Meera's Rain'quote'

It's that time of the year when we discuss the most happening superhit release of this season at the box office - "Rain and the City"! Yep, its housefull everywhere because with the mad show-ers you're probably on house arrest. The window is perpetually shut because it's raining diagonally man! The rains seemed to have done their homework and learnt their maths well - they're calculated and do their bit just when you plan to step out of the house. Welcome to the mumbai monsoons - I can't help but mention the infamous bollywood dialogue, "Mumbai mein do cheezon ka thikana nahi, ek ladki aur doosri baarish".

Every year, come monsoons and come news channels with water logged Mumbai 'Images of the Day'. Though this is just the onset of the monsoons, last Friday it rained like it hadn't in a hundred years or so. After we wound up the show and celebrated the fact that Suren and I will not have to see each others faces for two whole days, we hopped in to our daily home drop vehicle. We'd just reached Matunga when our fancy Nepali cab fella turned back and very matter-of-factly said 'gaadi isse aage nahi jayegi'. We didn't give up as easily as he did and insisted on trying to figure some lane and by-lane to get to Bandra somehow - which we later realised were lame and by-lame to say the least. After doing a round-a-round and a couple of more, like haara hua juaris, we got back to the Mirchi studio and spent the night looking for food and drink. We managed couple of sandwiches and hot chocolate after ransacking the canteen - just to get fired by the pantry fella the next morning (Suren ate like he hadn't known food before this, or was it the sandwiches I'd made. Umm...)

Being in the thick of all this, we at Mirchi decided to start a blog with all sorts of details that would help you, me aur aavaam on a rainy day. I'm putting down couple of numbers which you can probably print-out and stick on your desk or study. Trust me, the rains never tell and come. So like Baden Powell said - Be Prepared!

Be nice, be useful and befriend!! Post other numbers, traffic details, etc. which you think can help combat the rains (yes, battling the rains in Mumbai is close to playing one of those on PS2. You got to get your strategy in place before-hand) Leave a comment and we'll take it from there. But in all this stress remember, rain - feel it on your finger tips, hear it on your window panes, coz loves coming down like rain...!

Some important numbers
For emergency complaints like building or wall collapses - 1916
Mumbai Traffic Helpline - 3040 3040
Fallen trees, short circuits or fire - 2308 5991

Electricity Complaints
South Zone - 2218 4242
North Zone - 2414 5888/ 2414 4891
BSES Ghatkopar - 2500 0770
BSES Goregaon & Malad (E) - 2840 2411
BSES Goregaon (W) - 2872 1312/2872 2743
BSES Andheri (E) - 2832 8321