After the usual “Ctrl F”for books, journals, umbrella etc in the morning, I started off for college on a perfectly sunny day. I did not know then that I would not return home till the day after. College went on usual, till about 2pm. An interesting topic on Image processing was on. Then it started raining and everyone instinctively started looking outside the windows. The lecturer casually commented, “Haven’t you seen rain before?”But yes, we did not see anything like this before...We joked among ourselves that we might have to spend the night in college.
26/7, the date itself spells disaster. The remaining lectures and practicals were cancelled for the day and everyone was suddenly on the college ground, chattering incoherently. We ventured out that day from college, hoping to make it home. Being Mumbaikars, we knew the wrath of the rains and how to tackle it, so it seemed……
But we didn’t know how to react to a record breaking performance, the highest rainfall in a day in the world, beating Cherapunji, which we knew from history books. As the trains, especially Central railway was down; we decided to take a BEST bus. Me and my friend spotted a bus headed home and happily hopped on.
The Bus went on ahead for some time and then stopped. I thought it was just another traffic snarl due to the rains. It was pouring cats and dogs still. The gravity of the situation suddenly got to us. People started getting off the bus only to step into a raging river outside. It was getting difficult to walk against the tide by the minute. We decided to wait in the bus itself till the water recedes and the bus gets on its way. That never happened though. The noise of the rain was getting annoying and we kept praying for the rains to stop as time passed. The bus had become like an island by then, full of passersby who hopped in. Without food and water and the electricity being down, I was astonished. Could not believe this was happening to me. Some locals arranged for Glucose biscuits to be distributed, but as we were at the rear end, the biscuits never reached us. The night was spent trying to catch forty winks and forget hunger and thirst. To keep the battery going, the driver would start the engine in between and we would be happily awakened thinking we were moving ahead.
After sunrise finally, we decided to head back to college. The water outside had receded a bit ,but a by lane leading to college was still flooded. I was scared looking at the water but tried to remain brave. We waded through chest high water and finally made it to college. Many friends of mine were relieved to see us. They knew we had started the day before, but did not have any idea about our whereabouts. I did not have a cell phone back then. Having it would not have made any difference anyways, as all the networks were down.
One of my friends realizing we might be hungry rushed to the canteen and got us some chikki. The Chikki was nothing less than any other cuisines around the world then. We happily gobbled it up and had some water. Some 100 students had stayed back at college that night. The canteen served plain old Dal rice as dinner. Classrooms were transformed into dormitories.
There is a boy’s hostel on the upper floors belonging to another sister institute, where no one is allowed to go. But that day, one room was opened for us girls to stay and rest for some time. I am really thankful to my college for doing that, I got some much needed rest for some time, before starting off again to reach home.
After taking a call on the status of trains and roads, we decided to walk it up to Andheri station from Kurla and hoped to get a train from there. The walk from Kurla to Andheri was a new journey for me. I didn’t know where that road led to and just followed my classmates. We were walking together in groups of two threes, holding hands at times. It was as if it was some march for Freedom.
Confusion prevailed at Andheri and no one knew till where the trains were plying. We got into a train, hoping it was Churchgate and not Virar bound. Patiently waiting for the announcement, which is otherwise so irritating. “Platform no.ek ki gaadi Bandra jayegi”.We gave high fives to each other and happily sat inside. The trains were only going till Bandra, as it was rumored that the water was over the tracks at Bandra creek. I shuddered at the thought. Next time you pass over Bandra creek, take a look below and you might realize what it would have been like.
Tired, hungry and confused, we were finally inching closer to home. Everywhere there was filth as if a tornado had just ripped through. Trains, electricity and mobile networks were down but patience and hope was high. It was an amazing and heart wrenching sight to see people lined up along the tracks offering food and water to anyone and everyone. After getting down at Bandra, I managed to get a cab ride home. So, finally the war was won and I reached home.Thankfully, we did not have any water woes or electricity problems. I switched on the TV and watched the endless news coverage, thanking God for keeping me safe.
