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It was a holiday and I had planned to enjoy the day. I was to pay a visit to my sister at Thriuttani which is at a distance of 75 kilometers form my place. Early that morning I started from house.
Even at that hour I could see bad weather ahead. Dark, smoky clouds threatened rain. I thought I would be safe if I got into a bus. As! It was in vain.
I was getting into the blue when it started raining and it’s rained the way it has never rained. Within a few minutes anyone was drenched to the skin. None got the time to get a shelter. In a very short time the roads were flooded. The traffic came to a standstill.
Visibility was reduced to a few meters. It poured so heavily that even there headlights of the bus could not pierce the thick sheet of water pouring form the sky. Water collected more speedily than it went down the drains.
The stalls and the temporary structures for the shops at the bus stop dripped. Those inside the shops and buses were in no way better than those outside on the road who were getting wet in utter helplessness. It soon became worse.
The stools, benches, chairs and small tables kept for customers outside the shops and stalls began to float in the rising streams of rain water. It was a pity to see people running after their articles.
A man running to catch a bench fell into a drain. He might have been swept away by the strong current but the water itself threw him out. The poor man stood for a moment looking dazed at the rushing water.
It rained for four hours during which period all activities came to a standstill. When at last the rain stopped, I was hardly in shape to carry on my journey. There was hardly any time left for the return trip.
Moreover, I left home sick and longed to be at home in my comfortable bed. Hence I came home.
