Oh, whatta feeling!

Oh, what a glorious day! After a very wet – and that is a definite understatement – and dreary day yesterday, today dawned clear and cool, though not sunny or bright. There was an occasional sharp shower that drummed loudly on the awnings and broke off flower buds on the gulmohar tree with the tallest branches that peeped into my window. And as we drove in to work, clouds loomed, threatening to drown us with the moisture they held in store for…oh, no, not again, not another day of downpour!

The wind was wild against the windscreen driving over the bridge that connects the mainland with the island city where I work. Motorbikes steered slowly, more slowly than their wont, since one strong gust would have pushed them right over the railings into the water. And, through a bout of driving rain here and there, now and then, we saw people in sopping wet rain-gear filling the potholes that should not have been there if the folks concerned had done their job properly in the first place, before the dips and pits had time and place to form.

And then there was silence. The roads that we had splashed through yesterday, the streets that we had swum past and the holes in the road that we had dodged were all clear, if not completely dry. And there were babies playing happily in the muck left by the flood, women beating dirt out of clothes in the stagnant pools in the larger potholes and dogs splashing through the gutters after birds that had stopped by for a sip or fresh (well, in comparison) water.

As I got out of the car at the office steps, a cheeky blast of cool breeze sneaked its way under my sari and tried to blow it up over my head. But, being of a rather cautious mien, I managed to hold on to skirts and hair and bag and sang-froid as I ran into the shelter of the porch, thanking the powers that be for disallowing me the glamour of high spiky heels so that I could make more sure that my head was still firmly on my disconcertingly vertiginous self. If I had been less dressed-up, I would have perhaps considered taking a little walk around the block, since it was such a lovely day, but being more formally clad I resisted. I could look like a windblown urchin some other day.

The next time there is a fabulous day like this one has been, so far, I hope.