26th July, 2005 (Mumbai) ---- AN UNFORGOTTEN DAY !!
26th
JULY 2005 (MUMBAI)
AN UNFORGOTTEN DAY !!
It was
usual 3:30 pm of a regular Tuesday afternoon but this time not a regular one.
Usually my day
starts at 5:30 am wake up, morning newspaper in hand and standing on 15th
Floor open window for couple of minutes gazing the unstoppable fast air and
looking down over Western-Express Highway from my Aster Tower situated at main
Highway at Film City Road.
On this day
Tuesday 26th July, 2005 after
all that morning works & work-outs, I left for office at sharp 9:30 am to
reach Vile Parle where my office was Situated. A normal peaceful bike drive
with my office bag cross on my arms & shoulders gave me immense pleasure. After
crossing several flyovers at WE Highway & few Red Signals of this 10 km
ride which took me 16 minutes to reach, I reached office. It was my first Job
and exact one year has been completed for my this Job. Stock Market opened at usual
9:55 am (that time) and I was busy handling my work. Usually I leave office at
6 pm daily after but this day I had to leave at 3:30 pm as next day
(27-05-2005) I had an NSE Membership Examination & so to prepare for that
examination I had already seeked permission from my boss for early leaving from
office. So I left at 3:30 pm as soon as Market is over and as soon as I came
outside, my eyes got shocked to see the complete Black Sky in this afternoon.
Thunderbolt started and very heavy rains started pouring. In less than 1
minute, the pressure of rain fall was so heavy that all roads filled with
immense water suddenly. Thunders was glazing with loud sound and rain god was
unstoppable. It was then impossible to take bike and ride on roads.
So I
started walking on roads towards WE Highway in presumption to get a Taxi nearby
but water was so much that it was above my keens and above any car tyers by
that time. After half an hour I managed reached main Highway road & thought
here water will be low and I will get the taxi but I was wrong as water was
increasing on the roads and it was above my stomach level by then and all Taxi
drivers refused to drive any taxi. Infact all the two-three-four wheelers got
stuck up in rain water and cannot able to move a single inch. It was heavy
traffic all around. My walking journey continued with office bag on one hand
& an open umbrella on another hand. But umbrella was of no use by then and
it got flied soon in open air. It was a high windy breeze, Black Cloudy Sky and
non-stop very heavy rains and rains and rains everywhere. MUMBAI has became a
Water-World today. And by now water level reached above stomach and now instead
of walking I started swimming on the
roads of Mumbai !!! Arabian sea came out inextricably.
YES MUMBAI
recorded floods eighth-heaviest non-stop 24 hour rainfall total ever recorded,
37.17 inches (more than 3 feet) level of water, flooding the Financial City on
July 26, 2005 & sporadically persisted into the next day. Numerous lives
were lost; homes were completely destroyed. The floods washed over Mumbai in
which more than 1000 people lost their lives and close to 14000 people were
left homeless.
I
personally saw FISHES & TUTRLES on the roads.
After
crossing 3 flyovers, 3 more flyovers came over the stretch of 10 kms. Chaos all
over the roads, people were screaming, struggling, children were happily
playing & personally by then I was enjoying. No doubt swimming is my
passion anyway. Although I was more worried about my mobile in bag
which I have assumed to be damaged by water now.
Hours &
hours passed away and 6 kms of trying to be a brist walk & 4 kms of
swimming & after walking, running, swimming & with much, actually less,
struggle finally bought me to my building, I mean to my home at about 11:30 pm
in the night. That’s just 8 hours on the streets of Mumbai !! After reaching
home, with so much tiredness & hunger in which no room left for walking
even a single step what to be seen is that both the lifts of my Tower i.e.
Tower-B is not working and stopped due to rainy whether. NOW I HAVE a BIGGER
WORRY. Managing walk & swim for 8 hours over 10 kms was not painful but
thinking about walking to stairs till 15th Floor made me amused
& shocked & made me silent for a minute. But no option left except to
walk over stairs. I kept my all wet office bag near watchman at lobby and
started walking stairs. After climbing every floor, I thought a battle in
conquered but the war is yet to won. After managing to climb 9 floors, I gave
up then. I sat for 7 minutes and again resumed my walk over stairs and finally
reached 15th floor & felt the battle won. It took exact 1 hours
& 12 minutes to reach to my Flat from ground floor. That day I wanted to
find out the person who invented the Lift to say him much thanks for his
invention.
It was
around 1 am at midnight I started eating my Dinner and told my helper or
servant to go down to collect my office bag from ground floor so that I can
take out books to study for next day morning examination.
Office-bag
came and took out mobile just to find out how much damaged got happened but to
my surprise after few minutes to struggle the mobile started working. Then I
tried to study for couple of hours for the examination and next day morning
left home at 7:30 am as I had examination to be start at 10:00 am onwards at
NSE (BKC). I went out but rains were continuously pouring and there were still
no mode of transportation. My bike was at office only and there were no taxis,
no autos, no buses. After reaching till Jogeshwari flyover by walking till 15
minutes, police stopped all people and I had to mandatory turn back towards
home inspite of knowing I had examination today. I tried to call exam centre to
know about exam will happen or not but in vain. So I went back home & again
climbed 15 floors as lift was still not started working and off-course came to
know later that exam will now be conducted after few days. Then I tried to
sleep for sometime but couldn’t. By next day morning only everything got
normalised and rains stopped. Yes I went to office on 28th July
& it was all good to share everyone’s experience over there.
This is one
of the unusual experience that I have experienced and that have ever happened
to me. Surely 26th DATE is now came under black list to my life’s
calender.
I thank God
for this experience which taught many things about life, most particularly
lifeless ordinary and how to deal with these situations, people, animals,
calamities, etc. Although I penning it down after 10 years of this incident but
this unforgettable event is still remembered in my mind and in my eyes very
clearly as it happened yesterday only. I can view this flash back in a very
abundant manner.
By-
Kapil Goenka
26-07-2015
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