A Walk In The Rain

You’d think I am the sort of person who listens at least to myself.

For the last one week I have been telling myself that I should carry my umbrella in the morning when I go to work. It rains every evening and I have a proper 15-20 minute walk distance between my flat and the bus stop. So if it rains, I kept telling myself, I am going to get soaking wet and catch a cold.

But did I listen to myself? Absolutely not.

And then, it rained yesterday.
Now, the logical thing for anyone to do at that point will be to get an autorikshaw and go home rather than walk in the raining, cold dark night.

But did I do that? Absolutely not.

I got down at the bus stop, and decided to run back home.

But am I fit enough to run? Absolutely not.

So I ended up doing this weird power-walk/jog/run/cover-head/try-to-not-get-hit-by-a-bus thing and I saw this girl coming opposite me. This rockstar was walking in the pouring rain like she owned the place.

It was cold. It was dark. It was wet. It was uncomfortable AF. The rockstar girl however looked like she was taking a stroll under the nice warm sun in some Goan beach. She was enjoying the rain.

And then I felt shame kicking in. Here I was , on a Friday evening, trying to run away from something childhood me would’ve killed for – walking around in the rain! So I decided to join ranks with Rockstar Girl and slowed down, stopped covering my head and looked up at the dark sky.

It was pretty cool to just walk in the rain, without a care in the world, enjoying the walk, the feel of rain drops on my face, nice cold breeze…

Up until the damn chill starts getting into your bones. Like seriously, I felt my findernails freezing. And then the men on the streets…
WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH MEN AND STARING AT WOMEN IN RAIN? The number of people who kept ogling at me was irritatingly high. More than just the usual stare, this was more like a “checking you out top to bottom to make sure we don’t miss anything” sort of a situation. And it’s not even like I was soaking wet and dancing around like Tip Tip Barsa Paani! Men, chill a bit. It’s only a girl walking home in the rain, not your wildest fantasies coming to life! Gawd!

Also there was this poop thing that bothered me. In the morning I distinctly remember seeing poop on the road (human/dog/both, it’s a mystery really) at various places. In the evening however, all of that was gone. So there are 2 possilities – either someone came and cleaned it up or it got mixed with the rain water and got on my feet mixed with the mud.
With my luck, the poop’s on me.

Then there were these vehicles who love splashing water on unsuspecting pedestrians. I didn’t get splashed only because another poor soul decided to walk past me at that point and got hit.
Lastly, I am definitely catching a cold or fever or something. I have this feeling. (Update: The feeling was right. But I am fine now)

Moral of the story is:

1. Even if you don’t listen to anyone else, listen to yourself. Please do!
2. Don’t look at random Rockstar Girls and decide to walk in the rain. For all you know, she might be some sort of reverse Daenerys Targaryen person who has immense control to withstand cold climate. You have no such skills, you will freeze to death. In poop mixed dirt.
3. Teach sons to stop ogling at women. It’s rude, it’s disrespectful and very very cheap.

Photo Courtesy – http://www.bustle.com/articles/22459-how-do-i-ask-to-be-dominated-a-5-step-guide-to-making-your-fantasy-happen, http://iamawsum.deviantart.com/art/Its-Raining-Cats-and-Dogs-346403680