Most of us would remember that Mumbai was flooded on 26th July 2005.
That morning I was in dadar market, out shopping with my
mother.
2:00 pm:
The 2 lane streets were filling up with water and
my Mom and I felt, it was time to start moving homewards, only to avoid an
excessive flow of evening traffic.
3:30 pm:
We walked without finding a single taxi. We soon heard that the
local trains had stopped because of the increased water level on the railway
tracks; Offices were closing down early to help people get back home to safety.
4:30pm:
We had walked 2.8kms and reached Mahim Church. By
then, we were part of an ocean of people, moving in a single direction.
Each one walking with a single thought, “How will I get back
home today?”
Traffic had come to a standstill.
Mobile signals were jammed; All around we saw scores of people, each one moving an inch at a time.
5.45pm:
We had slowly but gradually walked 4.4kms and reached
bandra. My mother moved homewards and I moved on towards my destination in santacruz.
I was on my own.