Ten facts about Mumbai rains...

1.You can stand under an umbrella,wear a raincoat,hell,you can cast a freaking imperious charm on yourself, and still get drenched.
 2. Chances are the fresh rainwater will never reach you .Instead, the water that goes through the mud on the asbestos sheets in the stations, the drops that drip from rusted,dirtyshop hoardings, and the water on the road will reach you faster than you can duck
 3. Wearing bright coloured clothes seems to infuriate the water as well as drivers of vehicles, seeing as they splash their way on the roads as if they are in Water Kingdom.Yes,even in autos,you get sprayed on with all the dirty water on the road.And if you are crammed with two more people,God help you!
 4. Like you,the rain maintains time.It always rains the heaviest when you are on your way to work,and on your way back home.If you are late for work,it makes it a point to pour extra heavily!Also like humans,the rain is moody.The day you wear jeans because,well,its a clear day,is the day it rains the heaviest.The day you wear chiffon,the rain's like 'meh' or it rains when you are at work...
 5. If you vainly want to walk on the pavement instead of on the road with ankle deep water in order to keep your feet dry ,dream on,coz it aint happening.At some point the pavement will break,become muddy,culminate in a paan shop or get submerged.Might as well get used to the fact and jump into that stream of water that was once,the road.
 6. “Ankle deep “ is just the lower limit of the level of water on the road.The upper limit depends on the road's water draining ability.
 7. Along with the lovely earthy smell,the rain brings up the empty chips packets,the torn plastic covers and bits of papers thrown inappropriately on the road instead of in the dustbin.And yet the person walking ahead of you will insist on spitting on the road,throwing the useless bits of paperin his pockets right on the road. Hmmmm..........
 8. If you think songs like Ghanan Ghanan and Barso Re are the perfect songs for Mumbai rains,think again.Mumbai rains aren't dainty.They are fierce,so hard metal works best.The other rainy songs are good,but,like,for occasional unseasonal spells of rain-not really characteristic of Mumbai..
 9.Knows why rains tend to frustrate some.For non Mumbaikars like me,rain is associated with the farewell of heat,cool breeze and temperatures dipped by a few degrees.For Mumbaikars the heat is gone,but the humidity isn't. So even if you are walking on the road when it is raining,you sweat. 
10.The best part about Mumbai rains-the trees get greener,old buildings get a silver coating,(some) roads get cleaner,bright umbrellas glow in an almost ethereal manner in the rain,the sea seems to dance a water dance,children still put out paper boats and splash in the water and best of all,even though people wade through water,miss their trains and report wet to work,they always,always speak of the rains with a twinkle in their eyes.They do love it.True,they have their faults,but that's what love is.It transcends faults,barriers,hate,everything....a little bit of dirt is,after all, nothing in front of it....
Its raining again,and the open land behind my flat is beginning to form a pool.Soon there will be little paper boats floating in them....