Mumbai Monsoon!

When I woke up, it was raining heavily. It rained even before I slept last night. It must be raining the entire night. The long awaited monsoon had finally arrived; and more, it came with a force and within no time it already left impacts in the mind of Mumbaikers. After four days of rains, four people already lost their lives! Yesterday, landslide caused by heavy rains at Konkan Nagar, Jogeshwari took two lives. The other two were killed by collapsing of wall at Marol-Maroshi and a tree fell near Gateway of India. Not only that water started invading the 'civilization' and started disrupting normal lives. Photos in today's paper, Times of India (page 2) was intereting. A man watching TV inside his house with ankle deep of water covering the floor, a cyclist at Andheri sub way with with water level upto his waist, quarter-foot high of water flooding inside a school and a restaurant, and Super star Amitabh Bachan at the street of Kurla, supposedly finding some amusements in the flood (water not shown). This is just the beginning. In few days, we can expect hue and cry over pot holes in the newspapers, cancelling and delaying of train services (more in the central railway lines because of heavy water loggings), etc.

I dressed up, took my umbrella, and left for office. I'm a little worried about my shoes. Whether they are Lee Cooper or Red Tape or Bata, leather shoes do not really last long in the rains, especially in places like Mumbai. A pair of shoe was already spoiled on the first pour. Here, in Mumbai one can safely say when it rains, it pours. I think I should go and ask for decent 'monsoon rain friendly' shoe from Bata Store.

Monsoon must have brought some good news, too. When I reached the office the staffs were looking quite chheerful. I was wondering whether Maharastra Board class-x results came out early (it is supposed to come out only in the evening today, but people can get information early, too. For instance, if they know someone from the board, the results will be known by them in the morning. Each institute has to give out the result in the evening only after they are ready with the certificates and marksheets). Their kids must have performed really well. I did not ask them, however, since I had things to clear up in the morning. It was when I was on my way to the lounge (for lunch) only that I found out that I was wrong. I notice one circular on the wall. They were happy not because of any other reasons. It was because of Nomenclature!

Their posts have been renamed. Junior clerks will now be called Assistants; Clerks who already worked 9 years will be called Senior Assistants; those who were holding Assistant post earlier will be called Special Assistants......and this is more interesting....typists will now be called Word Processing Assistants! So, at the end of the day, they all became Assistants! It is a wonder what a name could do.