A sinking feeling

Chennai had rains.

Now I understand why it is called a 'man-hole'!

Chennai also had dry days.

Then how come some roads are still a bit hyper, behaving like they've just participated in The Flood?

Roads are now a divided lot (like we need more excuses for divisive behaviour), riddled with arguments and comparisons.

Small puddles are being sniggered at by show-off roads, who're swanking around talking about how they tipped slushy water – with all those rollicking viruses – into homes.

"Well, humans don't bother to keep us clean or take care of us, so serves them right," they snap.

Other roads are gentler, tipping water out as quickly as possible, but even they admit humans' minds are hard to fathom.

"They have a designated 'Monsoon Season'," they murmur. "Helllooo – it doesn't take rocket science to figure some things out."

'So you'd think," the more cynical among them retort.

Potholes are muttering too.

"People falling in, tripping over…and I like the quaint conceit of the human who sticks a tired, wizened twig on the top of my head, and expects people to notice I'm there," says a particularly bad one, who's just had a two-wheeler go base-over-apex over it.

Symbolism is very effective – Life, roads and all that – we get it.

But authorities needn't take such a literal route to make philosophers out of citizens.