When It Rains!!!

It’s 6:35 in the evening, my company bus is trudging its way on dusty highway from Hinjewadi to the city of Pune. It’s pale, excruciatingly humid, but relievingly breezy outside for a usual May evening. Inside, it’s filled up with a sultry air of calm, concealing volcanic unrests within many minds. Most of them have dozed off, some even falling unconsciously on the shoulders of their neighbors with each jerk of a pothole, some looking in blank with a Himalayan frustration residing right from temples to chins, some contemplating something obscure (US –Iraq relations may be, huh??), some may be thinking of a revenge with their TLs, PMs, etc., some may be miffed by some abstruse company policy clause which wasn’t stated to them at the time of joining, some not happy with their deployments causing live issues, some may not be happy with their defects being rejected by developers and some oblivious of all, just listening to express tweets of Radio channel RJs with headphones literally stuffed into ears. Once in a while, a girl on one of the backseats bursts out in a giggle on her mobile, she disturbs the deep slumber of her neighbors, they just give her a helpless look and again doze off, she becomes suddenly conscious and starts speaking in the lowest possible tone, the art only women have mastered. The bus hits Pashan-Bavadhan Road, It suddenly gets dark, cool breeze seems to be turning more valiant, the Sun seems cute while he sets, the picturesque DRDO area looks even more eye catching, I look at my old Nokia 1100 and kick myself for not having a mobile phone with camera. The lightning strikes in between sporadically, you sense it’s coming now. Faces start being lit up, not because they want it, just that home is coming closer now. I immediately start praying that let it rain once I reach home safe and sound. People start getting down slowly, some start worrying about the bus snailing itself via jam packed road, some seem to be in a hurry of life to leave the bus and reach the destination in no time as if there is no tomorrow. The bus quietly advances from heavily loaded Chandni chowk overlooking numerous local politicians’ digital posters with wry smiles on their faces ,painted with fresh crow-shits here and there, and bang, it explodes and heavens open up, I immediately follow the precedent and shut the window. It starts coming down heavily now, people are frustrated of being caught napping, after all who would carry bunch of heavy umbrellas and rain suits on a burning May morning from home, they have no option now though, they periodically get down at their stops, look for the nearest shelter or start running, running for life, I wonder they ever had. My bus stop as an inevitability comes along, as always driver parks a little ahead, I curse him in mind and get down with a little reluctance. As I feel the rain drops striking my spectacles, for a moment I ask myself when was the last time I was literally drenched, when was the last time, I danced in the rains, but only for a moment though and suddenly someone else in me takes over that former someone, and guess what, I start running, no sprinting towards shelter, running for life, I wonder I ever had?