For me, the day started just like any other Monday - with the inevitable Monday Blues...
Just like every other Monday, I got up late, was sluggish in my morning activities and reluctant to step out of the house.
I got the first inkling of trouble, when I read the Newspaper headlines. As my mind cleared of the Monday Morning Daze, I remembered - It was the day of the Country-wide "Bandh" against the Government decision to raise the price of Petrol & Diesel.
The newspapers reported that though Auto-Rickshaw and Taxis will be off the streets, the Local-Trains and BEST-Buses would be running. So there was no reason for me not to go to office. Unlike a few other Private Companies, my Company had not declared a holiday today. As per higher management, whoever could "make it to office" should do so...
I looked outside. No rains as yet.
I checked my stomach, back and head - no aches in any of these places.
I checked if I was feeling a little queasy in the stomach - no chance there too.
And the news-papers had declared that Trains and Buses were running fine.
I had run out of excuses to take a leave... I could certainly "make it to office" :-(
Of course I could make up an imaginary illness ("Boss, I am sorry to inform you that I cannot make it to office today because I have a headache in my stomach"). But on second thoughts, my Monday Blues were just beginning to warm up. And not going to office would be such a waste of perfectly good Monday Blues.
So, against the advice of my family, and throwing the worry about the country-wide bandh to the winds, I decided to go to Office...
To the Office, to the Office, in an empty BEST Bus:
My ride to the office was not at all uneventful. It was full of odd happenings and never-before-seen sights.
The first such odd happening was this: As I stepped out of our society gate, our watchman asked me with obvious ridicule on his face - "No leave today??"... Which only goes to show that, even our watchman knew it was not wise to venture out of the house today. But unfortunately for me, my company's higher management did not...
The next odd thing I noticed was how empty our colony street was. Not a soul in sight... (except for the usual local dogs, cats and other creatures great and small)
The sights that met my eyes as I proceeded towards the Railway station became odder with every step I took away from home...
The streets were deserted. The shops were closed.
The hawkers were replaced with an unusually high number of police men and women.
The Goregaon railway station was almost D E S E R T E D. I emphasize the word because most Mumbai suburban railway stations have some amount of passenger crowds throughout the day - even on weekends and holidays.
I crossed the foot-over bridge and reached the East side.
The bus depot was as devoid of daily crowd as the railway station.
The narrow street outside the Railway station on the East side was deserted too. Which was so unusual because, usually the entire street is congested with daily commuters, rickshaws, buses and slow-moving traffic...
Somehow it was very calm and quiet. No honking. No constant buzzing of so many people talking at once. No cries of hawkers and mechanical whine of automobile engines. It was almost serene...
As I waited for the bus, I noticed at least 2 police vans patrolling the streets at regular intervals.
And this made me a bit apprehensive. I envisioned crazed activists, good-for-nothings and idle-souls-with-no-better-work running amok on the roads - pelting stones at buses, setting vehicles on fire and doing nothing good for the country and the countrymen. But fortunately no such thing happened in my vicinity.
The bus arrived and I got in... On any other day, I usually have to travel standing. Today, I could choose whatever seat I wanted. Almost the entire bus was empty. I took my favourite seat right at the front - from where I had the unhindered view of the entire road ahead.
The roads were deserted too - hardly any vehicles could be seen cruising alongside our bus. I reached SEEPZ from Goregaon in 17 minutes flat! - a record time for me, I assure you!!
Even the streets inside SEEPZ (the special economic zone where our company is located) were devoid of much human presence.
It felt like I was walking through one of the scenes from "I am legend" with deserted metropolitan streets.
Office, office:
There were two things that disappointed me when I reached Office:
1> Not many had turned up for work. I was among the few gullible souls who did manage to "make it to office"...
2> The AC was not working. The guys who managed the cooling systems (that provide cooling to the entire building) had not been able to "make it to (their) office"...
Our office is a huge enclosed space with few windows that don't open more than a few inches. The lack of ventilation was soon taking its toll on us. It was stifling in there and soon most of us were sweating.
At such times, the notepads come in handy!!! As I fanned myself with my notepad, I marveled at how much time had passed since I had last used it (both to write or to use as a fan). In the days of Outlook and MS Word, Notepads are of very little use to Software engineers. And yet it is at times like these, that we truly appreciate the advantages of a Physical Notepad over the digital one ("notepad.exe" :-P )
Anyways, the day progressed as dully as Mondays usually go - which is good for a Monday-Blues-suffering soul like me...
