Examine what is said, not her who speaks

Just dropping in to say hi to all. Been hellish these days.. with rains and then no rains and then falling sick.

Be back soon.. but couldn't resist saying hello out here.

Have fun ya'll!!

You wonder why I say that?

Well now, this is what happened today. A few hours ago,ummm - at about 10 o'clock this evening, dark clouds gathered in the sky. One could feel that it was going to rain soon. Then began a great show of thunder and lightning that lasted for about two hours. I might add that it has been pouring since then.

I went out to enjoy the rains for a bit on my terrace, made sure the water was going down the drain and not accumulating on the terrace due to the heavy downpour.And I had two hot buttered corns to eat while I was working. And I-

But I am digressing from the topic.

I had cleared up the debris on my terrace yesterday to make sure the water flowed down the drain and not get clogged if it rained. Unfortunately, I didn't count on my downstairs neighbours coming up to tell me not to clear the water on my terrace! I was like-what?

Apparently in the last few weeks, they made a small backyard of sorts close to where the drain ends downstairs. Thus, all the dirty water from the terrace would flow down there. They didn't want that. I took them upstairs and showed them the terrace.I have no other way to empty the water off terrace, I tell them. They had of course no reply to that. They just said, don't do it.

Now that bugged me. I asked them if the construction of this backyard was legal because when these apartments had been made, the drains had been put in place for this very reason-when it rains, the water should go down the drain and not get clogged. It had been the same all these years. So how was it that I was not allowed to do it this year?

I have a feeling this backyard construction is not legal. Or perhaps- they just realised their mistake in coming up and talking to me in that tone. What ever the reason might have been, they left without another word.

Unfortunately, something unexpected occurred that still clogged the drain and drenched not just my penthouse room, but also the living room downstairs.

A cloth I normally keep upstairs to wipe the pots must have fallen down the clothes wire sometime when during that wind, thunder, lightning show earlier. It must have floated with water to reach the drain hole and got stuck there, closing the mouth of the drain hole. The result- water blocked and overflowing outside the terrace and into the penthouse room and down the stairs into the living room.

My brother was busy on the phone in the living room, oblivious to this. I was in my room, working. When he put the phone down, he saw the trickle coming down steadily. He called for me immediately.

Dashing out of my room, I had a vague idea of what could have happened. Something was blocking the drain hole. No other way all that water drips down.

Action time! We rushed upstairs to the terrace, removed that cloth which had blocked the water. Next thing we know, the water goes down the drain with a huge swooosshh! (I liked that sound ) After that, came cleaning and mopping the rooms and staircase dry. And now that all that is done, I'm sitting here writing this account while it still rains steadily.

I'll get back to my work soon and finish it. Have a busy day tomorrow with a client coming down from Mauritius for discussions. Still, I shall earn something from this association soon so I am happy to work.

Tomorrow night, I leave to go home, spend some time with family and friends there. It's been a long time since I went home-almost 8 months!

Enough of chatter. Time to get back to work. Hope you'll have a lovely evening/morning/day ahead.

P.S. Do you think I could be good at writing daily life articles? A company has offered me a contract to do so.

A wish fulfilled- it rained yesterday night. Finally, a bit of respite from the humid, sweaty, suffocating weather.

Today it is cloudy with sun playing peek-a-boo with the clouds. Peacocks can be heard singing everywhere, thirsting for more rains. Birds are chirping louder than usual. I just saw a chameleon on the tree nearby while standing on the terrace of my house, changing colours, inviting more rains.

My brother tells me when he went to buy milk today morning, he could see relief on faces of people around him, praying that this heavy shower be the sign of the delayed monsoon that everyone has been waiting for.
The vegetable vendors looked happy. Finally they may get fresh supply of vegetables soon. Maybe the farmers living in small villages close to the city are hoping for the same.

Young folks going to college stop by at the local chai wallahs and drink their favourite masala chai and eat "dal wadas with onion rings and fried green chillies" or roasted/buttered corn.

Women in the house are happy that the rains are here but also dismayed at the increase in the amount of work. NO drying clothes outside, making sure the house stays clean despite children coming back from school with muddy shoes, making sure no body falls sick due to changing weather,etc.

It seems a pot pourri of emotions is all at display simply because it rained.

I'm going to sit on the terrace for a while with my book and a cup of masala chai before I start with my work for today. Lots of meetings in the evening, not to mention regular work that needs to be done.

Talk to you guys later! Have a great day!

If you like reading books- and I'm not just talking about hard paper backs here, reading in any form; e-book form, mobile book form, etc.. here's something for you.

Go go www.worldebookfair.org and browse through the books there. Who knows, you may find the one book that you'd been looking for !

Have a wonderful time! Me off to browse more books there.

Normally, the sky turns bright with colours by this time around. Normally the birds would be chirping by this time. It is time for Sunrise..5.20 AM now. But today, I see only darkness. No sign of the sun. Wonder where he got delayed.

God-I wish this weather would change! I wish it starts raining!! It has been stifling!! EL NINO .. BEHAVE! *deep breath* Okay, am calm now.

We've been having some weird weather these last couple of days. Dust storms, cloudy sky, intense humidity and terrible heat. The water in the tank up on the terrace is almost boiling by the time it is 3.00 PM. What I've started doing is filling the buckets in the morning so that I may have some cool water to wash my face and hands if it gets too sweaty.

On the other note, I've been up the whole night watching CSI Miami that I downloaded recently. Can't seem to be able to sleep despite the cooler in my room. Hope I get sleepy by the time I finish this last episode.

Wish you all good day/night depending on where you are!

.....is the question plaguing my life at the moment. I've got some job offers but choosing is difficult. Should I stay back out here or just head out? *thinking*

I am back in Ahmadbad since yesterday. I left Delhi with the heavens opening up to pour down and am back to sweaty, humid climate. Ugh! The Tee that I wear at the moment keeps on sticking to my back. I don't want to use the Cooler simply because I don't. (Electricity costs)

Coming back to Ahmadabad was a non eventful journey except for one thing. The guy sitting next to me on the plane had decided to keep his mobile turned on for the entire journey despite hearing the instructions carefuly which said "please turn off your mobiles for the journey. You can switch them on when we land."

Not that he got a chance to do it with me sitting next to him. He tried to put it on silent mode. As soon as the plane started, I looked at him and asked if he understood Hindi and English. He looked a bit taken aback but replied back in positive. I then demanded to know why in the blazes was his mobile on silent mode and not switched off if he had heard the instructions correctly.... well. bascially I gave him a piece of my mind and reminded him that he was risking my life too along with his own.
He had the grace to look sheepish and turned off the mobile then. Bugger!

Apart from this one incident, it was absolutely uneventful.

Coming back was easy. Spending the day without my man was hard. Although it did have one compensation- I reunited with my nephew.

He's grown and he remembered me!! I was so happy to note that he hadn't forgotten me. The moment he saw me, he stretched out his arms and gurgled happily. They say kids forget you easily if you're gone long, especially when they're so very young. He didn't. So I guess.. I'm memorable after all.

More to come later...... gotta catch up on some work. Have a lovely day you guys!