My Tryst With Natures Fury!

Dec 1, 2015

3:00 - 5:45 PM --- I was gazing through the misty windows of my office bus into the virtual lake made out of the entire stretch of the Old Mahabalipuram Road in Chennai. Dumbstruck as I was, I gaped at the scene of the buses cruising along the 'shallow waterbody' with the relentless downpour striving to put up every hurdle across the journey. The road that glistened and reflected the sunlight, a few days before could nowhere be spotted on. Perhaps the Ancient Mariner would have put it this way 'Water Water everywhere, with not a strip of land to set foot on'

5:45 - 6:15 PM --- I deboarded the bus amid Knee-deep water in my stop, wondering if ever a river had broken its bunds and rushed down the streets. My Dad accompanied me to my home that was just a few minutes of walk away from the stop, but on this day, after those few minutes, we were just 1-2 metres away from where we started. The water level was rising with every minute and along with it came all sorts of slinking objects that made me cringe and I dared not look at them again. The umbrella failed us too. We were half drenched already. I felt clamped between the ground and the sky by water, as I struggled to wade through it. Finally, we groped our way into our house gate as by then darkness loomed over. I threw myself down on the floor of our house, which then seemed to me heaven in disguise, with its warm and snug air. I sat thinking 'I can never get into any worse situation than this. This should probably be the most terrifying event that nature can inflict upon me'.

Fast forward 378 days to Dec 12, 2016

6:00 AM --- I woke up amid the constant rattling sounds of rain and winds outdoor. I cursed the weather for depriving me of my early morning ramble on the terrace.

7:45 AM --- As I was having my breakfast, the television blared with the voices of news reporters across various places in Chennai describing the position and movement of the 'Vardah' cyclone in detail and its possible devastation. I paid little heed to all this, as there were a lot of noises like this before, with negligible facts or effects. I mumbled a few words of scorn towards them, for making a mountain out of a molehill and moved on.

8:10 AM --- I started off to my stop to board the office bus. Halfway through, my umbrella upturned, thanks to the gushing winds and I had to stop awhile here and there. I reached the stop just under the wire. 

9:05 AM --- The bus reached my office amid rising wind speeds and precipitation. As we got down, we had to run and cover the distance between the bus and my Block as then, the downpour was heavy with roaring winds. The passage that leads to my work place from the Lift Lobby is an L shaped one with a distance of about 100 feet in all. The lower arm of the 'L' was just at 90 degrees to the direction of the wind. As I crossed that, I had a brief spell of breathlessness and my shawl and kameez went haywire as the watery wind tried to knock me down.

10:00 AM --- I stepped out of my ODC to have a sip of coffee at a restaurant situated 2 blocks away within our campus. I do this everyday. But this day, I was greeted by winds that had then begin to grumble like a multitude of wolves howling together. I had to take the basement to reach the cafeteria for fear of getting drenched. I did get drenched as I could not escape the 'L' that leads to the Lift Lobby/Stairs/Wash room.

10:30 AM --- I got out of the restaurant to see the rain and winds going crazy. Several young trees and saplings that were planted within our campus were uprooted. There were people trying hard to dodge the water droplets and missing not a moment to capture nature's rage in their smartphones. I was one among them too.

11:00 AM --- I returned to the lift lobby on the 4th floor (where my workplace is) drenched all the while. By then, negotiating the 'L' to reach the entrance of my ODC had become an ordeal. The wind swept away all obstacles in its path throwing them metres afar. Among them were sharp-edged metallic slabs fitted in to support Lighting on the corridor. I gawked at the sight of a heavy slab, being tossed about just like a penny. I feared to step out, for I felt, I might be swept away too or I might be struck down by the sharp metallic pieces being flung across all the while. I cowered behind 2 of my colleagues as we 3 headed to our ODC. I wondered if I can ever step out again.

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM --- By then I had an inkling that this is going to be fiercer than what I had thought of earlier. I googled for 'Vardah Updates' and even had the Live updates Blog page bookmarked. I could scarcely concentrate on work as the disturbing news and pictures in the net made me fret about ever making it alive to my home. My mom called on me and stressed that I start right away to my home. But I feared to get out of my ODC either and thus getting out of the campus was just unthinkable

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM --- The wind began making a cackling noise as all objects in its path were splattered across all directions. With a very brave heart, I crossed the 'L' and ultimately reached the cafeteria again to have my lunch. As I returned, I found shelter at the entrance of my ODC and watched the mayhem unfolding right in front of my eyes. The wind was spewing out water as it gushed across, and the scene appeared like a hidden dragon blowing out icy water instead of fire.

1:30 PM - 4:00 PM --- I remained restless in my cubicle, as some metallic arrangement somewhere near, made a noise as though a person was groaning in great pain, whenever the winds rushed past that. Loneliness shrouded me as I was the only woman present in there. The cubicles would have all looked empty and eerie if not for us 5 or 6 people reporting to work, in our project, on that day. Meanwhile, my mobile connectivity was cut off and my only hope of ever returning home was pinned on to my office transport.

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM --- The fear and anxiety drained me of all my energies. I wanted to get out to have a cup of tea. But the 'L' Ordeal sent a creep across my spine. Thankfully, a colleague volunteered to help me get out through that wretched place. As I returned I remained stuck in the lift lobby for about half an hour to get a company to reach my ODC.

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM --- I remained on toes all the while to listen to any announcement regarding our office transport. The noises of the wind subsided but the monster had strewn across thousands of trees on the road and thus transport for all places was not plausible. Buses were available to certain pivotal places in the city. I opted for the one through Medavakkam as my home was a tad nearer to it as against all other options. The buses were to start at 8:00 PM.

8:00 PM - 9:30 PM --- Our campus can contain around 20000 people at any time and on this fateful day some 1000 had foolishly checked in to the office, I included. A stampede like a scenario ensued as we all rushed on each other to get on to the buses. I became so numb to the psychological horrors that even after falling down in the melee I got up mechanically and headed straight towards my bus, unheeding of any physical injury. The bus moved along the dark roads, with not a speck of light anywhere. I had called on my dad to take me up in his 2 wheeler from Medavakkam to my home, a journey of about 5 km in the deadliest of nights.

9:30 PM - 10:30 PM --- My dad was right on time. I spotted him just as I got down the bus. By then there was a mild drizzle and we felt we can reach our home before any ghastly wind started to blow. But our hopes got crumbled as within few metres in to the Medavakkam main road, an uproaring spell of rain accompanied by the deadly winds, started again. We had no shelter in the 2 wheeler, so my dad parked it aside a dilapidated shop covered with an asbestos sheet. We took refuge in there for a while. But the noise of the winds breaking in through the sheet reminded me of the horrors that I had gone through, back at my office. The rain seemed better than this, so I urged my dad to start off again and reach our home asap. The vehicle 'sailed' along the road that had only water splashing across from all directions. We were soaked completely in the rain when we reached our home, the same warm and snug place, at about 10:00 PM. My mom appeared nervous and I got a good tell-off from her for going on to work adamantly in the weather like that. At last, when I finally lied down for the night I thought 'I can never get into any worse situation than this. This should probably be the most terrifying event that nature can inflict upon me'

I wonder what nature has in store for me, in the years to come!