Bangalore monsoons are always fun. Of course, that is only if you don't mind being stuck in traffic for hours, are ready to hitchhike your way through half dug up roads or pay that odd autowala twice as much to reach a place... you get the picture, right?
I had the misfortune of being "stuck" in an auto rickshaw when the ring road (the one on the way to airport road, i can never quite remember if it is the "outer" or the "inner" ring road) was flooded--er...too strong a word? well, this is coming from someone who was stranded there for a just a couple of hours....so, do forgive the hyperbole. The road, under consideration, is easily one of Bangalore's nicest roads. It has always been a pleasure to travel by that road and, not surprisingly, it is one of the busiest.
People who are familiar with Bangalore will know that one straight road goes from Kormangala to Indiranagar. I was at the former, aiming to reach the latter to meet another "stranded" friend and thus my two precious hours were washed away. The thing about being alone and confined to a place is that it offers you plenty of time to notice things. And observe, I did.
It is interesting to observe different reactions to the same situation. There was my lot, people travelling alone in an auto staring haplessly at each other and most of them listening to music (iPod zindabad!), a few calling their friends and cribbing away, and fewer belonging to a peculiar breed--just staring aimlessly (read me). One common thing to all these characters...they had enough time to learn the art of strategically positioning themselves somewhere in the middle of the rickshaw so as not to get wet when the other vehicles generously splash water or when it is raining in every direction possible.
Then there were the two-wheeler guys (strictly unisex term, I hear PC is the "in" thing these days), some with pillions. These guys were just all over the place--on the divider, on the footpaths--absolutely anywhere they could maneuver their bikes. As an off-shoot, I also witnessed a very funny fall. This bright brain was riding his bike on the footpath and was encountered with a light post and our man, being the suave bike-handler, tried to go round it. What happened was half the bike got past the post and the other half refused. So, our man was forcibly brought to his knees but, in the last effort to salvage his pride, he put his right palm on the ground for support. {DISCLAIMER: You have to overlook the fact that this write-up is a little convoluted, but then so is the scene} This is the scene broken down meticulously to its every minute detail. But when it happened it was just "vroom-turn-screech-thud." Now, when a man who is half on his bike and half on the ground is looking at you by painfully propping his head up while supporting his whole weight on his right palm, he is obviously swarmed by sympathetic people. Once his safety is ensured, the sympathetic people also make sure they give him a piece of their mind, till he sheepishly decides to abandon the sidewalk and ride on the road again.
Then there were the car fellows. They have the least to complain about. They have a shelter and won't get physically wet when other vehicles splash water, and have music to amuse themselves. Just one glitch, too bad if you have lousy company.
The guys who enjoyed the rains most were the ones walking. When it rains like the way it did on Saturday night, you are smart enough to see the pointlessness of getting a shelter, if you happen to be walking. These guys just ran past all the vehicles, much to our dismay, ran right into puddles, managed to drag in uninterested fellow walkers and had a little party of their own.
Amidst all this, how can I forget the watchdogs of the society? Of course, the press was there. Photographers on medians trying to capture the pitiful scene and veer the eyes of the heartless government in letting one of our best roads flood the way it did. The usual.
There it is....an account of how those two hours, though frustrating, amused me thoroughly. Like a wise man once said, "In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity," well, here's mine.
