Bangalore witnessed torrential rains on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi recording around 200mm of rain in one single day! Unfortunately it was a friday and the lovely festive season kept both the people and the roads jammed. Ganesh Chaturthi being a 3 day grand affair in my house, I'd taken the friday off, so I was blessed with not witnessing the "Black Friday" as the papers termed it.
A week earlier the sun shone rather too brightly surprising the september weather and the downpour that followed wasn’t a surprise after all. On Friday, it kept raining incessantly. It was on
ly the next day the papers updated me the magnitude of the damage done by rain. People from e-city actually used caracoles on the hosur road !!!! ... Its funny the way they had the caracoles handy, did they actually foresee this?? Lalbagh lake had overflowed again after a gap of 2 years. Houses built on dried lake beds were flooded. Among all these the one that was thought provoking was the photo of the IT fav Silk Board Junction. Instantneously, I was reminded of the TV clips of Mumbhai monsoons. The scenes were strikingly similar, kms and kms of stranded traffic and people wading through the dirty rain water almost upto their knees. Will Bangalore become another Mumbhai? Agreed Mumbai monsoons are way too severe but the problem is not the rain, it is the city's infrastructure. Mumbhai is so badly crowded with humans and their establishments that the poor rain water has no escape and it stays on. Isn’t a similar story unfolding in Bangalore? Yes, it is expanding at a very fast pace but not at the cost of the city’s safety. Did I forget to mention Mumbhai is a port city! Well, this is my foresight and I’ll be glad to be proved wrong.
When I started this blog, my intention was to describe about one of my latest performances in rain…… yes rain :) ……… but I ended up writing about my city. Some of my fnds ridicule me for this excessive patriotism abt my city and I always laugh back and say blame it on my stubborn leo trait… :D
ly the next day the papers updated me the magnitude of the damage done by rain. People from e-city actually used caracoles on the hosur road !!!! ... Its funny the way they had the caracoles handy, did they actually foresee this?? Lalbagh lake had overflowed again after a gap of 2 years. Houses built on dried lake beds were flooded. Among all these the one that was thought provoking was the photo of the IT fav Silk Board Junction. Instantneously, I was reminded of the TV clips of Mumbhai monsoons. The scenes were strikingly similar, kms and kms of stranded traffic and people wading through the dirty rain water almost upto their knees. Will Bangalore become another Mumbhai? Agreed Mumbai monsoons are way too severe but the problem is not the rain, it is the city's infrastructure. Mumbhai is so badly crowded with humans and their establishments that the poor rain water has no escape and it stays on. Isn’t a similar story unfolding in Bangalore? Yes, it is expanding at a very fast pace but not at the cost of the city’s safety. Did I forget to mention Mumbhai is a port city! Well, this is my foresight and I’ll be glad to be proved wrong.When I started this blog, my intention was to describe about one of my latest performances in rain…… yes rain :) ……… but I ended up writing about my city. Some of my fnds ridicule me for this excessive patriotism abt my city and I always laugh back and say blame it on my stubborn leo trait… :D
Anyways let me get back to my rain dance….:) I was to perform in Vidyapeetha temple on the occasion of Krishna Janmasthami. I was told it shall be held in a open auditorium. I was excited since I’d not performed in an open auditorium till then. My dance Guru was out of station then and I had to prepare for the event all by myself, which was actually tiresome. Having her around would have been a great relief. On the day of the performance I was well rehearsed although in the corner of my heart, I wished I’d little more time to fine tune the items. Be it performance, exams or client presentation, no matter how well one is prepared, there is always room for perfection – man the insatiable animal…..:)
It was a usual bright and a busy morning and by noon the weather turned turtle. Suddenly there were thick grey clouds and the skies opened up. It poured, poured and poured. By evening I was worried for obvious reasons and the disappointment of audience absence. Audiences are the prized possessions of we performing artists.
After the customary welcome, I was about to start my performance in the inside auditorium, when the temple head announced that the rain had stopped completely so all cultural programmes shall be shifted to the open auditorium. I was thrilled. But only after I performed an hour later I realized what it is like to perform in an open audi after rain. The carpets on the stage were totally drenched in rain. My every footstep created a small fountain by itself which was very uncomfortable. The sound system was in a playful mood too. To cater to a big crowd of around 500 people, there were multiple loudspeakers which were echoing back and it was an effort to synchronize to a single sound. By the mid of second item, it started drizzling and the audience got restless. I’d to end the program half way through since it was already late, thanks to the delay by the rain-god. My hardwork was wasted. The program was disheartening despite that performing in an open place with cool rain-kissed breeze cant be penned but is to be experienced.
At the end of all this I still feel “only if I’d got to complete my program!”………….. man the insatiable animal…. :)
