IN THE RAIN by Prakash Gupte
July 26th 2005 4.15 pm. I was at a Mahim studio working on a travel brochure design. Afternoon was partly sunny but suddenly it became dark with dense cloud cover all over Mumbai.
I sensed it would pour heavily and left the studio with the job half done and rushed to Martunga Road railway station to catch a train to Vasai. By the time the train left Bandra station it has started pouring and the train became bogged down midway between stations. I could hardly see the track in that muddy water. Passengers started jumping off the train and started wading along the waterlogged tracks. I had to follow them. I walked to the next station, Khar, and went out to see if the city transport was available. It wasn't! By now the water level rose waist high. Again wading on the main road I followed other fellows in line like goats! By this time I was drenched to the bone. I must have been wadding through muddy water for at least three and a half hours, feeling cold and hungry. No snack bars in. sight !An umbrella had no use and became a burden to walk with against the heavy rain and cold winds.
I approached Vile Parle station. It was around 8.30pm. No trains. No transport of any kind to Vasai - about 40km away. My aunt's appartment! That was the only place I could think of. To rest there through the night. She was alone and worried about her son, my cousin, who was stuck at his work place in downtown Mumbai. I spent the night with her, all the time thinking about my wife and son. She had reached home safely, although late in the night, from Malund via Thane ST bus. I reached my home at Vasai the next morning.
I was never exhausted walking in the rain for so long because I was not alone. My fellow citizens were with me, walking in the rain.
July 26th 2005 4.15 pm. I was at a Mahim studio working on a travel brochure design. Afternoon was partly sunny but suddenly it became dark with dense cloud cover all over Mumbai.
I sensed it would pour heavily and left the studio with the job half done and rushed to Martunga Road railway station to catch a train to Vasai. By the time the train left Bandra station it has started pouring and the train became bogged down midway between stations. I could hardly see the track in that muddy water. Passengers started jumping off the train and started wading along the waterlogged tracks. I had to follow them. I walked to the next station, Khar, and went out to see if the city transport was available. It wasn't! By now the water level rose waist high. Again wading on the main road I followed other fellows in line like goats! By this time I was drenched to the bone. I must have been wadding through muddy water for at least three and a half hours, feeling cold and hungry. No snack bars in. sight !An umbrella had no use and became a burden to walk with against the heavy rain and cold winds.
I approached Vile Parle station. It was around 8.30pm. No trains. No transport of any kind to Vasai - about 40km away. My aunt's appartment! That was the only place I could think of. To rest there through the night. She was alone and worried about her son, my cousin, who was stuck at his work place in downtown Mumbai. I spent the night with her, all the time thinking about my wife and son. She had reached home safely, although late in the night, from Malund via Thane ST bus. I reached my home at Vasai the next morning.
I was never exhausted walking in the rain for so long because I was not alone. My fellow citizens were with me, walking in the rain.
MONSOON by Kaushalaya L Thawani
The rainy season comes in late June or sometimes earlier, with heavy rains in Lonavala and Mumbai. The rains last until October. Lonavala is a tourist place and people enjoy coming to this place for a holiday. They visit the waterfalls and enjoy getting wet.There is greenery everywhere.Children get extra holidays when the authorities close the schools because of heavy rain and they enjoy being at home.
There are advantages and disadvantages of the monsoon.
Sometimes there are floods. Trains and busses stop or are late. Peoples houses may get damaged and their belongings get washed away and people sometimes die in the floods. There are water bourne diseases like typhoid and cholera. Mosquitoes breed in water and pass malaria to people with their bites. Farmers are happy when the monsoon rains come and regard it as a gift from God
The rainy season comes in late June or sometimes earlier, with heavy rains in Lonavala and Mumbai. The rains last until October. Lonavala is a tourist place and people enjoy coming to this place for a holiday. They visit the waterfalls and enjoy getting wet.There is greenery everywhere.Children get extra holidays when the authorities close the schools because of heavy rain and they enjoy being at home.
There are advantages and disadvantages of the monsoon.
Sometimes there are floods. Trains and busses stop or are late. Peoples houses may get damaged and their belongings get washed away and people sometimes die in the floods. There are water bourne diseases like typhoid and cholera. Mosquitoes breed in water and pass malaria to people with their bites. Farmers are happy when the monsoon rains come and regard it as a gift from God
RAIN by Rupa Gupte.
. Everybody is waiting for the rainy season when summer will end and rain start. As rain starts everyone is happy. All nature smiles.animals, trees, human beings all welcoming rain as per their style. Peacock dancing, frogs start jumping and making noise, birds are singing, children like to play in the rain. Farmers happy. Villagers happy. Wells start to fill with water. Farms growing crops. Oh! but if it is raining too much then everywhere water, water. Rivers flooded. Houses flooded. Farmers loss!
So we want rain but a limited amount. Not too much so that we loose everything .
Nature teaches us a lesson. Don't take more and more and more. You should be happy with what you get. Store a little until the next giving. Take how much you need and be happy.
. Everybody is waiting for the rainy season when summer will end and rain start. As rain starts everyone is happy. All nature smiles.animals, trees, human beings all welcoming rain as per their style. Peacock dancing, frogs start jumping and making noise, birds are singing, children like to play in the rain. Farmers happy. Villagers happy. Wells start to fill with water. Farms growing crops. Oh! but if it is raining too much then everywhere water, water. Rivers flooded. Houses flooded. Farmers loss!
So we want rain but a limited amount. Not too much so that we loose everything .
Nature teaches us a lesson. Don't take more and more and more. You should be happy with what you get. Store a little until the next giving. Take how much you need and be happy.
