Rainy Day in Chennai

hi ppl..

this is my first blog .. and i know it has taken quite a while coming. but here it is and hopefully a lot more to follow..

i really don't know how to start blogging :) so let me start with the current affairs

as you all know it has been raining continuously for the past 36 hrs in chennai and the weather dpt has predicted no let up in the downpour for the next half day or so . it is in this dampened weather that i noticed a few bright, noticeable and noble changes over the past day or so.. that really drove me into writing/starting my blog ...

let me start from the 25th evening . the day was overcast but with no signs of rain till 4:30 pm .. i was planning to drop my mom in Egmore railway station . so i had hired an auto for a grand total of 200 rs just for the one way trip .. when we started off from thiruvanmiyur the rain had already started . the first noticeable change was in the way the auto driver was behaving to us.. when a third person starts behaving nicely to us its always a pleasant surprise especially since this guy was the auto driver .. firstly he was vry particular about switching off the engine whenever stopping in a signal .. i remembered my drive to thiruvanmiyur earlier in the day when i didnt switch off my bike in any of the signals or traffic jams .. this was a welcome change and which made me think why cant we as youngsters start being responsible towards spending our earned money and stop poluting the env and reduce the usage of petrol/diesel and so on especially since we live in a period of economic slow down .. the second welcome change that i noticed in this guys behaviour was the rain started belting down.. he parked the auto and helped us in pulling down the curtains so that we can be atleast 50% dry till we reach egmore .. it was wooow as most auto walas are only particular in going as fast as they unmindful of the plight of his passengers .. kudos to that guy for showing courtesy towards a passenger who he never knows . the last one before i forget is.. the easiest route from south chennai to egmore during peak evening hours it to take the marina beach road .. turn left after chepauk .. proceed to chintadripet railway station .. take a left and reach egmore .. it took us only 45 mins in peak hour traffic and heavy down pour :)

after dropping my mom in Egmore I came out of the station to find that the intensity of the rain has increased multi fold. this left me wondering hw i would reach besant nagar which usually takes 40 mins in bike on a sunday afternoon.. but to my surprise I got 23C bus which will drop me 400 yards frm my house .. without hestiation i jumped into the bus and got a cozy seat and sat down to enjoy the rain . as you see in the MTC buses more often than not a grp of college students were creating nuisance and acting as if the bus is owned by them.. the situation got really serious when they started shouting at a guy when he partly opened the window.. the conductor was an amiable guy who just persuaded the college guys to be quiet keeping in mind the weather.. to everyones surprise the boys kept their cool till dey got down at adyar..is was a good gesture frm the students and the conductor to have prevented a melt down..

26th morning we in our room in besant nagar woke up to a heavy downpour that would not stop till 11 am .. with my bike in my uncle's house and I had no option other than using public transport for commuting to office . with reservations i started to the adyar bus depot with Mani.. we parted ways in adyar as he has to goto OMR and me to Guindy for our offices .. to my surprise I got a bus immediately to guindy .. the bus was neat taking into consideration it had rained all day .. and I had a vry pleasant journey with no traffic jams on the way .. am nt sure if the traffic constables found out an efficient way to manage traffic on a rainy day or it was because chennaities started behaving responsibily when driving in rain or it was just the case that i started late for office .. but it was a welcome relief not to be caught in any of the traffic hotspots in LB road, Madhya Kailas, IIT, Raj Bhavan or Guindy and reach office in just over 35 mins .. the flip side of walking to our office is one has to wade thru knee deep water in front of the office .. the bus driver was considerate enough to stop the bus vry near to the office gate so we got thru without stepping into d water ..

the few vry noticeable things here are

* being considerate to someone who you might not meet again - as the driver did helping us pull the rain curtains down..
* being responsible and start saving fuel - by switching off the engine in signals where the waiting time is more than 15 seconds
* keeping your cool even when you are encountered by adverse situations - as the conductor did
* start being responsible atleast when the going gets tough
* show courtesy to others - as the bus driver did when taking the bus close to our office gates

some noticeables change in patterns from the givernments side

* we get MTC buses once in few mins as they their frequencies have been increased
* the buses are kept relatively clean
* the crew in MTC buses have become a little considerate towards fellow passengers..

even in this damp day it was good to have a feel good factor after reachin home .. i really wanted to share these with you and thats the reason i have started the blog :)

enjoy the rain and be safe ... cheers untill we meet the next time .. do send me your feedbacks :)