City of Blinding Lights - Me Mumbaikar

Mumbai
Million others and me
26th July, 2005
94.5 cms of rainfall in less than 24 hours
Took 22hours 45 mins to reach home

I learnt the following:
Honda makes the greatest cars in the world
The Honda City spent nearly 10 hours in water that was on an average waist-deep, most of the time stand-still or travelling at 1 kmh. Debris, garbage etc. kept bumping into the vehicle and a Tavera would accidentally kiss the rear on several occasions. The car made home unscathed. I shall be eternally grateful to Honda.

Radio is par-none as a channel for entertainment and communication
Losing sanity was very easy. If it weren't for continuous music and encouraging RJs, I might have gone berserk. Must make special mention of Go 92.5 FM.

Being locked up can be spiritually rewarding
On every occasion that I felt claustrophohic, I would step out and be rinsed by the rain. Felt like being born-again; never before have I yawned and stretched in soaking rain in the middle of a crowded road before.

Mumbai has soul!
.... Did not see incidents of vandalism, rioting, looting or arson. This was remarkable in light of a meagre presence of police, municipal workers, special reserve forces etc.
.... Heard about stray incidents of people stoning abandoned cars out of frustration and of shopkeepers charging twice the price for a pair of batteries.
.... All I could see was local residents providing food and water, shelter and personally guiding traffic; very often, each resident would personally guide 2 - 3 vehicles for ten minutes.
.... I had no idea whether to be embarrassed or blessed that a pre-teen using a garbage bag as a rain-coat walked upto my car and said, "uncle...parle-g biscuits, bananas, water?" All I did was politely say no, but beam my best smile.
.... Another car that cut me off on a turn would have ordinarily faced my wrath, but not this time. The driver stopped the car, leaned outside, grinned and offered biscuits and water.
.... People have perished in tragic circumstances. This will stain our collective souls
.... This city might suffer from organized mafia, highest cost of living in the country, little infrastructure, little protection from disasters and over 16 million people, but it has soul ..... and Balls of Steel!