We talk of technical advances. We talk of technology being so advanced that the whole wide world is only a 'global village.' We are proud that we can, instantly, communicate with people anywhere in the world. And if we want to meet them, the technology exists to travel to any part of the world in a few hours. The world has 'shrunk', we say.

And then, once in a while, Nature reminds us that She (why 'She,' I will never understand, but it somehow seems appropriate) is not the benign giver we would like to believe she is. A few days of rain - not a storm, but a continuous drizzle, the heaviest it gets being a steady, nerve-wracking blatter and life everywhere is thrown out of gear - public transport breaks down, roads disintegrate, "low-lying areas are inundated," the power supply becomes erratic - the list goes on and on.

All our technology, all our advaces, all our smug assertions are literally washed away.

In the villages, life goes on as usual.

Cheers.