There are a few things that happen like clockwork a month or two before the monsoons arrive. First, the meteorologists who have predicted when the rains will hit and how good or bad they will be, start to backtrack. The arrival and quality of the monsoon are both left open to debate because accountability and transparency are both alien qualities in Maharashtra. We are all left tracking the progress of storm clouds as they drift across Kerala and Goa.

Second, promises made by the BMC a year ago start to arrive with caveats and excuses, because we are gently informed that the Mithi that was supposed to be cleaned hasn-t really been cleaned well, sewers that were supposed to have been clear may still be clogged, and stormwater drainage systems that have been in the process of being built since our grandparents were in diapers are yet to function the way they are supposed to.