The Fateful Rain

Manyata felt happy as she stepped out of office. She felt the cool air caressing her. As she looked up at the sky, she saw the dark clouds and felt it was going to rain. In spite of living in Bangalore she felt that the summer was hot indeed. She welcomed the rains as it would cool the city a bit.

It was that day she had completed her internship at a renowned tech company located in a tech park carrying her very name. The company hasn’t been doing well much like her competitors in the IT sector. She got a campus placement but had to wait for six months before the company honoured her letter of appointment.

It has been a difficult period in her life, the past few years. COVID took away the life of her dad. The family had been living off his savings. Her brother was still in college. Her mother was ailing and needed a major operation. When she passed the interview in her college, she felt elated. But her elation had been short lived as she had to wait for the company’s call. But even after joining the company as an intern the uncertainties continued to plague her career and life. Periodically there were lay-offs but luckily for her she wasn’t on the chopping block. She got a challenging project to complete and was showing good progress. HR Manager was a kind soul and known to her father. He kept encouraging her in her project and assured her if she does complete her project well, she would be rewarded with confirmation. It was during the year doctor had discovered the dysfunctional liver and suggested replacement for her mother. But the operation subtracting the insurance coverage was still beyond their means. Since she was an intern loan was out of question. She was waiting for the internship to end and hoped for her confirmation. It was a week back she had completed the project and waiting for the client’s acceptance of her proposal. She had gone along with her manager who presented the proposal to the client. There were tough questions raised during the presentation and she had the opportunity to defend and clarify some of the concept she had presented.

Sometime during the afternoon, the manager had called and announced the good news that her client had accepted the proposal. The manager told her it would mean her confirmation too and she would work on the project as the lead. Manyata was asked to meet the HR as well. HR too confirmed the news and said the company was also giving her two months salary as a bonus for her good work in winning over the client.

There was a song on her lips as Manyata walked towards the parking lot. Her dad’s legacy for her, a ten-year old car. She then decided to buy some sweets at the next complex and then head back home. As she felt some drizzle she rushed to the next complex and bought her mother’s favourite sweet Mohan Taal and Kaju Katli for her brother. She decided that upon receiving the confirmation letter the banker had assured her of a personal loan. Once the loan got sanctioned, she would avail her one-week leave and fix a date for her mother’s appointment. She had promised her father on his death-bed that she would take her of the family. Marriage or boy-friend was far removed from her thought process. She wanted to make an impression in her company, earn well enough to support her brother’s education and then think further about her life.

As she drove half the distance to her home, she heard the loud thunder. It was like preparation to war in medieval times, the thunder sounded like drums to her. War clouds were gathering. All of a sudden it was if the dam burst had occurred in the sky. She had a sickening feeling as she knew the underpass that she had to take would soon get flooded. She hoped that the municipality had repaired it after the flooding in the previous year.

At the traffic signal she noticed a congestion and the traffic constable had a hard time in directing the traffic. Manyata knew it would be a while before she could proceed. She messaged her mom and said she was on her way and she had some good news to share. She loved her parents. They were both liberal in their outlook and stressed upon good education for both her and her brother. Both were taught about house work and cooking and both did their fair share of household chores, exception only during exams. They weren’t brought up differently unlike most other parents she knew of among her friends and near family.

By the time signal turned green there was a deluge. She saw the cars ahead of her entering the underpass and she kept close to the left to the side wall. There was a car moving close on the right as well. She thought of how pleased her mom and her brother will be to hear the great news. She didn’t know that both nature and human callousness had a different tale ending for her.

There was a roar of water gushing into the under pass from front. She thought some drain had broken down. She recalled reading the CAG report in the news paper sometime ago that half of the drains in Bangalore city was not maintained. An architect by the name Narasimhan had mentioned in the report that sewage drains were clogged and when it rained heavily that water had no place to go in the drains. So, as a result water over flowed and flooded the roads. She looked to the side and saw the driver getting out of his car. He just then looked at her and frantically gestured at her. She then realised that she was trapped in the car as she was too close to the side wall on the left and the car on her right blocked the right door. Panic had set in her as she looked out of the window water had risen to a level above her front wheel. She screamed for help. Nobody seemed to hear her or so she thought. Water was roaring and the cars were honking too. The scene was like in a Hollywood- disaster movies. But this wasn’t America or a Hollywood studio but an indifferent Bangalore city where the municipality had no accountability.

Time still stood still for Manyata. She felt the water enter her car and soon the water reached up to her chest. As the water had entered her bonnet the engine had stopped. The wind shield was covered with a mist and she could not see anything.

She closed her eyes and recited the sloka her father had taught her. Her father had said the sloka was an appeal to Lord Hanuman who flew over the sea to meet Sithamma. He would similarly come to her rescue. But she knew Bajrang Bali didn’t bail out the PM’s party. Her mind came to a stillness as she waited her jal samadhi. She wondered if it was her karma or her mother’s!

The TV and social media reported of her death in the evening and the news-paper followed the next morning. The new CM announced a compensation ex-gratia of one million rupees to Manyata’s family. Her company too followed suit by declaring that it would pay her mother one million rupees.

Soon business was usual in the city. Manyata was forgotten.

That left questions in my mind as to if it was a case of karma, if so, was it Manyata’s or her mother’s? What about accountability of civic authorities or its engineers or the contractor engaged to maintain underpasses? Or was it the responsibility of the general public who callously throw garbage into open drains? One continued to live as along as one was not the victim of such situation.