Marooned!

Yesterday morning I was awakened by young boys loudly talking or fighting with each other on the road. It had been raining throughout the night and my only thought was whether I would need to send Ash to school. I lazily decided not to and snuggled under my bedsheet.

After half an hour's attempt to shut my ears to the din, I got up to have a look from my bedroom window. I saw young boys carrying things (in that half-sleepy state I couldnt make out what they were carrying) and wading through the waterlogged street. The street looked like a big stream, and people were trying to salvage a few things as they left their homes for dry land. An auto driver was pushing his auto to safety. Dolls, sandals, sieves and brooms flowed past. There was waist-deep water to the far end. In front of my flat it was only knee-deep.

The whole day we could do nothing but watch the water levels rise. Apparently the canal two blocks behind my apartment was overflowing after the excess water from the Chembarambakkam reservoir was released. Water mixed in sewage, we hear. The worst part was having to manage without power supply. Electricity was cut off at 4 am once the streets started flooding to prevent people from getting electrocuted by underground cables. It still hasnt come, and is expected back only by tomorrow. No milk, no newspapers, no TV - it was a return to primitive times. We learnt to have early dinners and eat by candelight, and realised why people in olden times went to bed early and rose early. For once, we had no plans or programmes for the day. A true staycation to the kids' delight. (Here they are, pretending to be lying on the berths of a train using a chair and dressing table)

No schools, no offices either. Most of us cried off. Today however the office sent a Qualis to pick me up for work. The waters got deeper at the corner of my street, and the big vehicle was half submerged in water. But two streets away it was nice and dry. The sun was shining at last, and the main roads showed no signs of the ravages of the weather.

p.s. A hurried post in a work break. Have a nice weekend, everybody.