On a rainy day docx
Bạn đang xem bản rút gọn của tài liệu. Xem và tải ngay bản đầy đủ của tài liệu tại đây (12.56 KB, 8 trang )
On a rainy day
This year, the summer season was unduly long and
extremely hot compared to past years. The average
temperature was between 25 degrees and 34 degrees
Celsius. Adding to the misery, the water consumption was
rising daily, sending an alarming hue and cry from the
authorities. The schools had re-opened. The scorching
sun and the stifling heat made our school life
uncomfortable.
One morning, just when the classes started, there was a
sudden darkness. We saw threatening black clouds
gathered in the sky. There were vivid flashes of lighting
too. Suddenly it started to rain. In the beginning, it was
only a drizzle; but soon the drizzle turned into a heavy
downpour.
The rain continued for hours. We regretted not bringing
our umbrellas. Some of my classmates rushed out to play
in the rain refreshing themselves with the cool air and rain.
The rain slowly receded and we all rushed out.
The plight of the bus commuters was of course pitiable.
Buses was late and overcrowded. Some of my friends
decided to take a walk in the cool weather instead of
standing in the long queue.
Nearing home, I saw children playing with paper boats in
the pool of water outside our center court yard.
It is exhilarating to watch pouring rain and even more
exhilarating to play in it. However, I was happy to be home
and to be relieved of my wet clothes.
Talk about a slow train journey.
There is only train plying from X to Y, I had no other
choice. The line is a narrow gauge. It passed through
farming country and it mainly carried farm produce,
although passengers were often using it too. At every
station on the way to be loaded and unloaded involving
much shunting which took a lot of time. It took nearly four
hours for a distance of 60 km.
I traveled once by that train. At first I could not believe that
a train (in this age) could go so slowly. I had to put up with
it. The train moved at a snail’s pace and one could almost
get down and get back on it. I did not try it because it was
not safe for such foolhardy experiments.
The train stopped to pick up baskets of eggs, hens,
vegetables and other farm produce. Naturally, those who
traveled by this wonderful train were farm workers moving
either form one estate to another or going to town for a
change. The train was not clean. The familiar sights of
newspaper and magazines were not found at the stations.
The stations on the way were manned by a skeleton staff,
the station master and the pointsman doing all the duties.
There are only two trains for the whole day and life to
them is boring.
The journey was interesting for me and I got down
whenever the train stopped to load or unload. There was
no milling crowd of color I could see. There was not even
a soft beverage to drink I could see. How they shunted the
wagons. It was interesting to see the people who came to
take their goods. There were all sorts of baskets, hampers
and baggages. One of the loading was done, the train
would start again and go on.
Since the train ran through farming country. I could see
farms all the way, with their gardens, poultry, cattlesheds
and granary. I couldn’t see any tall building. I could see a
calf looking with fear at the streaming train: a half of naked
boy goggling at the passing train and people engaged in
the farming activities.
