Anyone following the news knows that things have been bad in Himachal for the past few days. When the mobile and internet networks started working yesterday after over 48 hours of complete blackout, horror stories started pouring in.
We recently moved our operations base to Manali, so I happened to be here right in the middle of all the action. And I’m not going to lie, it has been quite bad. It rained non-stop for days. My neighbor who stopped by to check on me (Himachali people are amazing!) showed me how the river was completely overflowing and had ‘eaten’ into the highway (it was visible from our terrace).
Thankfully I was in a safe, comfortable space. I had enough food and water. But the best part? I had enough company. Our Manali office houses a small library with limited hours, but we decided to extend the hours when the blackout started (without electricity or the internet, there was absolutely nothing left for the kids to do. They couldn’t go outdoors to play and we’re getting bored and anxious at home). There was no way to pass on the message, but 4 kids still managed to drop in. We played carrom, scrabble and ludo. We read stories and practiced spelling. I personally read voraciously to keep myself sane – of course I had enough books thanks to our little library.
This picture was taken two days ago, once the sun was out after all the rains.