I had it all meticulously planned. I would leave office at 2, walk to Ginger, go to Marathahalli and take another to Hebbal and then I'd take an auto. I had to meet someone at 4 and this was my plan of action. It was all turning out quite well. It was a nice and bright sunny day. When i left office at 2, I was glad it was scorching hot. Unlike the last few days, there wasn't a speck of cloud in the sky. Nothing could go wrong with my planning.
So I headed off to Marathahalli and since it was my lucky day, I had a bus to Hebbal waiting for me. I got in. Still really hot and sunny. I usually don't like the heat but today i wasn't complaining. I was making good time. There was a lady conductor in the bus and I had a feeling I had seen her before. I went back in time and tried to re-trace my steps back to 2008 to try and remember where she fit in the time-frame of my life. A few seconds later I remembered I used to travel by her bus when I was in MCC. Since the bus was quite empty, I chatted up with her. After a while she also remembered me. I had traveled by her bus for almost a whole year, and I used to call her aunty and she hated it. It was nice chatting with her. And, all the while, it was still sunny and I was still making good time.
Then it happened. I was 10 minutes away from Hebbal flyover when the weather suddenly changed. I couldn't believe it. It had gone from being a bright and sunny day to overcast with clouds and storm struck in a matter of 4 minutes. This couldn't be happening. I was 6 minutes away from Hebbal. Well, needless to say, it rained cats and dogs and elephants. But, I was still quite hopeful that I'd make it on time. I got off the bus thinking, "Its alright, I can still make it."
2 minutes later. I knew I couldn't.
By the time I got off the bus and crossed the road, I was drenched. Even my undies were dripping wet. I couldn't meet someone for the first time looking like this. Well, I was still quite far away from where I wanted to go and there was not an auto in sight. So i knew this was destiny's way of laughing at me and saying "Haha.. you think your plans are infallible?"
I had nothing else to do but call up that person and apologize for not being able to make it.
So well, now I had nothing to do, but accept defeat and head home. Simple.
It was still pouring and the visibility range was about 5 feet with my spectacles on and and about 2 feet without. I was desperately run around trying to find some shelter and I should have known this was coming. I slipped and twisted my ankle. So now I was not just dripping wet, shivering from the cold, I was also limping.
Ok,so what? I was still close to home. I just had to take a bus from Hebbal to Bel Circle and then take an auto from there to home. So I got into the first bus I saw. Bel Circle was 10 minutes away. But the dude decided he'd wait till the bus got full. So he waited full 20 minutes to start from there. Fine, I was still heading home.
I got down at Bel circle. Limped my way to the auto stand. Got into an auto and finally was on the last lap of my eventful journey home. Nothing could go wrong now. I started dreaming about home, and the warm clothes and the hot chocolate. Maybe I could even convince my mother to make pakodas... In a matter of minutes I could have all this.
And everything came to a standstill. The engine got flooded with water and stalled in water 2 feet deep. By now, I didn't know whether I was closer to laughing or crying. It was still raining as heavily and sitting inside an auto was no comfort. I was getting splashed by the water on the road by the moving vehicles. I couldn't get off the auto and start looking for another mode of transport because 1. it was raining and there was no other mode of transport in sight and 2. my twisted ankle. So i just sat in there and made a game out of watching which vehicle splashed the most water on me.
The auto driver was a nice chap (the good Samaritan kinds..), so he spotted another empty auto and got me into it. And I finally made it home with a leaky nose, a painy throat and a limpy leg after 2 hours and 32 minutes of starting from office .
I learn't a lesson from all this : The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.
So I headed off to Marathahalli and since it was my lucky day, I had a bus to Hebbal waiting for me. I got in. Still really hot and sunny. I usually don't like the heat but today i wasn't complaining. I was making good time. There was a lady conductor in the bus and I had a feeling I had seen her before. I went back in time and tried to re-trace my steps back to 2008 to try and remember where she fit in the time-frame of my life. A few seconds later I remembered I used to travel by her bus when I was in MCC. Since the bus was quite empty, I chatted up with her. After a while she also remembered me. I had traveled by her bus for almost a whole year, and I used to call her aunty and she hated it. It was nice chatting with her. And, all the while, it was still sunny and I was still making good time.
Then it happened. I was 10 minutes away from Hebbal flyover when the weather suddenly changed. I couldn't believe it. It had gone from being a bright and sunny day to overcast with clouds and storm struck in a matter of 4 minutes. This couldn't be happening. I was 6 minutes away from Hebbal. Well, needless to say, it rained cats and dogs and elephants. But, I was still quite hopeful that I'd make it on time. I got off the bus thinking, "Its alright, I can still make it."
2 minutes later. I knew I couldn't.
By the time I got off the bus and crossed the road, I was drenched. Even my undies were dripping wet. I couldn't meet someone for the first time looking like this. Well, I was still quite far away from where I wanted to go and there was not an auto in sight. So i knew this was destiny's way of laughing at me and saying "Haha.. you think your plans are infallible?"
I had nothing else to do but call up that person and apologize for not being able to make it.
So well, now I had nothing to do, but accept defeat and head home. Simple.
It was still pouring and the visibility range was about 5 feet with my spectacles on and and about 2 feet without. I was desperately run around trying to find some shelter and I should have known this was coming. I slipped and twisted my ankle. So now I was not just dripping wet, shivering from the cold, I was also limping.
Ok,so what? I was still close to home. I just had to take a bus from Hebbal to Bel Circle and then take an auto from there to home. So I got into the first bus I saw. Bel Circle was 10 minutes away. But the dude decided he'd wait till the bus got full. So he waited full 20 minutes to start from there. Fine, I was still heading home.
I got down at Bel circle. Limped my way to the auto stand. Got into an auto and finally was on the last lap of my eventful journey home. Nothing could go wrong now. I started dreaming about home, and the warm clothes and the hot chocolate. Maybe I could even convince my mother to make pakodas... In a matter of minutes I could have all this.
And everything came to a standstill. The engine got flooded with water and stalled in water 2 feet deep. By now, I didn't know whether I was closer to laughing or crying. It was still raining as heavily and sitting inside an auto was no comfort. I was getting splashed by the water on the road by the moving vehicles. I couldn't get off the auto and start looking for another mode of transport because 1. it was raining and there was no other mode of transport in sight and 2. my twisted ankle. So i just sat in there and made a game out of watching which vehicle splashed the most water on me.
The auto driver was a nice chap (the good Samaritan kinds..), so he spotted another empty auto and got me into it. And I finally made it home with a leaky nose, a painy throat and a limpy leg after 2 hours and 32 minutes of starting from office .
I learn't a lesson from all this : The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.
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