the stormy city...

I woke up with a bad dream. I saw that a bad tsunami had hit the Pondicherry coast, leaving many dead. I in fact saw dead bodies up close in my dreams. When I woke up and looked out of the window, it was dark, gloomy and raining. I looked at the watch - I was waking up 30 mins later than usual. Brother and wife were still sleeping. I decided to check things for myself. I freshened up, picked up the camera, the umbrella and stepped out. unlike yesterday, the roads were deserted today. not a soul to be found. slowly, I kept walking towards the beach, looking around at the crossing of streets for people. I felt relieved and glad to see people walking and standing by the beach. there were less people than yesterday but still, there were people - alive. balancing the umbrella between my shoulder and neck and the camera with the hands, I took some shots on and off as I took a short walk on the beach. this was going to be our last day in Pondicherry today and we had plans of visiting Auroville. but looking at the rain and the weather, it didnt seem feasible. I went back to the guest house, woke the other two up and sat for a cup of hot coffee. breakfast was necessary and the rain had just got heavier. we picked up the two umbrellas we had and headed for the bakery that we had spotted on day1. it is almost impossible for two people to remain dry under a single umbrella in such heavy downpour. we managed to keep ourselves waist up. the breakfast was loaded with croissants and chocolate, followed by a warm cup of coffee again. yesterday's breakfast was at the legendary Indian Coffee House. It was good but didnt match the magic of the coffee house in Kolkata. stuffed, we returned back to the guest house, getting wet again in the rain. we were welcomed with smiles and laughter by the host and the other guest family at the guest house. and that marked the end of the trip. about an hour later, we were in the bus heading back to Chennai from where we would catch our bus to Hyderabad later in the evening.

these short trips can be a real breather. need to have more of these...