aquaplaning

the much-awaited first rains were 2 days ago, on thursday. but surprisingly, this time there wasn't the much awaited petrichor, or scent of the first rain on dust. probably because of a drizzle 2 days before, which left my bike coated with a layer of muck within the 2 brief minutes that it lasted.

anyway. back to the first proper rain. as usual, there were reports of rain from other parts of bombay, culminating with mom looking out at the terrace and declaring that it has finally arrived.

i didn't waste a minute.

last year, the first rain was such a brief spell, that by the time i called nickolai and took my bike out, it had pretty much stopped.

this time, thankfully, it was different. nickolai was studying for her exam the next day, and the rain was mroe a torrent than a drizzle. 10 seconds on the road on my bike, and i realized i could barely open my eyes against the gusty downpour. fun times.

so yeah, i got drenched, passed teenagers dancing and frolicking in the rain, scouted the colony and areas around for puddles to splash through (this is probably the only time you can splash bystanders without affecting your karma, after all!), and finally found my share of rainy bliss.

unfortunately, the neighbourhood vada pav guy shut shop with the rains (he probably hadn't carried his huge umbrella), but there was toasted bun-maska and chai waiting for me at home to make up for it.

anyway, what was the most fun part of the ride (after the splashing through puddles bit, of course)?

attempting to engine-brake hard on a downhill sharp left turn, and doing a nice 90 degree spin. but no feet on the ground. yesh, my bike's tyres can now be proclaimed bald.

i love the rains.