But news soon started to trickle in. It turned out that the people, who did make it to office early, were as lucky as the ones who did not leave their homes at all. Because soon we came to know that there were sporadic bursts of violence in a few areas of the city. Several trains were forcefully halted. Even BEST buses were halted by activists.
As evening approached, we managed to do less and less work and worry more and more. The lack of AC wasn't helping either and each of us had to frequently visit the famous "Smoking Zone" (Fire-escape Staircase) which boasted a small but airy window. The window had a nice breeze blowing in - which was quite a relief to us AC-deprived heat-tormented fellows.
Back to the Pavilion:
It was 6 in the evening when I decided to call it quits. The buses had not yet started. But I managed to get a ride over a friend's bike.
As we cruised along the empty roads into the cloudy dusk, I noticed that a few private vehicles could be seen on the roads. But these handful of vehicles were nothing compared to the bandwagon of honking cars, rickshaws, bikes and buses that daily jam up the Mumbai roads from signal to signal, during peak-hours.
I am not used to seeing the roads so empty and that too in the fading daylight of the not-yet-set evening sun.
As we cruised along JVLR, unhindered by traffic and crowds, I could see the subdued setting sun, sneak-peeking from behind the monsoon clouds, with high-rise buildings in the foreground. Added to this beatific scene, the lack of traffic, noise and crowds was very refreshing. It was a sight to behold. If I could ever make myself think of Mumbai city and its roads as beautiful, then this was that time! My, was it beautiful.
For once, the city looked and felt like a "Human" place - instead of the "Savage" place it usually feels like nowadays.
I reached home earlier than usual. And just as I stepped into the house, it started to rain. And did it rain cats and dogs! Usually I am pissed off at the rains when I get caught up in it. But today I sat at home and enjoyed watching the heavy showers and the flowing water accumulating below.
It was the day of the nation-wide bandh. Not many found the day much endearing, I am sure. It was a Monday too. But as compared to most Mondays I usually face every week, and in spite of the ever-present Monday Blues, this was probably one of the best Mondays I ever had!
Just like every other Monday, I got up late, was sluggish in my morning activities and reluctant to step out of the house.
I got the first inkling of trouble, when I read the Newspaper headlines. As my mind cleared of the Monday Morning Daze, I remembered - It was the day of the Country-wide "Bandh" against the Government decision to raise the price of Petrol & Diesel.
The newspapers reported that though Auto-Rickshaw and Taxis will be off the streets, the Local-Trains and BEST-Buses would be running. So there was no reason for me not to go to office. Unlike a few other Private Companies, my Company had not declared a holiday today. As per higher management, whoever could "make it to office" should do so...
I looked outside. No rains as yet.
I checked my stomach, back and head - no aches in any of these places.
I checked if I was feeling a little queasy in the stomach - no chance there too.
And the news-papers had declared that Trains and Buses were running fine.
I had run out of excuses to take a leave... I could certainly "make it to office" :-(
Of course I could make up an imaginary illness ("Boss, I am sorry to inform you that I cannot make it to office today because I have a headache in my stomach"). But on second thoughts, my Monday Blues were just beginning to warm up. And not going to office would be such a waste of perfectly good Monday Blues.
So, against the advice of my family, and throwing the worry about the country-wide bandh to the winds, I decided to go to Office...
To the Office, to the Office, in an empty BEST Bus:
My ride to the office was not at all uneventful. It was full of odd happenings and never-before-seen sights.
The first such odd happening was this: As I stepped out of our society gate, our watchman asked me with obvious ridicule on his face - "No leave today??"... Which only goes to show that, even our watchman knew it was not wise to venture out of the house today. But unfortunately for me, my company's higher management did not...
The next odd thing I noticed was how empty our colony street was. Not a soul in sight... (except for the usual local dogs, cats and other creatures great and small)
The sights that met my eyes as I proceeded towards the Railway station became odder with every step I took away from home...
The streets were deserted. The shops were closed.
The hawkers were replaced with an unusually high number of police men and women.
The Goregaon railway station was almost D E S E R T E D. I emphasize the word because most Mumbai suburban railway stations have some amount of passenger crowds throughout the day - even on weekends and holidays.
