I could make out from the tone on phone that she was trying to avoid me. Already she had made up her mind to leave the office and was reluctant from her tone to welcome me. She told me that she is busy in some meeting and so will not be able to meet me in the office.

The fact is that she does not want to meet me in the person. She comes many times to our office and spends time with her female friends-if they can be called so, because these women does not want to condenscend and keep everyone at the proper place. I have so many times invited her to see me whenever she drops into our office but she never does that. If by chance, she finds herself in front of me, she makes very lame excuses, which even any fool can see through. I think she has nothing in her mind yet seems reluctant and may be wastage of time which is available in plenty with her.

But you cannot force anyone. Can you?  It is impossible to fathom what is going on in a human mind. The whole existence of human beings hinges on the study of psyche of others. Some are more successful that others and are more succesful and affluent.

The vista has begun greening and looks clean with scant rains. This year, monsoon till now, is very weak. The clouds seem very lazy and seem to be in no hurry to pour waters on the thirsty earth. In the other times, it would have poured plenty of water from the skies. This year, it is occasional heavy shower and sometimes drizzle.

The grass has sprouted on the bald ground turning it from sepia tint to green carpet. Only small patches of bald land are visible. The trees seem washed and happy. When the strong winds blow, their branches dance into the air.

There is still no muddy water in the rivulets. There is no swelling of waters in them. Sea seems to be very remote and connected to the rivulets via a very thin cord of water. When the huge quanities of water will pour into the sea from these rivulets, high tides will push the water back and it will spill on to the land, the land which has been suffocated by the buildings, will not be able to cope with it and enter the homes and inundates the streets.

Monsoon has still not arrived in Mumbai although 20 days of June are already gone. Generally, it breaks in the first week. Nature these days is giving us warnings about our tinkering with it. In old times, I always thought that man is like a dust speck in the universe and thus cannot disturb the equilibrium prevailing in the mother nature. But now it seems that these infinitesimal contributions from specks can integrate into a big attack on the nature. Nature is forced to apply the self corrections. It punishes us all alike, not only the villains but all of us, reminding us that rest of us cannot stand away and watch mutely or turn a blind eye to what the villains are doing to nature. It is exhorting us all to stop playing the games which disturb the equilibrium.

We will have to sacrifice extreme luxury as is enjoyed by affluent countries. More the man adopts means for the comfortable life, more it is at the cost of disturbing the nature.

So, I am worried about the inordinate delay in the arrival of monsoon. It does forbode good. Presently, we are suffering intense heat, water shortage and consuming lots of electricity and generating lots of heat. In the aftermath, I am afraid there will be deluges and then we will be submerged in sullied waters. The benign aspect of nature as the nourisher of life is fast receding into oblivion. It will be so till we mend our ways and come closer to nature in a friendly manner.