July the 26th

26 July 2005 is not just a date. Not for me. Not for any Mumbaikar. It is a date that we can never forget. It is a chapyer of my life. This chapter contains a lot of stories. While it was a devastating day for most of us, in my case it taught me a lot.

26 July 2005, it was a sunny Tuesday morning. Sunny morning in July in Mumbai is a rare occasion. It indeed was a rare occasion. I was leaving for college. I told my mother that I would be home around 6, I had practicals that day.

Everything was normal until afternoon. Then it started raining. Really heavy downpour. Heavy rains are normal in Mumbai, but this felt different and unusual. It was horribly heavy. We were in the college, around 2 pm, we were informed about the water logging and disruption of train service. We still took it casually because the city gets heavy rains every year. But we did not know this time it was not normal.

By 3 pm, everything stopped. The phone lines got jammed. The electricity started fluctuating. There was panic everywhere. But our college made a brave decision for our safety. We were told not to leave the college. If needed we had to stay in the college. We were scared at first, but there was no other option.

That night I stayed at college along with other students and professors. The college cafeteria made khichdi for us with their limited inventory. Our college had a few rooms for guest facilities. The management opened the rooms and asked girls to stay there. In one room 10-12 girls stayed. By this time, we had given up the hope of returning to the home soon. But as soon as we gave up the hope, we started to have fun. That night none of us slept. Along with me there were girls from different streams. We did not know each other or even were able to see each other's faces. But we still talked, exchanged stories, played antakshari, and spoke about horror experiences. We were a community, a family that night.

Few college seniors and professors were closely tracking the weather updates and the train status. Next morning around 6, a senior student came to each room to tell us that the trains would soon be operational. A few trains will run for a couple of hours. We decided to leave.

Outside our college, the street wss flooded. We all students made a human chain and started marching towards station. While walking we were loudly singing inspirational and patriotic songs to keep our spirits high. The walk that generally required 10 minutes took 2 hours due to the water logging. We reached the station and got a train that was leaving towards my side of the town. I reached home safely.

Compared with other people who were stuck on 26th July due to rain, my stuggle was easy. The college management helped us a lot. They ensured our safety and took care of us like parents. I would forever be thankful for their kindness.

That night taught me the valuable life lessons of humanity, kindness, and resilience. It became a memorable event of my life as a student.