This morning, it seemed quite cloudy, but it didn’t rain up to nearly 6.30am, so off I went for my walk…and at 7 am, when I was in the middle of Forest Park, and the only shelter was the trees under which one must NOT shelter in a thunderstorm, it broke.

There was an incredible amount of wind; it got up so suddenly. (Of course, there wasn’t the kind of dust that is stirred up by such a storm in Bangalore). The scudding clouds massed together, and the rain began..in large drops, and then harder and harder.

Then the hail began. Small pebbles and large ones struck the grass and the path, and I was finding them so amazing that I just stood still for a while as they dropped in their thousands, all around me. I tucked MLC2 into my jacket (which is mainly rainproof), turned my umbrella back outside in (I do take an umbrella with me all the time, that’s what saved me from utter drenching)…and walked on.

The lightning was terrific. The dark skies lit up in huge flashes of light, and I wished I had the courage to take the camera out and leave it outside long enough to try and get a shot of the lightning, like this

wonderful shot

by

(who no longer posts on LJ) Well, obviously not like that, but at least, capture ONE of those ribbons of electricity...but I didn't want to literally drown the S10, so it remained within my jacket. The hail stopped, but the thunder and lightning put up their awe-inspiring display while I slowly walked back against the wind and the sleeting, heavy rain, across the sodden grass, under the swaying trees that were shedding their leaves in the gale. My shoes were squelching wet, and my umbrella dripped five cataracts....but I was so caught up in the storm that I did not think about it until later. As I neared the roads, and came near an intersection, it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps my family had woken up and might be wondering where I was; but I decided that they would not know where to hunt for me; I rarely take the same route each day, on my morning walks. I walked home, still wrapped up in the storm...and when I opened the front door, A and KM were very concerned, and D had woken KM up to ask if I was still sleeping; they found I was not in the house (usually everyone else wakes up at least an hour and a half after I get back) and he took the car and went hunting for me. Where he went, I don't know, poor guy, where did he think I might be? I think I wasted a LOT of his time. I called him up immediately to tell him I was home safe; KM made piping hot coffee for me, and (once I had changed from my soddenly dripping clothes) A put down her baby, and gave me a nice hug. Nature's fury still had me in thrall, and it was a while before my mind joined my body inside the calm, dry warmth of the house. MOTS (Moral Of The Story): I won't go out without the mobile again. When it is needed, it's just not worth giving so much trouble and worry to others.