I crossed the foot-over bridge and reached the East side.
The bus depot was as devoid of daily crowd as the railway station.
The narrow street outside the Railway station on the East side was deserted too. Which was so unusual because, usually the entire street is congested with daily commuters, rickshaws, buses and slow-moving traffic...
Somehow it was very calm and quiet. No honking. No constant buzzing of so many people talking at once. No cries of hawkers and mechanical whine of automobile engines. It was almost serene...
As I waited for the bus, I noticed at least 2 police vans patrolling the streets at regular intervals.
And this made me a bit apprehensive. I envisioned crazed activists, good-for-nothings and idle-souls-with-no-better-work running amok on the roads - pelting stones at buses, setting vehicles on fire and doing nothing good for the country and the countrymen. But fortunately no such thing happened in my vicinity.
The bus arrived and I got in... On any other day, I usually have to travel standing. Today, I could choose whatever seat I wanted. Almost the entire bus was empty. I took my favourite seat right at the front - from where I had the unhindered view of the entire road ahead.
The roads were deserted too - hardly any vehicles could be seen cruising alongside our bus. I reached SEEPZ from Goregaon in 17 minutes flat! - a record time for me, I assure you!!
Even the streets inside SEEPZ (the special economic zone where our company is located) were devoid of much human presence.
It felt like I was walking through one of the scenes from "I am legend" with deserted metropolitan streets.
Office, office:
There were two things that disappointed me when I reached Office:
1> Not many had turned up for work. I was among the few gullible souls who did manage to "make it to office"...
2> The AC was not working. The guys who managed the cooling systems (that provide cooling to the entire building) had not been able to "make it to (their) office"...
Our office is a huge enclosed space with few windows that don't open more than a few inches. The lack of ventilation was soon taking its toll on us. It was stifling in there and soon most of us were sweating.
At such times, the notepads come in handy!!! As I fanned myself with my notepad, I marveled at how much time had passed since I had last used it (both to write or to use as a fan). In the days of Outlook and MS Word, Notepads are of very little use to Software engineers. And yet it is at times like these, that we truly appreciate the advantages of a Physical Notepad over the digital one ("notepad.exe" :-P )
Anyways, the day progressed as dully as Mondays usually go - which is good for a Monday-Blues-suffering soul like me...
But news soon started to trickle in. It turned out that the people, who did make it to office early, were as lucky as the ones who did not leave their homes at all. Because soon we came to know that there were sporadic bursts of violence in a few areas of the city. Several trains were forcefully halted. Even BEST buses were halted by activists.
As evening approached, we managed to do less and less work and worry more and more. The lack of AC wasn't helping either and each of us had to frequently visit the famous "Smoking Zone" (Fire-escape Staircase) which boasted a small but airy window. The window had a nice breeze blowing in - which was quite a relief to us AC-deprived heat-tormented fellows.
Back to the Pavilion:
It was 6 in the evening when I decided to call it quits. The buses had not yet started. But I managed to get a ride over a friend's bike.
As we cruised along the empty roads into the cloudy dusk, I noticed that a few private vehicles could be seen on the roads. But these handful of vehicles were nothing compared to the bandwagon of honking cars, rickshaws, bikes and buses that daily jam up the Mumbai roads from signal to signal, during peak-hours.
I am not used to seeing the roads so empty and that too in the fading daylight of the not-yet-set evening sun.
As we cruised along JVLR, unhindered by traffic and crowds, I could see the subdued setting sun, sneak-peeking from behind the monsoon clouds, with high-rise buildings in the foreground. Added to this beatific scene, the lack of traffic, noise and crowds was very refreshing. It was a sight to behold. If I could ever make myself think of Mumbai city and its roads as beautiful, then this was that time! My, was it beautiful.
For once, the city looked and felt like a "Human" place - instead of the "Savage" place it usually feels like nowadays.
I reached home earlier than usual. And just as I stepped into the house, it started to rain. And did it rain cats and dogs! Usually I am pissed off at the rains when I get caught up in it. But today I sat at home and enjoyed watching the heavy showers and the flowing water accumulating below.
It was the day of the nation-wide bandh. Not many found the day much endearing, I am sure. It was a Monday too. But as compared to most Mondays I usually face every week, and in spite of the ever-present Monday Blues, this was probably one of the best Mondays I ever had!