The day broke all divides between the rich and the poor. Whether you drove a luxury car or travelled by train or bus, you were stranded. Mumbai’s famous spirit was at display and it once again made me proud to be a Mumbaikar.
26/7, the date itself spells disaster. The remaining lectures and practicals were cancelled for the day and everyone was suddenly on the college ground, chattering incoherently. We ventured out that day from college, hoping to make it home. Being Mumbaikars, we knew the wrath of the rains and how to tackle it, so it seemed……
But we didn’t know how to react to a record breaking performance, the highest rainfall in a day in the world, beating Cherapunji, which we knew from history books. As the trains, especially Central railway was down; we decided to take a BEST bus. Me and my friend spotted a bus headed home and happily hopped on.
The Bus went on ahead for some time and then stopped. I thought it was just another traffic snarl due to the rains. It was pouring cats and dogs still. The gravity of the situation suddenly got to us. People started getting off the bus only to step into a raging river outside. It was getting difficult to walk against the tide by the minute. We decided to wait in the bus itself till the water recedes and the bus gets on its way. That never happened though. The noise of the rain was getting annoying and we kept praying for the rains to stop as time passed. The bus had become like an island by then, full of passersby who hopped in. Without food and water and the electricity being down, I was astonished. Could not believe this was happening to me. Some locals arranged for Glucose biscuits to be distributed, but as we were at the rear end, the biscuits never reached us. The night was spent trying to catch forty winks and forget hunger and thirst. To keep the battery going, the driver would start the engine in between and we would be happily awakened thinking we were moving ahead.
After sunrise finally, we decided to head back to college. The water outside had receded a bit ,but a by lane leading to college was still flooded. I was scared looking at the water but tried to remain brave. We waded through chest high water and finally made it to college. Many friends of mine were relieved to see us. They knew we had started the day before, but did not have any idea about our whereabouts. I did not have a cell phone back then. Having it would not have made any difference anyways, as all the networks were down.
One of my friends realizing we might be hungry rushed to the canteen and got us some chikki. The Chikki was nothing less than any other cuisines around the world then. We happily gobbled it up and had some water. Some 100 students had stayed back at college that night. The canteen served plain old Dal rice as dinner. Classrooms were transformed into dormitories.
There is a boy’s hostel on the upper floors belonging to another sister institute, where no one is allowed to go. But that day, one room was opened for us girls to stay and rest for some time. I am really thankful to my college for doing that, I got some much needed rest for some time, before starting off again to reach home.
After taking a call on the status of trains and roads, we decided to walk it up to Andheri station from Kurla and hoped to get a train from there. The walk from Kurla to Andheri was a new journey for me. I didn’t know where that road led to and just followed my classmates. We were walking together in groups of two threes, holding hands at times. It was as if it was some march for Freedom.
Confusion prevailed at Andheri and no one knew till where the trains were plying. We got into a train, hoping it was Churchgate and not Virar bound. Patiently waiting for the announcement, which is otherwise so irritating. “Platform no.ek ki gaadi Bandra jayegi”.We gave high fives to each other and happily sat inside. The trains were only going till Bandra, as it was rumored that the water was over the tracks at Bandra creek. I shuddered at the thought. Next time you pass over Bandra creek, take a look below and you might realize what it would have been like.
Tired, hungry and confused, we were finally inching closer to home. Everywhere there was filth as if a tornado had just ripped through. Trains, electricity and mobile networks were down but patience and hope was high. It was an amazing and heart wrenching sight to see people lined up along the tracks offering food and water to anyone and everyone. After getting down at Bandra, I managed to get a cab ride home. So, finally the war was won and I reached home.Thankfully, we did not have any water woes or electricity problems. I switched on the TV and watched the endless news coverage, thanking God for keeping me safe.
The day broke all divides between the rich and the poor. Whether you drove a luxury car or travelled by train or bus, you were stranded. Mumbai’s famous spirit was at display and it once again made me proud to be a Mumbaikar.
