With the trains & buses going out of track, the city was begining to feel the grip of a standstill. Heavy rainfall followed by flooding in very many areas have sent jitters to the young unattended children, young girls, and most women.

We were at project site at MTNL-BKC, from the vendor's side. we could see that hundreds of school children, students, office goers had no place to go.

MTNL [Get Quote] (BKC) opened their gates to provide shelter to thousands of passerbyes, hundred of school children, some with their parents.. we had to walk down for a few kilometers and could finally manage to get some biscuits for our guests(mostly school children).

we provided a few mobile handsets to our guests so that they could communicate with their families in such time of distress.

I wonder where would a person go ?? wht are they supposed to do ?? wht steps would govt take, if any. am sure the shameless politicians would only be interested to do something if they get some milage from it.

don't you think this is no less than a 'tsunami'?

--Vivek Malhotra

This is Rizwan Coatwala working at Pali Naka, Bandra.On 26 i left my office at 6 pm to go to Bandra station for the harbour line as i stay at Sandhurst road.I went down my office waiting for the bus to come at the stop opposite to Pali Presidency hotel. Waiting,for more than half an hour i along with my friends and colleagues decided to go walking to the station. No rickshaws ready to stop. With great hardships we reached the station as there was huge traffic and a herd of people wanting to go towards the station. Most of them coming back with disappointment as the water was loddged everwhere.

One friend left to Andheri (East), two others left for Nerul. Another close colleague of mine wanted to go to Thane, he went towards the station and i was left alone in the middle looking out for some bus.

I saw some people climbing a truck with cement, i asked them. they told me that it will go to Byculla.I climbed the truck along with my bag. There were already 6 people,one middle aged man very much irritated ,there were students from Rizvi college and so on. I started feeling myself as Shahrukh Khan [Images] shooting for a movie similar to Swades [Images] at the top of the truck.

Slowly slowly the truck moved and marched towards the IOC building at Bandra. There we waited for 2 hours on the lorry but it started moving inch by inch,all the people on the lorry decided to get down.I told them that once the traffic is reduced the lorry will move.The irratated person said "bus kar ab." looking at the sky to Almighty. I said "Yeh to Allah ki rehmat hai Zehmat nahi. The whole indian economy is relying on monsoon ,if it doesnt rain for one year even an ordinary person like us get affected indirectly."

the people on truck alighted.I was sitting alone watching the people walking faster than any other man-made machine. School students were struggling to reach home as they were also stuck in their buses.

Suddenly the lights went off. Police vans started patrolling ,everywhere there was darkness except the lights of the vehicles. People atttended their call of nature. I was feeling cold my bag was wet,thanks to my mum who had put a raincoat in my bag.

I started getting petrified, i made a call at home that it will take me time to reach. I decided to get down and go back to look for some two wheeler. But all in vain. I decided to go back to my office for refuge.

While i was returning i came across an advertising van with the Banner "60% off" on United colors of Bennetton with lights focusing on it.In the darkness it provided light to the distressed public.

We enjoyed at the office and everyone made a call to their home informing their parents that they will wait in the office at night.

The next morning we got up at 5:30 and started looking for a cab at 6:30. Some of them were sleeping in their cabs, some were driving it,when enquired to hire, they started crying, "Kal raat se phasela hai, Hame Ghar jana hai par raaste block hai". We got back to our office waiting for the rains to stop and the water level to go down.

Akurli road in Kandivli seemed to have vanished under a the deluge of water that came rushing from the hills of the Sanjay Gandhi National park. Within a matter of minutes the nallas of Akurli road became raging torrents.

I have had this experience when the same thing had happened in 1997 but this was much more severe than that one.

Buffaloes were seen being washed along with the water.

We waded through the waist deep water through areas where the flow was less and reached the highway to find it jampacked as one side was under water and vehicles were using the other side to drive both ways.

We could see vehicles owners going towards Borivli stopping by the road to give lift to stranded people. We ourselves were given lift by a person going to fix a mobile network problem in mira road.

After taking 2 lifts and walking, we reached borivli station to find all trains are cancelled. Called up all my relatives to give them the information and advised them to stay in office rather than being stranded on road as we had encountered people on highway who had walked from Andheri.

But i want to give credit to the Mumbaites -- giving lifts to people, standing near drains to warn people, helping old people cross water logged roads -- they have shown that the spirit of Mumbai will never be affected by calamities that come upon Mumbai.

--Prasad S Patil

Its 8.49 a.m. and i am still on the computer surfing desperately to see any single mail of my husband who is stuck up in his office since yesterday. Its been more than 24 hours since he left for the office. last I could hear his voice was at around 9 pm yesterday that too through my neighbor's reliance mobile as my orange phone is not working. Thanks to IT department and rediff.com, I might approach him through mail/this message.