26 July 2005.
It's been more than ten years to that day, but whenever it rains heavily in Mumbai, most of us here say "It's raining like 26th July" or "26th July is here again" as if the rain gods have set a benchmark for us. Everyone who stepped out of the house or stayed indoors that day has some story to tell.
I've heard three kinds of '26th July' Stories.
1) The absolutely unaffected ones:
These were the people who were living far away from flooded areas, the ones who got back home before the deluge happened or the ones who were out of station.
2) Moderately Affected Ones:
They had to struggle to get home, some got stuck in office for two days, others were stuck in traffic for one day or were stranded in some public space.Good part was they were safe wherever they were. They managed it somehow and got out of it later.
3) Super Affected Ones:
This has a long list, but I'll make it short for you. These were the ones whose life became miserable. There was water inside their houses, their cars were floating on water, their belongings were floating and disappeared with the flow. I can go on, but I don't want to spoil your day.
I would say I somewhat fit in the first category, but my parents are from the second category. I was in school that day. Lights went off(Of course). It was a free period. School authorities hadn't given a clear signal that it was going to be a half day. Our class teacher was panicking since she was worried about her daughter who was from another school. She kept calling her school, but the phone lines were busy. To entertain ourselves, we were playing some stupid games. I remember I sang a stupid song and also danced on it, without bothering about who was laughing. I had zero stage fear in those days. Nothing of the above seemed as stupid to me that time as it does today. After an hour, they declared it was going to be half day. Our school bus kakas were informed. Some of them were not able to come. Parents rushed to the school. Teachers were really worried and we were just happy because we were going HOME! Some legends were happily playing football in knee-length water, splashing mud on each other, because 'Daag Ache Hai'. I was standing at the school gate waiting for Mom. I saw mom coming in a rickshaw with so much tension on her face. She sighed when she saw me. I hurried and got into the riksha with her. I came home feeling very happy because exams were mostly going to get cancelled. What better joy than that for a kid.
Before coming to pick me up, that same morning, Mom had planned to go somewhere by train. She went to the railway station by bus. Unfortunately or fortunately, some thief (sent by God) stole her wallet. She realised it when she reached the station and was standing in the queue of the ticket counter. She only had 10 rupees left with her, with which she came home by bus. And for days, we kept thanking that thief for sending Mom back home immediately.
Mom and I were home, waiting for Dad to arrive. We couldn't reach him. He came home in the evening. A wall near his office had collapsed due to water pressure and all the water went into his office building. Someone(God sent angel) threw a thick rope inside so that people could come out holding it. My dad was one of them. He was tired and drenched in water from head to toe.
Mom made bhajiyas and chai (Chai wasn't made for me #ProblemsKidsGoThrough). We sat narrating our stories to each other. Then we did the next obvious thing- Watched News. All the news reporters were standing in knee-length water showing the tragic life of others in neck-length water. It was horrible.
The city was flooded and all the schools were shut. One day, I invited my friend to play ghar-ghar. We used umbrellas as our roofs and arranged our mini crockery inside. Next day, she invited me over for tea(Lol). We had two weeks of official holiday with NO homework. I'm mentioning it as if I ever completed it. We were the lucky ones, I must say.
When school reopened, they had arranged for a flood relief campaign for the flood-affected people. We were told to bring either groceries or stationery for helping them. Everyone exchanged their flood related stories, some exaggerated, some real.
And life went on.
We're in 2019, far ahead of that day. We've seen terrible monsoons even after 2005. But we (Mumbaikars) cannot stop referring to that day while talking about floods or heavy rains.
If you're a Mumbaikar, I'm sure everything written here must be so relatable for you.
Nostalgic much? Sip chai and have some bhajiyas. Until then I'll come back with another blog for you.
Stay safe.
Keep smiling
And tell me if you too have a 26th July story. I'm sure you have one.
Share it with the ones you spent that day with and don't forget to subscribe to get an instant update every time I post a blog.
Very Well Written!
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