Unlike friend Anumita, who has made a habit of losing cellphones, my bad habit is losing umbrellas.
I have a very bad relationship with parapluies.
I have simply lost count of the numbers I have lost over the years. They are like the ball pens (where the hell do they go anyway?!).
In the six years I spent in Mumbai, I must have easily lost 3–4 every monsoon. In fact, in my last year in the city, I stubbornly decided not to buy yet another umbrella. So, there I was in the pouring rain, getting drenched to the bone. A small consolation was that when it pours, the umbrella can do precious little to protect. And so, I refused to buy an umbrella.
Even if I did, look at the odds : I’d leave it in the rickshaw, the local train, the office. Hell, I’ve even lost umbrellas which have slipped from my fingers (and I didn’t even notice). How absent minded can one get?
But giving this a little more thought, I have gathered that it’s probably not a case of absent mindedness. It’s a case of some bad karma I have with this very useful but crafty rain shielding device.
I actually love umbrellas. They’re colourful and add a dash of colour in the bleary rain drenched landscape. They come in different shapes and sizes. And different forms. And you can fold them in a dozen different ways. And of course, their usefulness cannot be underestimated.
For example, during a recent trip to Honnemardu, I noticed one of the team members, carrying this huge umbrella. I wondered to myself, “We’re going to get wet in the water anyway, why would we want an umbrella?†But I did realise it’s usefulness much later when we were dying for some dry skin and dry clothes in between the wet spells and Kripa’s nice big umbrella came into really good use. (Kripa, I am taking all my evil thoughts back :-)
Anyway, I finally relented and got myself a cute red and white striped umbrella the other day in Madikeri while on the way to attend this wedding. Of course, it hasn’t gotten opened yet.
I am now waiting for an auspicious moment that the heavens will open up and I will get a chance to use my cute little red parapluie.
But where the hells are the rains in Bangalore, I say?
Recently, I had been to Mumbai. The umbrella I had with me, broke within 5 minutes of mumbai rain :-) Got a new one.
Yeah, where are the rains in bangalore :-/
Posted by F e r r a r i | July 5, 2005, 8:14 pmAnita,
Will you be posting your review on “Sarkar”???
Posted by Naveen | July 6, 2005, 8:42 amShow some mercy on us bikers, especially bikers from the rainy-day-lakes Koramangala and BTM layout, and pray with us for the rain clouds to stay put over the fertile soils of the rest of Karnataka, and bless us with only tiny drizzles once in a while :)
Posted by Shom | July 6, 2005, 11:50 amHi Anita
I dont know if you have been already badgered with similar requests. I am doing a story on why women blog and trying to explore if women blog differently, and why. So wondered if you had stuff to tell me. I can send you a questionnaire, if you will let me know your email ID.
Posted by Vijayalaxmi Hegde | July 6, 2005, 4:33 pm:)…I am grinning. Eeeeeeeeee.…
My umbrella has a history. Will post abt it sometime next week.
Little red one huh!!..Well I had little brown one too..But it lasted only for a week. So I went back to old and sturdy one.
Posted by Kripa Shankar | July 7, 2005, 8:46 amAre all those umbrellas yours ?!!? No wonder you want it to rain !!
Posted by Vigvg | July 7, 2005, 11:34 amHi Anita..why don’t you prefer rain jacket?
Check the following link..
http://canadiankoreancouple.blogspirit.com/images/medium_umbrella.2.jpg
Posted by Gangadhar Ambati | July 7, 2005, 3:15 pmGood reading…just a couple of days i wrote about my losing tendencies on my blog…ur entry is quite similar…
Posted by Ullas Marar | July 9, 2005, 12:42 pmparapluies..I must remember that. It has a nice ring to it. I keep saying it again and again to see how it sounds but am not satisfied and have a feeling it should be sounded differently.
I tried the guttural accent the French have in American movies and it sounds better but still not quite…
Anita:
I have been reading your posts for about a month now and know you take French classes. Any pointers on how to contort my tongue/voice chords to make it sound right?
Posted by The Fat Oracle | July 10, 2005, 7:57 pm