Luckily, at this very moment, I am thousands of miles away from Mumbai, watching videos of roads that have turned into rivers, cars bobbing about like reluctant boats and commuters wading through water with expressions that suggest they have finally accepted that fish have better transport facilities than humans.
I must confess I am rather relieved I am not there.
The amusing part is that just a week before I left, everybody was talking about something entirely different.
The city was dry. Reservoir levels were low. Newspapers carried anxious reports.
Conversations ended with, “We really need rain.”
Prayer meetings were held. People sincerely asked God to send showers upon the city.
Apparently, He listened.
The only problem is that nobody seems to have believed He would do so!
There is an old story I never tire of telling. During a terrible drought, a church announced a special prayer meeting for rain. The hall filled with people who prayed passionately. They pleaded with God. They quoted Scripture. They sang hymns about His faithfulness.
Then a little boy walked in carrying an umbrella.
Everyone laughed.
“What is that for?” they asked.
The little fellow looked surprised.
“Aren’t we praying for rain?” he replied. “I thought God would answer.”
It is remarkable how often the smallest believer has the biggest faith.
Sometimes I wonder whether Mumbai’s preparations reflects our prayers. We asked for rain but behaved as though the skies had misplaced our request. Drains remained clogged. Water channels seemed to have forgotten they were meant to carry water. Low lying areas behaved with astonishing consistency by flooding exactly where they always flood.
Perhaps Mumbai needs to remember that faith is not merely asking. That faith is preparing.
When a farmer prays for a harvest, he also ploughs the field.
When a student prays to pass an examination, she also opens the textbook.
When we pray for rain, perhaps we should also clear the drains, repair the pumps, inspect the floodgates and expect that heaven will actually respond.
Faith is expectation put into action.
The little boy’s umbrella preached a sermon far greater than many sermons delivered from pulpits.
He believed his prayer would be answered.
Maybe that is the question the floods asks Mumbai today.
When you prayed, did you really believe God heard you? Or were your prayers simply hopeful speeches directed toward the ceiling?
The next time we ask God for something, perhaps we should quietly carry our umbrella.
After all, there is no point praying for rain if we are surprised when it falls, right?
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
Very well said! I must remember that story of the boy with the umbrella.
I left Mumbai, a place of my ancestors, in 2007. Every monsoon – when the images of Mumbai are pasted all over the place – my heart overflows with gratitude that I was able to come away.
At the same time, my heart also cries for those millions who have no choice but to endure.
I am not a pessimist when I say this: I see no hope for Mumbai’s condition.
Profound, thought-provoking. The image of the little boy’s umbrella is a timeless reminder that genuine faith anticipates God’s answer and prepares accordingly.
I write this from chennai… Waiting for similar woes🥺
Even a drizzle creates huge puddles here…
The rains are not the problem. It is the corrupt, unaccountable, criminally irresponsible civic authorities whose sins of omission and commission lead to the monsoon horrors.
The Almighty says “You do your job, leave the rest to me”…. He does his job, early or delayed, but the BMC is never prepared for the onslaught, year after year it’s the same story. And the residents bear the brunt no amount of protests make any difference, but those responsible laugh all the way to their illegal banks overseas…..
There is the act of nature/act of God and then there is the act of corrupt politicians. This kind of downpour merits some kind of flooding agreed, but some kind not the kind we see. Trees falling because the trees have their roots mangled, chopped and surrounded by concrete. Drains clogged because of plastic bags. IMD predictions a joke, a 25 year old student who accesses the internet has more accurate predictions than an organisation that has radar machines and satellite data at their fingertips. Roads riddled with potholes because of corruption. An island nation like Singapore which has rains throughout the year has better roads, flooding happens but clears in a couple of hours. Why don’t we have that, money is available but it goes to the wrong places.
So true… If we asked for the rains, we should carry an umbrella too… Such a deep Insight!!