Traffic lights and Cricket on Rainy Days

I love rain but as a marketing professional, that the world thinks I am, one has to believe in the following three rules for rainy days!

Rule 1: Light coloured trousers.
By some strange combination of luck and unfortunate coincidence there is just that one light colour trouser in the dresser that has to be worn to work. The combination more often than not comes in shades of beige, cream, off-white, dull brown and pale khaki. All of them look great while wet and splashed with grime around the ankle and few feet upwards.

Rule 2: Field Day
However hard one tries, there is that inevitable commute to all possible locations the entire day. The work itself if indoor gets done at record speed and there by adds to the out door time. When it rained the other day, my boss found out my secret mantra to save all the field work for the rainy days.

Rule 3: Traffic light count meter
This rule works if and only if one commutes on a motorcycle. One always happens to catch the short amber and the subsequently long red. Amidst all these drama, the lucky bloke catches the fleeting glimpse of what is there of the green. One remembers the sum of all red lights waited at and the grand total of the seconds (that always happens to run into minutes) under the unabashed fury of the rain god.

When all seems lost if simple precautions like rain coats are forgotten there still is a glimmer of hope on these rainy days.

With a slight drizzle, on a pitch that holds well, the batsman takes guard on the leg stump. He wipes away the last droplets of rain from his forehead and prepares to face the rushing fast bowler. For all that it was worth, the bowler dishes out a full length ball on the fifth stump line. With a large smile painted from one ear to the other, the batsman obliges. With a flourish, quickly on to the front foot, he launches himself in to a glorious cover drive. Wastes the first of the next four seconds to complete the all important follow through and an nod of satisfaction, proceeds to waste the next thinking if only Rahul Dravid got to see this one, and the third wondering why his team mate is screaming half way down the pitch and the last one realising that there is a single that can still be pinched. In the ensuing casual trot to the other crease, a clean fielding effort combined with a razor sharp throw and the swift removal of the bails, amidst a last moment dive to ground the bat, the field umpire is now put in a spot of bother. These days technology comes running to the rescue as soon as the third umpire is signalled for. There is just the two bulbs, green and red. After being there at red for a long time it finally turns green, much to the delight of the batsmen. The customary cheer from the audience is missing only to be replaced by a dozen honking horns. Excuse me now...Honking horns in the middle of a cricket pitch? That is when I opened my eyes to the green traffic light and the fourth rule.

Rule 4 : Dozing of at the wrong time.....