November rains and pakodas

"Did you hear that?" I asked Pranai as I packed my bag to leave office for the day. "Rains !" he exclaimed on hearing the skies rumble once again."And no umbrella." I added, grinning at him. Five minutes later, I found myself amongst the crowd at the entrance, all awaiting impatiently for the rains to stop. A cool wet breeze swept across my face as I stepped out of the door."Aaahh.... November rain," I said to myself enjoying the moment. Although November had set in, the temperature dip was still missing in Kolkata. The rains had made up for the missing element.I wished to go out and get soaked in the rain. But better sense prevailed for two good reasons. I didn't want to carry a soaked laptop back home . Secondly, I didn't want my colleagues to take me to be a crackpot. But the rains had set in the mood for a jovial evening. People carried that extra skip in their step as they boarded the office bus and kept on discussing about the fine evening. An old melody drifted out through the speakers of the bus and it was just about perfect to suit the ambience.

Kolkata rains bring along with it another aspect that is not so comfortable for the common man . Long traffic jams! We had somehow reached the AJC flyover without much stopover time, before we came to a standstill halfway through it. And when you get stuck atop a flyover, there is not much that you can do. There is only one way out and that is to keep your patience in check .
At a distance beneath the flyover, I saw a chaiwala brewing up some hot tea. "Ahaa... chai in this weather would have been perfect." I told my colleague beside me. "Yes, pakodas would've completed the package" he added, smiling at me. I thought about calling home to place a special pakoda request.

Inspite of the traffic jam, no one was complaining much. The rains had brought along a lot to cheer about. The torrential downpour had gradually changed into a drizzle. Parts of park circus area had been flooded. Little children waded through the knee deep water holding colorful umbrellas. Twenty minutes later on, the traffic finally started moving. The city looked a lot cleaner even under the streetlights. The glowing neon lights created a myriad effect combined with the rain.
As our bus took a right turn to enter Salt Lake, I picked up my ringing mobile. "Yes, I'll be reaching home in five minutes" I told Upasana. "What are you doing ?" I asked. "Making some pakodas for his Highness" she replied mischieveously. "Lucky me !" I couldn't help smiling.