Cuddled under my quilt, fast asleep and perhaps snoring, I felt a sudden discomfort. It was 3 a.m. I tried ignoring it, which is usually the first reaction to such middle-of-the-night phenomenons, but was not successful. When nature calls, you have to answer ! As I left the cozy confines of my bed, I could hear the wind banging forcefully against my windows. I went out in the balcony to get a feel of the lovely breeze but with the amount of clothing that I was in, the romance with the early morning breeze turned out to be rather short-lived. I finished off unfinished business and returned to my kingdom of dreams.
The next morning was no surprise. Strong winds had intermittent rains for company! I unfurled my umbrella as I ventured out on what now seemed like an expedition to the office. I put on my ear phones to savor some classical music for company. But nature had other plans. The wind, untamed since late last evening and perhaps miffed at my early morning rebuff, was now behaving like a disgruntled wife, vying for my complete attention. It would not let someone playing flute, sitar or tabla walk away with the credit of creating a fabulous morning experience for me when in fact, it was the wind which had actually done all the hard work. The harder I tried to keep my earphones plugged to my ears, the stronger the wind would try to dislodge them. It took me a couple of attempts more to realize my folly of trying to oppose nature. The earphones found their way in the side pocket of my overcoat.
A few more paces into my voyage and I found myself in midst of an ensuing battle between two valiant forces of nature. The icy-cold winds, blowing at 35-40 kph and crisscrossing my hair and face were engaged in a battle of supremacy against the unscrupulous drizzle - which varied both in strength and in rhythm. It seemed as if the winds had taken an oath to protect me against the arrows of Zeus. The fiercer the forces of the rain God attacked, the more mercilessly the winds retaliated. I realized the futility of an umbrella and it was back in my bag. The winds could proclaim victory. Even without an umbrella, I was practically dry. But like every war, this too had its casualties. A pink and a rainbow-colored umbrella were amongst the first ones to be sacrificed at the altar of this fierce battle.
Amidst all this, I reached the metro station. I saw a blind man trying to cross the road. In an instant I found my hands stretched out to help him but then a sudden thought held me back. Will my gesture make him feel weak? If I offered him help will it dent his confidence? Afterall, he had managed to reach the metro station on his own. I decided only to oversee that he crossed over safely to the other side but did not offer any tangible help further. But there was this strange unrest brewing inside me. Was I trying to shrug away from my responsibility to help him board the correct metro under the garb of being genuinely concerned about denting his confidence? Was it that the icy-cold winds had momentarily numbed my sense and sensibilities or Is let-them-be-independent the new sensibility? Or more simply was it just about getting late for work?
Puzzled in these thoughts, I boarded the metro. It was obviously less crowded than usual. But the number of people cozying up and snuggling up to each other was more than usual. Not all battles are bad, I thought. The one that I witnessed today, must surely have created a random spike in the histogram of kiss-and-make-up remedies per day for distraught couples.
As the LED on 'La Defense' station on the metro route display started glowing, I knew I had arrived at my destination. I recollected my bunch of thoughts, deboarded and walked towards my office unaware of the other escapades that were in store for me on that cold, rainy, windy morning....
Would love to know what OTHER escapades u had that day ;)
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