Natural disasters are God's way of telling us that, boss, whatever you might do, the day I decide to teach you a lesson, you will jolly well sit down and listen to me!! And nowhere is this more true than in Bombay - its finally official that part of the reason for Bombay suffering such widespread devastation in the continuing rain story, is that we have snatched acres away from all the catchment areas to reclaim land and build more apartment blocks and buildings, leaving no place for excess rainwater to drain; have cut down mangrove forests, thereby removing the city's natural barriers against the elements; and in general, created such a congested city with every inch being built-up, narrow roads and antique drainage systems, that such a tragedy was simply waiting to happen.

Nature also happens to be the greatest leveller - in the last few days, it really did not matter whether you were a slum-dweller, an office executive, head of a huge business empire or a sparkling Bollywood star. Everybody was stuck on the road as equals....Aamir Khan, Nita Ambani, John Abraham, Rani Mukherjee....these are some of the big names who just had to live it out on the roads like everybody else. In other times, maybe an ultra-rich industrilaist like Nita Ambani would have pressed the buttons on her cell phone and called in her helicopter to lift her out of the mess...but what to do when cell phones are not working and the choppers simply cant take to the skies??

Although, have to give kudos to Nita...when she found out that her school kids (she runs Dhirubai Ambani International in Bandra) were likely to get stuck in the traffic jams, she rushed her commandoes to retrieve them and put them up in an extremely comfy hotel. She herself left the safety of her plush mansion at the height of the downpour to rush to their aid, and was consequently stuck in Mahim till the wee hours of the morning. There are few who would be so dedicated!