City Diaries – a Rainy Day in Mumbai

Stepped out of office, into knee deep dirty water, the rain howling bad!

Drenched, before I could even open the umbrella, so depressing and sad!

A snarl of traffic on road, no cabs available, better to take the train

Walked to the station, passing by some street kids playing, their smiles contrasting my pain

A friend called, narrating how he had escaped his stalled car, through the window pane

“Call you back buddy, am in between a crowd, packed like sardines in a non-moving train”

Back home, binging on my popcorn, as I watched the news in horror

The disturbing visuals of a city brought to its knees by rain…

The smile of those poor street kids flashed in my mind again

“When you have nothing left to lose”, I thought

“Be a happy soul – you have everything to gain!”