Cling Cling and dum dum

I have never missed having a camera feature in my phone...But I really did.... that day.
I was leaving from the office at 3.30. My eyes were still getting used to the bright sunshine after the prolonged rains of 3 to 4 months. My mind was still worrying about the work that I had left half way and planning for the next day had already begun. The joy of leaving early from office was definitely lost. I started walking, with my head down, as much due to the work blues as due to attentiveness that you have to have on the Mumbai roads to spot the puddles and open manholes.
And suddenly somewhere beyond the song that was blaring into my ears through the radio earphones, I heard a drum beat. Then another one and then one more. I looked up and for the first time actually acknowledged the reason why I was leaving early. Trying to locate the source of the drums I started looking beyond my line of sight.
I increased my pace, and even my steps automatically synced with the drum beat. I knew where it was coming from. There were buses and cars and of course sea of people blocking my view. And then I caught the glimpse of the Elephant God, towering above all of these own creations of his. My ears started catching the jingle of the bells and manjira. As I crossed the signal, picture became clearer and colorful. The colorful nine yard sarees followed by the turbaned men and little children clad in white kurtas. Men walked with the beats banging the bamboo sticks they had in hand. Children did the traditional "Lezhim". While ladies with manjira joined the chorus of slogans requesting the Lord to stay longer.
Moving at slow pace along with the deity on wheels, it was not long before I caught up with them. The tar road was hidden in the red colored dust and as I bowed my head before the beloved God of this city I became one of them. The radio was lost in the noise that I did not consider noise any more. Walking past the procession, and observing it I was lost in the moment. I wished I had walked slower, coz the procession had ended and the beats were lost. Bollywood number from the radio had overcome the drums again.
But with a slight smile on my face, office and sun was just a memory.