Mumbai #Monsoon2023

rains inevitably
trigger songs on playlists
masters from long ago
sing
about unrequited love
and alcohol
about things as they used to be
and how they are now
of opportunities missed
life passing us by
paper boats and
116 moon lit nights

some listen
oblivious of
the chaos outside
the noise cancellation headphones help
drown out
even the roar of the rain
the mist fogging up
on the windows
helps shut out
the reality
the muck
the apathy of the open manholes
the indifference of the choked nallah
the disappointment of weather reports
the slalom around potholes
the super dense crush load
now even afflicting the blue line

we discovered high tides in 2005
and then tracked them
for a few years
more roads created
more tunnels dug
since then
a cricketing city
we trust the law of averages
to keep us safe

all week
we are united in our misery
that the monsoon brings
on weekends
we hit the promenade
waiting for the sea
to throw up
our long forgotten dreams

most weekends
garbage is all we find
the sea
can do
only so much

photo credits — Bhawin Jagan, Yash Bhardwaj, Vishal Joshi and Sehajpal Singh — Unsplash