CHENNAI DOES A RAIN DANCE
After 196 Days, When The Heavens Opened Up, City Shed Tears Of Joy; #Chennairains Trends On Social Media
Kamini Mathai & Komal Gautham | TNN
21.06.2019
It was almost as if time stood still at 3pm, Thursday, day 197 of the dry spell. As the skies broke into a drizzle, the city burst with joy. Office meetings came to a halt as people moved away from desktops towards rooftops. In school compounds, children danced outside classrooms when the skies opened up just as schools closed for the day.
The downpour was brief, scattered, and ended before sunset, but the outpouring of jubilation spilled onto the streets, overwhelmed social media networks and extended well into the night.
Puddles of water, tears of joy — the city celebrated as one.
Within minutes, there were more than a thousand tweets, snapshots and videos from different parts of the city. In no time #ChennaiRains was trending on Twitter in number one position across India. “It’s raining in Siruseri, Chennai. People are coming out and watching the rain like they have never seen it before,” tweeted Bharani Dharan from the IT corridor.
“When it started to drizzle, I couldn’t believe my eyes and I ran to the terrace of my house to experience it,” said R Kavya, a resident of Kelmabakkam, adding that all her friends went live on Facebook and other social media. “We had been waiting for this for such a long time. We danced in joy.”
In Velachery, a 34-year-old danced with abandon on his terrace, feeling “like a three-year-old who has never seen rain”.
In Shollingnallur, blogger Raghav showed how a “pond fills in less than two minutes from a powerful downpour”. A few kilometres away, in Kelambakkam, artist Parvathi Nayar was working with a few artisans when suddenly she heard a “strangely familiar sound” over the whirr of the machines. “It took me a few moments to realize it was the sound of rain hitting the metal roof of the shed we were in. I told everyone to stop their work so we could soak in the sight and sound of rain,” said Nayar.
Some even called their family and relatives to share their excitement. “My daughter called and asked me to treat her to sweets as she wanted to celebrate,” said Swaminathan, whose office is situated in T Nagar, which experienced a drizzle for just a few seconds.
But there were also a few who couldn’t do much but look longingly at the clouds. Residents of Teynampet, Vadapalani and north Chennai posted photos of cloudy skies, waiting for their turn to celebrate.
Messages on rainwater harvesting and conservation were also shared. “It didn’t rain very heavily and lasted only for a short time but let us conserve every drop. We have been asking all residents to clean their rainwater harvesting structures, sumps, tanks, and recharge pits to ensure that whenever it rains, every drop is conserved,” said Vijayaganapathi Annamalai, an IT employee who lives in Egmore.
MANNA FROM HEAVEN: When it rained after more than six months, the city did not take cover. They welcomed it, getting wet if not drenched
Weather models indicate isolated patchy rain in Chennai
Mahesh Palawat |
CHIEF METEOROLOGIST SKYMET
After 196 Days, When The Heavens Opened Up, City Shed Tears Of Joy; #Chennairains Trends On Social Media
Kamini Mathai & Komal Gautham | TNN
21.06.2019
It was almost as if time stood still at 3pm, Thursday, day 197 of the dry spell. As the skies broke into a drizzle, the city burst with joy. Office meetings came to a halt as people moved away from desktops towards rooftops. In school compounds, children danced outside classrooms when the skies opened up just as schools closed for the day.
The downpour was brief, scattered, and ended before sunset, but the outpouring of jubilation spilled onto the streets, overwhelmed social media networks and extended well into the night.
Puddles of water, tears of joy — the city celebrated as one.
Within minutes, there were more than a thousand tweets, snapshots and videos from different parts of the city. In no time #ChennaiRains was trending on Twitter in number one position across India. “It’s raining in Siruseri, Chennai. People are coming out and watching the rain like they have never seen it before,” tweeted Bharani Dharan from the IT corridor.
“When it started to drizzle, I couldn’t believe my eyes and I ran to the terrace of my house to experience it,” said R Kavya, a resident of Kelmabakkam, adding that all her friends went live on Facebook and other social media. “We had been waiting for this for such a long time. We danced in joy.”
In Velachery, a 34-year-old danced with abandon on his terrace, feeling “like a three-year-old who has never seen rain”.
In Shollingnallur, blogger Raghav showed how a “pond fills in less than two minutes from a powerful downpour”. A few kilometres away, in Kelambakkam, artist Parvathi Nayar was working with a few artisans when suddenly she heard a “strangely familiar sound” over the whirr of the machines. “It took me a few moments to realize it was the sound of rain hitting the metal roof of the shed we were in. I told everyone to stop their work so we could soak in the sight and sound of rain,” said Nayar.
Some even called their family and relatives to share their excitement. “My daughter called and asked me to treat her to sweets as she wanted to celebrate,” said Swaminathan, whose office is situated in T Nagar, which experienced a drizzle for just a few seconds.
But there were also a few who couldn’t do much but look longingly at the clouds. Residents of Teynampet, Vadapalani and north Chennai posted photos of cloudy skies, waiting for their turn to celebrate.
Messages on rainwater harvesting and conservation were also shared. “It didn’t rain very heavily and lasted only for a short time but let us conserve every drop. We have been asking all residents to clean their rainwater harvesting structures, sumps, tanks, and recharge pits to ensure that whenever it rains, every drop is conserved,” said Vijayaganapathi Annamalai, an IT employee who lives in Egmore.
MANNA FROM HEAVEN: When it rained after more than six months, the city did not take cover. They welcomed it, getting wet if not drenched
Weather models indicate isolated patchy rain in Chennai
Mahesh Palawat |
CHIEF METEOROLOGIST SKYMET
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