The Umbrella Unfurled

"One day it started raining, and it didn't quit for four months. We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain, and big ol' fat rain, rain that flew in sideways, and sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night."  - Forrest Gump in the movie, Forrest Gump

The forecast called for rain the other day. While it is not a long walk from the parking lot to the office building, it is long enough to drench you if the rain is more than a drizzle. So I had to carry an umbrella with me. The first rain of the season always sends me hunting for one in the closet. And the search this time went something like this.

The first one I found had a faulty spring and would not close. The second one was supposed to be wind-proof - it will not get inverted in strong gusts - but the two overlapping layers were no longer overlapping and it looked as though it would not offer much protection. I asked my wife where the good one was but she informed me that there was no good one. So I had to settle for the lesser of the two evils so to speak. There was a time when such umbrellas would have been repaired and put back into service. As the rainy season approached, you would see the door-to-door repairmen on the streets. There were shops too that specialized in repairing umbrellas. I don't think the idea even exists today.

Two days after my futile search for an umbrella in working condition, I saw a large umbrella for sale at the store. I decided to get it. It looked commodious and sturdy. It was supposed to be a golf umbrella. I briefly wondered why a golfer would want to carry one at all. Obviously you cannot swing a club while holding the umbrella. But why play under such conditions carrying what is nothing short of a lightning rod?

Anyway, I was impressed by how it felt in my hand and the coverage it would provide. So I bought it and walked out. I had some slight misgiving when I threw the umbrella on the back seat of the car. It seemed to occupy the entire width of the seat. Was it too large? And when I got home and my wife reminded me that we already had a patio umbrella in the backyard, my misgiving increased. I subjected the umbrella to the critical eye. It was enormous. It looked like a tent when opened. One could take it to the beach and secure it to the ground and place a couple of chairs under it to take cover from the sun. Or one could jump off a plane and use it as a parachute. But there was no way I could operate it getting into a or out of the car without getting me and the inside of the car seriously wet. While a normal sized one would fit by the driver's seat for easy access, this one will need to go in the back. If there are people sitting there then I will have to put in the trunk. I think I have to take it back to the store.

Umbrellas used to have wooden shafts. They tended to be lighter than the newer ones which have steel shafts. In a thunderstorm, the wooden shaft is definitely safer (some of you may remember my ordeal in a bad storm - if not, you can read it here: Summer Tempest). The design of umbrellas has undergone lots of changes in recent times involving aerodynamics and aesthetics but there are two basic types of umbrellas - the original and the newer collapsible kind. Personally, I prefer the original. It is easy to close and get the clasp around it once you get indoor from the rain. It can double up as a walking stick when it is not raining or even as a means of self defense. The folding kind does not neatly fold but sort of just sprawls if I can call it that. By the time you gather the folds, it creates a puddle around your feet. It cannot be placed in a traditional stand either. But once tied up, it is compact. You can even put it inside your briefcase. In other words, it is great when not in use.

The automatic models offer some advantages. For instance, when you are getting off a bus, you could stretch out your hand and with the push of a button gain instant protection as you land on the pavement although I would be careful when I was in a crowd. Nothing stirs up emotions like an umbrella bursting open in your face!

I have debated the relative merits of using an umbrella and wearing a raincoat. When I lived in Bombay, I always preferred an umbrella during the monsoon. The raincoat caused one to sweat in all that humidity and it got too warm inside one. When you got into the bus or train, people did not  appreciate the raincoat depositing water on the seats. Besides when the rain flew in sideways as Forrest Gump eloquently put it, your face was going to be hit with sheets of water. Even with a hood, water was going to get into the raincoat. The umbrella on the other hand, created a dry zone around your head. And when the rain let up every now and then, it was hard to take off the raincoat while you could just fold up the umbrella. On the minus side, you had to carry the umbrella and if you were holding it up for a long time, your arms could get sore.

There are times when no umbrella can provide cover from the rain. I remember one such occasion from my years in Bombay. The trains were running very late. Upon seeing the sea of humanity seemingly stranded at the station, I decided to take the bus and made it about half way to work. After about a slow forty-five minute ride, the bus stopped and dropped everyone off as the road ahead was impassable. And then it started really pouring sending me scampering for shelter which I found under the awning of a storefront with about fifty others. For the next hour or so we had the big ol' fat rain. There was nothing one could do but wait. When the rain let up, it was quite clear that there was no going ahead. I had to find my way back home but that adventure took another hour and a half involving the bus, a taxi and an auto rickshaw. I also had to wade through ankle deep water getting my shoes soaked. But I was back in time for lunch!

After that, whenever the train service was disrupted, I made no heroic attempts to get to work. I would just return home.