5 min readJul 19, 2026 10:52 AM IST First published on: Jul 19, 2026 at 10:52 AM ISTThe rains have never fazed anyone in Mumbai. No matter how heavy and continuous the downpour, life went on. People donned their Duckbacks, put on their gumboots, clutched on to their umbrellas and got on with their day. Back when we were students, if our car got stuck in water, we (in our pristine school uniforms) used to gleefully get out and push, arriving at school late, wet, muddy, bedraggled and gloriously happy.Of course, days of nonstop deluge could (and still do) cause havoc on the Bombay locals, often forcing people to get down and walk along the flooded tracks, but it was all par for the course. At night, studying by the light of a goose-neck lamp in the otherwise dark and vast veranda, I used to listen to the wind and the rain hammer at the large bamboo chicks making them slam back and forth like the sails of some ancient sailing warship. This, too, was when millions of termites used to take their single nuptial flight – and fly straight into the lamp, shedding their gossamer golden wings as they wriggled about and got themselves roasted. (No, I did not sample them!)