Monsoon '98 - Lucknow

“Poor Rain”, the Met Office, announced.
Farmers tut-tutted and frowned.
Summer was hot intense and dry.
For water the land seemed to cry.
Monsoon ’98 came in torrents;
Washed away Met Office’s ominous comments.

The downpour endlessly continued
People everywhere sat subdued.
Most rivers were in spate;Flood victims bemoaned their fate.
Vehicles were stranded on roads
Our house was invaded by water, earthworms and toads

Life was by and large disrupted
Communication channels were interrupted.
In the Hills, they were landslides galore;
This raised quite a furor
My trip to Doon was cut short by the rain
Which deceptively washed away the track for the train.

Out of homes few ventured outside
While inch by damp inch water seeped inside
I was fated to get wet whether I went out or stayed in.
Unmercifully continued the loud din on roofs of tin
Wading in water knee deep,
I make a promise I plan to keep.

When the monsoons come next year,
Of getting wet, I won’t fear.
’Cause I ’ll be visiting the sands of TharWhere monsoon squalls seldom show their power.