Do you really need an umbrella ..?

OK, I’m back in Mumbai. What can I say. I couldn’t convince myself against indulging in yet another update on rains. After all, the whole of my last week was a celebration of this unique phenomena called Monsoon. As you enter Lonavala, the first thing that strikes you is the amount of moisture in the atmosphere. Now I am not new to places with high moisture content. But Lonavala is on a whole new level. This could be because of the rains there. The rains never stop. Its rains on an average for about 22 hrs in a day. There are small 5 min respites every half an hour or so when people can move from one shelter to other. Its possibly also the time when the rain gods take rest. In spite of all this, I had a great time. I spent hours just sitting & watching all this amazing volume of water fall down from the sky. I got drenched many times. The difference between Mumbai & Lonavala was that I did not have to travel on muddy roads for hours in Lonavala which I do everyday here for coming to office. It was also because I was living in the luxury of a resort.

I have lost my umbrella & I will not be buying a new one. I feel the umbrella gives you protection but it also takes away your freedom. I have to carry it everywhere I go, and it is of use only when I am outside & its raining. Losing the umbrella really gave me an opportunity to enjoy the rains. This also helped me in realise that this is not such an essential requirement – even in the heavy downpour of Lonavala. In fact, if it rains heavily an umbrella is anyway useless. I have decided to take on life as it comes & not worry too much about the rain. But what do I see here? The rains have gone. For the last two days it has hardly rained for an hour or so in Mumbai. I also hope the rains subside in flood affected places too, so that rescue operations can continue.