A blanket makes one to enjoy winter

It was a typical rainy day in Mumbai. Anybody who has witnessed a monsoon in Mumbai knows the intensity with which the rain dates the city. Rain seems all the more stimulating at IGIDR (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, www.igidr.ac.in), which is built on a mountain top in such a way that the topography of the mountain is not compromised with. In the words of Mr U C Jain, the chief architect of IGIDR –

the institute was never built as a building with four walls and a roof. Porosity is important as it responds to the hot and humid climate, and gives the required openness and visual linkage.

Standing on the corridor of IGIDR, I was listening to the rhythm of pounding rain and getting moistened with fine drops rebounding from the concrete. This hybrid color of the wall of rain with the red building, green grass and blue sky in the background was making a literary scene.

My affair with rain took a pause when I saw Satish on staircase struggling to fold his umbrella. As he came close I found him completely drenched. Umbrellas are poor fellows. When they were manufactured they were told that they would be only used as a shield against rain, but certain rains come with wind. Mumbai rain is one of those. That has made Satish a victim who could only save his head. As I took Satish inside to give him a towel, Satish said “such a nasty rain”.

Satish was right. The scene of Dharavi in rain appears in front of my eyes. The same rain, which I was enjoying a moment ago, actually acts as a villain to million of slum dwellers. For many low laying houses rain enters inside the homes, the people therein have no option than settling temporarily in some neighbouring house which is somewhat at higher level. On a rainy afternoon, if one passes through a lane of any slum, it seems life of the residents is no better than life of domesticated animals. Pavement dwellers have more pathetic life like that of stray dogs.

The art of life has its own place. The rain can be enjoyed only if one has a secured roof. Otherwise the most pleasing pursuit of nature would look atrocious. Even in daily life our enjoyment is conditioned to the comfort cushion of secured feeling. Before I conclude, let me give couple of more examples.

I was travelling via sleeper class train from Mumbai to Rourkela with my cousin and one of my friends. We had three seats booked for us, but we spent the whole time in one seat (side lower berth) swallowing the cool air in a rainy night, playing Antakshari and talking on random topics. In morning, my cousin remarked that our other two seats were waste! Yes, it may seem wasteful as throughout the travel it carried a small baggage or scattered newspaper or a magazine. But on the second thought, I realized that our unbound happiness was pegged to the those unused seats as we were sitting in one seat 'voluntarily', under our free will. Not under any compulsion. Voluntary discomfort is pleasing; where as compulsory ones are severely painful. You might have expereinced or witnessed such compulsory adjustments during travel.

I had a similar experience with one of my ex-colleagues. He was on a one-day Bangalore trip for personal reason and did not have sufficient money in his account for any emergency need. I gave him my ATM card. He returned from Bangalore and returned me the card with a 'thank you' note. But the card was not used even once, and not a penny was drawn from my account. I told him that perhaps I did not deserve a "thank" as my card was not used for any purpose. But his opinion that the card had served its purpose. It gave the required financial security, and kept him relaxed throughout the journey.

'Security' is indeed very important in life. It is a precondition to enjoyment. It is like a blanket in winter, which we can embrace tightly or loosely as per our freewill to enjoy the climate.