When the weather plays truant

In the tropics, there are three fixtures in a person’s life – humidity, heat and umbrellas. And if one is not prepared, more often than not, the weather can catch you unawares.

I was readying myself this afternoon to leave for a meeting. The sky grew dark in a matter of minutes, and it started raining heavily. I had no choice but to brave the rain, all the time praying that I could get a cab to get me to the meeting on time.

I carried a huge black umbrella, and walked at a fast pace. The rain, however, was lashing away, and I was completely drenched below the knee. Fortunately, a cabbie stopped for me, and I was on my way.

Courtesy – http://www.123rf.com

The cab’s aircon caused my teeth to chatter. About midway, the cabbie and I realized that the rain had stopped; in fact the sun was blazing away. We laughed about it.

When I reached my destination, the pavements were dry, and it was as hot as ever.

And imagine this. I got down from the taxi and walked into a meeting, fully drenched below the knee. I was wearing a light coloured trouser, so the contrast between the colours above and below my knee was quite obvious.

One of the people I was to meet joined me at the reception desk, and found it hard to believe that it was raining so heavily in another part of town. Even I had problems believing it!

I looked like I had waded across a pool or something to get there.

And believe me, I was so thankful to be seated! Hmmm…