Rain in Chennai

Its raining again in Madras (chennai). Its been about a week since i landed here, and the climate was surprisingly cool and pleasant. I was beginning to enjoy the current trip and then the rain starts. The rain is good. But this time, it appears that it is going overboard. We havent had decent rains in Madras for a long time, and so this is like a breather. But the city is just about recovering from the last bout of rains.


I was up and about this Sunday, and noticed long queues near the ration shops (Public Distribution Centers). People were collecting what the Govt had given out as aid. Some clothes, rice and few essentials. The queues were exceptionally long, specially in this day and age. Meaning when there exists computers and other technology to help people avoid this wait. But i am sure people know their Govt better and rather trust some person who they can shout at, instead of a letter or appointment card asking them to come at a certain time and date. And when you turn up, there is no one to receive you. To me it brought some memories of my childhood, when we had to wait it out, get sugar and kerosene, because there was a time when these things were is short supply and the price in the free marked, was beyond what my parent could afford.

Things have changed in India, we are out of the clutches of the ration shops. But there are still 1000s who are impacted by it. With all the different revolutions (IT, white, green, etc.) run amok in the country, there are still large chunks of people who are completely untouched by it. Hope the Govt takes note and attempts to understand the economic impact from all aspects before proceeding full steam ahead.

Tags: india, ration, rain, chennai, economy