Rainy days of September 23- 24, 2007... 
Mother nature proved her superiority...
Mother nature again proved her superiority with her mighty force, water, that poured down the city of Kolkata and the suburbs of the sate of West Bengal, India.
The metrological department recorded an estimated 218.44 mm of rain fall within the past two days. The situation is no good in the city of Barrackpore where I live at present. The incessant rain of the past two days has flooded CMDA Nagar, the housing complex, where I stay and the situation is like a flood affected city. But the streets out side are dry.
Perhaps it was a fault in design rather than a way to save money, that the electric distribution boxes in each building of the complex was fixed at inches from the ground. This box has the main electric line from the city supply, which is connected to bus bars which route to multiple electric meters of the various flats in the building. However as the water level rose, it went into the boxes as well. How ever there was no accident related to the water flooding the electric distribution boxes. The electric supply was turned off well in advance. Who ever thought of it made a wise decision.
Since there is no electricity, there is no TV, no Fridge and even no water. It has been more that thirty six hours that the residents of CMDA Nagar are without electricity. Thanks to the climate that has cooled down due to the rains that we can do even with out ceiling fans.
A few big wigs of the colony even planned to arrange for the water to be pumped out. How ever the plans remain the the realm of gossip and adda 1s as there is no place for the pumped out water to go. As a result most of the residents are trapped inside this water enforced prison. Those who brave the rain do so, only to get essential commodities or cigarettes. The water is waist high at some places.
At times I think that we, the so called elite and the educated people living?in the area are partially, if not fully, responsible for this water logging. There are two big drains around the perimeter of the CMDA Nagar housing complex. But they seemed to have been over whelmed with the deluge. No cleaning or clearing of debris had been done since years and for long these drains were a heaven of mosquitoes, other insects, lizards, chameleons and even snakes. But no one cared.
No wonder that the drains are now chocked and the the housing complex remains water logged. Had proper care been taken, today just like any other rainy day the residents of CMDA Nagar might have been enjoying samosa and tea and got back to their PNPC (poro ninda and poro charcha, that is gossip about other and talk bad about them) 2.
How ever there is no room for any adda or the evening walks of the gray haired due to this rain. One thing that I really appreciate about the hard working maintenance people of CMDA Nagar is that, they managed to run the water pumps, so that her is no scarcity of drinking water.
So did the paper boys who braved the rain and delivered the newspapers and hats off the to the milkman who kept on supplying milk packets.
The water logging may take days to recede but hope it teaches lesson to those responsible to cleaning the drains so that no situation similar to this one is faced in the future.
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1. An adda (Bengali: আড্ডা) is a form of intellectual exchange among members, who were originally of the same socio-economic strata, but the process has democratized in modern times.[1] It is most popular among the youths belonging to the so-called "middle-class intelligentsia". Although many Bengalis boast of the city (Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta)being the birthplace of adda culture,but the origin of the tradition to regular intellectual dialogues prevalent in Ancient Greece at the time of Socrates or Plato.
2. A not so dignified form of adda, in its literal meaning, it referees to petty gossips and backbiting.
3. Also see A rainy day of 2010
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