When asked about her memories of July 26, eight years ago, Lavanya Anand says that the day is etched in her memory as she survived such a calamity just a day before her birthday.
Through those darkest hours of her life, what shines through is the indomitable spirit of Mumbai and its people who extended a helping hand to their own.
On July 26, 2005, Lavanya was in office in Lower Parel when people were requested to leave for homes or safer areas. Not taking the warning seriously at first, Lavanya left work at around 3 pm alongwith her two female friends.
But the gravity of the situation hit them once they were out on the flooded streets. The three women could not find any mode of transport as all refused to go to Andheri. After some time, they managed to ask for a lift from a motorist who was headed that way.
"We were relieved to get a lift but it was scary to see the wheels of the car, a Matiz, completely submerge in water. The car somehow made its way through the flooded streets and it took us 3 hours to reach Kalanagar junction in Bandra. It was around 9 pm when we reached Kalanagar. Once there, the motorist asked us to get down as he couldn't go any further.
"All three of us got down in waist-deep water and couldn't see a thing as it was pitch black everywhere. One of my friends, who was just five foot, one inch-tall, went hysterical as she could not keep her head up in the water. So, we had to prop her up and wade through the dark waters," she said.
Since it was her birthday the next day, her mother called her up to wish as she was not aware of the situation in Mumbai. But Lavanya was so much in shock that she yelled at her mother and hung up.
She says that while she was not able to call her husband, she knew that he was safe as he was staying with his father in the town.
Recounting her ordeal, she says, "It was pitch black when the three of us started walking at 9 in the night. On my way I saw a dead cow floating in the waters and even hit something that seemed like a dead body. At that point of time, all I could think of was about getting on the Bandra flyover.
"It was midnight by the time we reached the juncture of Bandra highway and had no clue to what we would do next. It was around 12.15 am, when a man approached us and told us and asked us to accompany him to his house which was nearby. Despite hailing from Delhi and knowing that accpeting such requests from a complete stranger is a no-no, I decided to go with him."
"When we reached the guy's house, the ground floor was completely submerged and we had to swim through the waters to reach the floor above. When we reached the guy's flat, we found that he lived there with his wife and son. It was heartwarming to see how these people had accommodated not only their neighbours, but also three complete strangers like us in their one-room flat.
"We were given dry clothes and food. While one of my friends who was in a shock went to slept, my other friend and I kept talked through the night." she says.
The next morning, the three of them started for their homes and Lavanya says that it was miraculous how people at every point were trying to help them with medical aid and food.
"It was overwhelming to see how people were trying to help us at such a difficult time. At one point, we had to assure them that were were fine.
"I reached my home in Versova in the noon. Mobile phones were not working, so i called my husband up but i could not get through him. I made the next call to my mother and I just broke down at the sound of her voice. It was then that I realised the impact of the entire incident. Till then I was the one who had kept it together and worked out what to do next as my friends were in a daze. But after hearing my mother's voice, I realised how I had cheated death to see the light of the day," she says.
While nature showed its destructive face in the form of the floods, it also unmasked the humane side of the city, which remains hidden under the humdrum of every day life.
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