THE RAIN IN PANVEL

Pune, August 3: THE week-long steady drip, drip, drip
has surely dampened spirits. Rising water levels in the
rivers around the city painted a grim picture, making
even the happy-go-lucky sorts want to stay indoors and
curl up. While normal life looked gloomy and business
grew duller, the normally chirpy entertainment avenues
took a battering making the rain the latest villain.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=142292

THE RAIN IN PANVEL

by Kathy Patel, trapped in Panvel, trying to adjust
to the move back to India from Toronto, Canada

'The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain'
but the rain in Panvel is driving us both insane.

When I came in March, it was HOT, the heat was harsh.
In June the rains came and now the land's a marsh.

Going to the market has now become a chore,
because it's all mud and puddles, not dry like before.

Red bricks have been put to use as stepping-stones,
but balancing is tricky, we could end up breaking bones.

Umbrella in one hand , shopping bag in the other
You wobble, stand or stumble from one brink to another.

Shakily you reach the road and think you're safe at last,
but suddenly your umbrella's turned upwards with the wind blast.

You struggle to control the upward motion of the spokes,
and risk the danger of hurting other street folks.

A rain suit would have been better than the umbrella any day,
In it you could move easily- you could even jump and play.

Inside the home the day passes drearily by :
Cooking, cleaning, washing or watching the overcast sky.

Dusk approaches and the stage is now set
for all the Insects to come in from 'THE WET'.

The grill is up and the netting is in its place,
but to come into the flat, all the insects have a race.

The lizards and dragonflies stop short at the netting outside,
but the tiny fleas and beetles come quietly crawling inside.

Some adventurous mosquitoes manage to squeeze themselves through.
To make our nights a nightmare, you need only a few.

We have poured Phenyl on every window ledge,
pumped 'Mosquito Spray' in the rooms on every edge.

We have burned 'Agarbatti' , Incense smoked up every room,
desperately trying to bring the Insects to THEIR DOOM !

Some perish, some die at once or linger, then pass out,
but the insects win the BATTLE without any doubt.

For every horde you annihilate another horde is ready.
They may be small in size but their numbers are quite steady.

A few nights of continous spraying has no effect at all.
The joy of a flat in Panvel is now beginning to pall.

Papa's frustrated, tired out, his struggles to no avail.
" Let's go back to Canada, " he says, " I'm fed up of Panvel !"