Chennaiyil oru Mazhai Naal

Everything is Normal today in Chennai, as if nothing happened yesterday.I was one of those few chennaites who went to work yesterday watching the rains lashing the city. It all started when the electric supply to our house was cut down yesterday morning. Till then I was not interested in starting to the office. I then called up a colleague to find out if he is coming in and then decided to go to office.

• Since my parents were not allowing me to drive my two-wheeler,I decided to go by auto. I stepped out of my house and waited for an auto in my street for almost 15 minutes.I did then realise that all the vehicles that went past me have been routed back because one of the trees on the street has uprooted.I then walked over the fallen tree to the other side of the road to the auto stand.
  

• I couldn't bargain with the auto driver as he clearly understood that I'll agree for whatever rate he demands. Huh...It really needs lots of skills to bargain with these drivers.I know i'm not good at it, so I didn't try too much of it.
  

• As usual the road between Pammal and Pallavaram is totally flooded and my auto driver with all his skills maneuvered the vehicle out of the floods and we reached the GST road. To my surprise I found that the GST roads too are flooded with water. At some places the authorites had to break the median on the road inorder to allow the water that has filled one side of the road to flow to the other lanes also.
  

• I was surprised to see the Tidel Park entrance flooded.This was totally unexpected.What was more surprising is that I saw some 10-15 of the so called Software professionals waiting outside the entrance.I initially thought that these guys were waiting for some transportation to home. I removed my socks and then rolled my pants up and started walking through the water. Just then I realised that those people waiting were looking at me like an alien.They were also waiting there to enter TIDEL and were not planning to go home.Come on people...dont you know how to walk through water or do you expect the water to be drained amidst those heavy rains or were you expecting TIDEL authorities to arrange a shuttle service to take you from entrance till your office.They were behaving as if they are on a sea shore. Every time a four wheeler passes through water, these onlookers would go back or sideways to avoid the gushing water. I just wanted to tell them that its not a beach.The security officer at the gate was trying to convince them to walk through the water.Funny people!!!
  

• How many times have you watched winds hitting hard, from10th floor of your office and how often have you tried to open a window in 10th floor amidst these heavy winds.I did it yesterday and its not that easy.There is chance that you will fly out of the window every other time you do it.The hot coffee that we drunk after our lunch with cold winds striking our face is the elixir of life.What we missed is a hot Bhajji.
  

• The way back home was also quite adventurous and this time again the auto driver won the verbal duel and I paid whatever he asked. We again had to swim through Guindy and Pallavaram to reach my house. Relatives who are not living in chennai were worried and were continuously inquiring to know if water has entered the house.
  

After so much happening yesterday it would be very hard for a person to say the first lines of my blog. But that is what almost all of us(not sure about North Chennai) would be saying now.Both the artificial and natural drainage systems have worked perfectly and effectively in a city which does not receive rainfall frequently. And beleive it or not Chennai receives rainfall hardly for a single month in a year.

Kudos to all those people who were responsible for helping chennai return to its normal life within a day.