MONSOON MEMORIES by Sainath Raorane
One rainy evening I was wandering in empty paddy fields and enjoying being outdoors. I saw a marvelous sunset it's rays were coming down through thick rain dark clouds. It was a beautiful picture with pillars of light from land to sky, I used to enjoy many excellent evenings like this. Every day some new drama took place. It was a wonderful scene of different colours, unforgetable and everlasting, lingiering in my mind for many months and many years.
The fields in front of my house used to get filled with water in the rainy season and we played in the water with small paper boats. We saw many different k!inds of fish. I once saw a female crab releasing baby crabs onto the muddy area. It was a fantastic sight to observe from close quarters. I was fascinated.
I remember another scene from my childhood. We were sleeping under the tiled roof . We had replaced one tile with glass and I saw water flowing over the glass sparkling in the lightening flashes. I used to enjoy that particular night view. I remember rain water on the road touching my feet and falling from my cap onto my cheeks. One day when I was coming home from school with my friend smalll fish were jumping on the road. I caught three or four fish and kept them with some water in my raincoat pockets, I carried them home and put them in a bottle with some rice to feed on. Within two or three hours those fish died because of less oxygen.
Sometimes in heavy rain I sat at the door of my house and watched water droplets fall from the sky on the water. They looked like small Ganpati statues jumping up from the water
These monsoon season memories are very dear to me
One rainy evening I was wandering in empty paddy fields and enjoying being outdoors. I saw a marvelous sunset it's rays were coming down through thick rain dark clouds. It was a beautiful picture with pillars of light from land to sky, I used to enjoy many excellent evenings like this. Every day some new drama took place. It was a wonderful scene of different colours, unforgetable and everlasting, lingiering in my mind for many months and many years.
The fields in front of my house used to get filled with water in the rainy season and we played in the water with small paper boats. We saw many different k!inds of fish. I once saw a female crab releasing baby crabs onto the muddy area. It was a fantastic sight to observe from close quarters. I was fascinated.
I remember another scene from my childhood. We were sleeping under the tiled roof . We had replaced one tile with glass and I saw water flowing over the glass sparkling in the lightening flashes. I used to enjoy that particular night view. I remember rain water on the road touching my feet and falling from my cap onto my cheeks. One day when I was coming home from school with my friend smalll fish were jumping on the road. I caught three or four fish and kept them with some water in my raincoat pockets, I carried them home and put them in a bottle with some rice to feed on. Within two or three hours those fish died because of less oxygen.
Sometimes in heavy rain I sat at the door of my house and watched water droplets fall from the sky on the water. They looked like small Ganpati statues jumping up from the water
These monsoon season memories are very dear to me
MUMBAI
MONSOON by Manya Norris
I arrived in Mumbai late on 2nd September with the intention of
accompanying S, an Awaas resident, to go to see his doctor . However, the
appointment was postponed to the 4th, so after lunch with Mrs Toshniwal and her
daughter , I spent the afternoon at the Jehanghir Art gallery. The next day was
an experience that I will never forget. It was my first Mumbai Monsoon!
Collecting me from my hotel was delayed by heavy traffic around Churchgate
and by the time we reached the Express Way the rain was heavy and the density
of traffic was increasing. As we drove towards Andheri it became increasingly
obvious that we could not meet S at the appointed time so I phoned
to ask him to go directly to the doctor’s. Using Google directions we found
that the situation was getting worse minute by minute, The 30 minute journey
extended to a predicted two hours. When we reached the
Andheri crossroads there was no possibility of driving along the
deeply flooded road. I asked the driver to park the car and set off
by myself to find an alternative route between a group of buildings.
I was in the right area but I was confronted with a river sized torrent of
water. I tried to find a way across but a man told me that the only way would
be from the main Andheri road. I returned to the car and the driver tried,
without success to persuade auto rickshaw driver to take me. They were not
going anywhere until the flood subsided. I decided that I must go and check whether
Mr S was at his doctor’s. I met a young man and his girlfriend and he kn;ow;
exactly where the doctor’s chambers were. I waited near the gate, up to my
knees in water, while the young man went through deeper water in
deep water to check if the doctor was there. All was locked so I went back
through the river which was now getting less deep as drains were being opened
on the Andheri road. It was still above my knees and I was wearing my new
trainers! We tried phoning S without success, so I hoped he had been able to
get to his sister’s house.
We then had to decide whether to go on to Lonavala or to return to
central Bombay. Needless to say I was wet through to my skin and cold. Luckily
my suitcase was on the front seat of the car and I managed to extract
some clothes from it. Telling the driver to close his eyes I peeled off my wet
things in the back of the car.We were on the Andheri flyover for three hours
moving only a few inches now and again. The driver was hungry and not happy! We
had been on the road for 8 hours or more and were only near the domestic
airport. We had had nothing to eat or drink since breakfast. To
complicate things I had wanted to go to the toilet for more than an hour. When
we could leave the highway the driver took me to the Sahara hotel. We had to
have the underside of the car examined and more security checks were visible. I
opened my door as a guard approached and said “toilet”. Being old an bent over,
leaning heavily on my walking stick, he thankfully led me around the Xray
machines and into a vast lobby. Here I was handed over to a lady member of
staff who sympathised with my predicament and guided me to the ladies’
washrooms, What a relief!
Meanwhile I had been able to contact Mr S's sister and learned
that he had reached her flat and was buying clothes to wear as he had fallen
completely face down in the water, phone as well ! The driver took a different
route back to Churchgate but stopped so we could buy pizzas and I was back in
my hotel soon afterwards.What a day!
Next day the newspapers showed pictures of the traffic jam and reported
that Mumbai had had its heaviest rainfall since 2008 and that the river Mithi
had burst its banks.
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