Please! Let it Rain! Let it Rain!

It rains. It rains uninterrupted at Kolkata. School goers needed a rainy day. We used to get it each year. My school was few minutes away from home. And I have never enjoyed being pent in classrooms. I used to stare at the sky overcast with cloud. I used to wait for rains. And if it would start, I used to pray to the God – ‘Please! Let it rain! Let it rain!’ And I would merry staying confined in home during such a day. On the contrary, in college, I never missed to attend classes in a rainy day, and, so I’m now – when I am in my office. Days have changed a lot. May be, me too! But this is my vision – school goers must have at least one rainy day each year. This is their student-right.

There’s a gradual change in climate. I guess. There’s a sharp change in my mind. I enjoy every little drop of rainfall. Even now! But I try not to get drenched anymore. Now I’ve an umbrella fulltime. I need protection for my Pen drive, the Nokia Cell Phone, I carry, important papers in my typical college bag. Yes. I still carry a college bag, and not a regular office bag.

It rains today. It has been raining heavy since past few days. The city of joy gets back its classic rainy look. Streets are water logged. Low areas are just looking like a flood hit city. The street water in some low areas will encroach the entire ground floor. I know. Boats will soon take the place of cars, autos, and sundry other public vehicles in those areas. Yes. It’ll happen again.

I know those people in distress. I feel for them. I know - a lot of them must have already shifted to other parts of the city. Still there are a lot other, who must not have a better place to stay. And even if they somehow manage to move to some better place, the unending streams of people coming to the city for a better livelihood will fill up the vacant places almost instantly. There will always be some people staying in those low areas. They will be forced to stay there and to fight against their destiny. Lifelong! Oftentimes! I feel for them. The place is physically very close to where I stay, barely fifteen minutes away. We are saved. We stay in a rather high-area. There is stagnant water. But it will not occupy our living space.

The city drainage system is under a thorough overhaul. And believe me, it now works somehow better. In my school days, we used to see water logged streets for three to four days. And today’s school goers will never see it that long. Heavy-duty pumps are already in operation round-the-clock.

Kolkata looks greener in a rainy day. The grasses, the trees, bushes, the metal roads – every bit of things at Kolkata shine like mercury. If you somehow can free your mind from those people in distress – there is really some pleasure during this uninterrupted rainfall.

When I reached office, I took a cup of hot tea. Yes. I had to take off my shoes, my Nokia mobile phone, pen drive, all papers and documents. It is a complete chaos. Still somehow somewhere in my mind – I recalled my school days. And all the recent resentments, troubles, turmoil, stress, and what not got flushed off from my mind. I started feeling better.

Happy rainy day!

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Photo source: The Tribune