‘It rained and rained for forty daysy daysy’ warbled The Man from Madras Musings. This was when he was a mere mmm, and rather cherubic at that, having just joined school. He was taught this song and sang along with the rest of the class. The burden of the piece, and MMM here is not so sure that the teacher did not consider the singing to be the burden, was about God instructing Noah to prepare for the floods. The lyrics of the song, beyond a line or two have faded from MMM’s memory but he is fairly certain that Noah’s flood survival measures would have been nothing compared to the citizens of Madras that is Chennai the moment they heard a depression was on its way across the seas. ‘Tis the season of Monsoon.
Hoarding for the Monsoon
Unlike war, where MMM understands the need for stocking up in the face of a prolonged siege, rains come and go. The effects may last for a few days at most and average household should, in MMM’s view have enough to tide over the crisis. But not so felt many and so, as was reported extensively on social media, people began hoarding. And not stopping with thatthey began calling their friends to firstly gloat over their stockpile and secondly sow seeds of doubt in other minds about the sufficiency of their provisions. Even MMM’s good lady, also known as She Who Must Be Obeyed and who generally does not turn a hair (MMM too does not but that is because he is bald) when faced with crises, felt obliged to go hunting in shops for bread, a commodity that is hardly ever used in chez MMM. Mercifully, her panic was passing in nature and her quest for bread for brief. And she came back emptyhanded.
Weathermen in Demand
Weathermen of the private variety were badgered for information – will it rain above my house kind of questions, and they answered patiently. The Government sounded an orange and then a red alert. The degree of (un)preparedness on the part of the authorities was evident from the heights of propaganda. Media supporting the powers that be claimed all was well, while that supporting the Opposition showed every pothole.
Declaring School Holiday
And then, the Government unleashed what in MMM’s opinion is its greatest weapon – it declared a holiday for all schools. This had its immediate intended effect and has not been known to fail, yet. The rains that were supposed to pour for three days vanished immediately after that, though while they lasted they showed what they were capable of – non-stop lightning, thunder like cannonade and water coming down in buckets.
The Monsoon Mayhem that wasn’t
For whatever reason, many in the city were left with a sense of disappointment. They vented their fury at the private weathermen. The Government heaved a sigh of relief and went back to doing what it does best – dig more roads. The Opposition, irritated that it could not add more weapons to its arsenal, howled on about flooding and lack of relief measures and then, realising that the city was getting back to normal, quietened down. Until the next burst of rain that is.
In MMM’s view, the major learning from this spell of rain is that flyovers can be used for parking. While the Velachery flyover hogged the news, the RK Salai flyover too had a few vehicles on it. That they all had the flag of the party in power shows why they remained undisturbed.
My book on Chennai can be ordered here
This article appeared in Madras Musings dated November 1, 2024 and can be read here