It’d been said that these were to be the tallest waves in over one hundred years. It’d been warned, by the civic body, the cop, etc., “..stay indoors if you can. Stay back at office, at night, should things get bad. Do not venture out, during the 23rd, 24th and 25th, of July, 2009.”
“WOW! High tides! Waves! Let’s go!”
I reached Marine Drive, downtown Bombay at ~ 12:15 PM. A small crowd had already gathered in anticipation of gigantic tides. By 1:00 PM, over five thousand people had assembled along the two or three kilometers between the National Centre for Performing Arts or NCPA and the Marine Drive flyover, close to the gymkhanas. In time, the tides got wilder, and taller. Winds were strong.
“Do not stand along the edges. Step down. Down, sir, not along the edge..”, were the continuous warnings by cops, strolling up and down in their cop mobile, sounding warnings aloud, over their cheap portable public address system. But Mumbaikars ignored them, as usual, and instead, mocked’em, the typically fat, out of shape cops, cops who’re seldom capable of avoiding crime and terror.
I’d thought that their warnings were necessary, I thought that it was very dangerous to stand along the edge’of the waterfront, the slippery granite bordered western waterfront. But Mumbaikars, old, fat, unhealthy, uncle &aunty availed of the free entertainment that the polluted seas had to offer.
In time, the waves got taller, and stronger. The five thousand strong crowd grew, they’d come from all sides, extended lunch breaks, students took leave off college.
A group of women caught my attention, they’d strolled down from their work place, their identity cards hanging around neck, LIC i.e. Life Insurance Corporation of India. “Ah!”, I said to myself, “it is no surprise! they’re known to play more, work less.”
Waves’s be over five meters tall, maybe even ten meters, I’m not sure, but they’d be strong and splash twenty odd feet into land:
“HA HA HA HA HA HA AAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA..”
Smiles all round, everybody was very happy. Seldom does one smile on the streets of Mumbai, unless intoxicated. It was an awesome sight, thousands of residents, packed together along the western waterfront, drenched to the bone, smiling and cheering. It takes a tragady to bring the people of this city together, nice, for a change, to watch’em all, and participate in joyous festivities, not affiliated with religion or history.
I’ll have photos for you in two or three weeks time.
FIN
Mumbaikar residents of Mumbai
Fact had it rained during these three days, things’d be bad, perhaps, floods and stuff. It hasn’t rained much over the past week, I hope it rains a’plenty yet, but the good thing is that lakes in and around Mumbai has accumulated water, to levels unlike any before.
On return home, my facebook status update’d be yesterday was one of *the* most enjoyable days of my life. I was one of the many lunatics who’d assembled along the waterfronts, at Marine Drive to check out the waves. It was a carnival, everybody smiled, in joy, at everybody else. Detailed reports later. Also, lakes in and around Bombay have filled to levels higher than ever before. It has been a good couple of months.
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