Hi! I am back with a personal and unfiltered version of the newsletter which is not guided by any topic but by my own experience. It is more like the first version of the newsletter which I sent as a mail. Do reply to this if you want to read that one.

It was a Sunday evening. The clock showed 5pm. Clear skies made meteorogical predictions seem like the reviews of Times of India for the worst films of the year- biased. I assessed the online app of Accuweather which showed only 30% of precipitation. I decided against my better judgement to experiment and go on a long ride on a bicycle to burn some calories and have a good time.

A foreboding sign was that the bicycle did not have the correct air pressure. Bad omens? Not for rational people like me. I went ahead and walked some distance to fetch another cycle at a distance. I started cycling after some time and discovered a lost self of mine. A self that had forgotten to tweak his own mind and excavate the joy of riding a bicycle. As I did that, it started drizzling and I went to keep the bicycle. But all hail nature, who started the downpour in a fantastic fashion that I was drenched within no time. It was not the heavy rainfall but the drizzle that was quick-paced. I stopped by at a place in shade but to no avail. The rain continued for an hour and then I gave up. I parked the cycle and started my scooter to go home.

The raincoat proved to be almost useless. I was drenched in some time and I had no dry spot on me. The vehicle was all right until I reached a flyover. Water was trying to engulf me as it was taking revenge on me for not bathing for certain days due to pure laziness or stubbornness against my mother’s irritaion. ( Oh Karma, why you be so late?) It did not succeed but it definitely convinced my scooter to give up its functions. And here I was. Stuck in the middle of a flyover in water that is ankle deep. The flowing water was a sign to burn some calories. As I went ahead, a kind person asked if he could kick push the vehicle to a certain distance. I happily agreed and we went on for a while. I let him go thinking that kickstarting might help the scooter. It did work but only for some time. After some distance, I was back to the calorie burning process of pushing the vehicle to a distance. Someone came and helped me again. This process went on four times when I finally reached a place to keep my vehicle. And I walked ( Read semi-swam) to my place of residence.

As I walked, I thought about the things that happened. I thought why would people help in such times when their own vehicle might stop at any time. Why would they waste so much time pushing a nonfunctioning vehicle to reach even some distance ahead? It was then I realized that humans are bound to help others in times of distress. It is common to see people helping others whenever they can. I had almost fallen in a pothole with my vehicle and before I even realized that, I was being pulled back from that small hole. I came out unharmed.

Gratitude and joy filled my heart when I contemplated these things. A hope of humanity reassured my breaking expectations. Alas, this was not to last. Baam! A car passed me with a speed that would put Lewis Hamilton to shame. I was drenched. Again. This time, with some aftertaste and special effects too. If Picasso had seen my raincoat, he would have suggested me to put it in a museum because it had some abstract art. (remember some bizarre art being sold for 1 crore? Some paintings, some NFTS, Radhe movie on Zee5 and someone’s fart for some millions?)

Balancing out is what nature does best. The next day, I realized the scale of humanity was rather a spectrum. It only reaffirmed my idea of every human being having grey morals. Helpful when they can be, selfish when they want to be. The spectrum is skewed in some while balanced in others. Some do not have this spectrum or even balance. They are usually robots or better suited for rehabilitations/ asylums.

I tried to introspect and figure out where do I fall. Turns out, I have zero clue. The flooding day had no impact on my demeanour or attitude. I was chilled then. Feeling no anxiety, no nervousness, no hurry, no exhaustion, ( maybe a little, especially in the shoulders after pushing the activa for almost 1 or 2 kms.) I was zen. I still wonder if it is zen or is it just my pure indifference to things in general. To test it further, my phone had stopped working. This great discovery was the first thing that happened after reaching my place. No sadness, no fear. I was thinking of ways to communicate with my mother about my safety. Borrowed a phone and did that. I felt a sense of nirvana by not having the phone with me. I suddenly had spare time which I did not realize before. I also did not have any games to play. Mast kha pi ke so gaya main.

Next day, I woke up with doubt about whether the office was functional or not. And it was. The start of the same life with some differences. Cold, cough, and headaches. Should not have ignored the bad omens, right? Not really. Let me go cycle outside because there is another re(a)d alert. And let the trip to another city begin.

The customaries-

Someone, please gift me this T-shirt so that I can prank people on the roads.

Enjoy rains with this underrated beauty-

Let me know how this version was. Did you like it better than the topical ones or were they better? I had also asked for suggestions on instagram which would covered in the upcoming versions. Thanks ya!