THE CHENNAI  DELUGE

Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink, this quote so famous
Hearing this casually, you may not know exact depth of this chorus,
This month of December, Chennai taught us its true volume and fate,
What a lesson, a rude shock, scenes all gory, in an unrelenting spate.

The State encore, ever  lamenting that rain gods are often niggardly,
Never getting their due, year after year seeing draughts in regularity
This monsoon is their breadwinner on the fields, oft they too yearn,
Being on the eastern side, their monsoons always an annual sojourn,

Every ten years to be precise, their  rain gods  get irked, and  furious,
First of December, this city shook, despite the forecast so vicarious,
Nature at its furious worst, not rained, but poured with vengeance,
Havoc in pursuit, the normally polite and busy city now in shambles.

The rulers shell shocked both in office and of it, remaining in mute,
The state gasped, people pell-mell, water rising, an alarming chute
Transport services beheaded, on the road, rails, and on the air too,
Planes appearing as submarines, even the flyovers under the threat.

The busy Mount road, instead, floating boats for the rescue mission,
Cars, mopeds, autos besieged under torrential flow, swept in unison,
Houses lost their identity, people, penniless, hopeless and homeless
All modes of help, TV, phones, mobiles, power, dead and functionless.

The fury of the rains unabated, Chennai became an island of agony,
Pray the god to rebuild Chennai to the beauty it  beheld ,in glory
All the brains should use their cells to prevent this mishap again,
Shrewd planning the need of the hour, an eye opener for future gain