Many Kolkatans woke up with a start early on Monday as flashes of lightning illuminated the night sky and claps of thunder reverberated across the city. Five Kolkatans shared their experiences with The Telegraph.
Adrita Sircar, 14th floor, Upohar MIG
My bed is next to the window. Around 4.40am, I woke up to a thunderous sound and saw through the window the whole sky was illuminated. The next moment there was pitch darkness. This continued for a while.
I was enjoying the experience but after a point I started feeling worried. Memories of Amphan came back. Lightning and thunder continued till around 5.30am, when suddenly everything became silent.
Debjani Mukherjee, 40th floor, Urbana, Tower 4
My daughters’ screams woke me up. The five-and-a-half-year-old twins were so scared because of the lightning and the deafening sounds. When we rushed to their room to comfort them, one of them said: “Megh-ra jhogra korchhe!” (The clouds are fighting).” I was scared, too.
Nitin Maheshwari, 33rd floor, Urbana, Tower 2
Initially, I thought there was an earthquake as the building was shaking. I was still groggy with sleep. It took me a few seconds to realise what was happening. I looked out the window. The sky was being illuminated on and off. For a moment, I thought the building would collapse.
My wife started shouting: “Kya hua, kya hua?” I calmed her down. The window panes were shaking. Luckily none cracked.
Dark clouds over The 42 in Chowringhee at 12.45pm on Monday.
Picture by Pradip SanyalManoj Sharma, 22nd floor, Rosedale Garden, New Town
Loud thunderclaps and successive flashes of lightning jolted me out of sleep around 4am. I immediately turned off the AC and looked out the window. What I saw sent shivers down my spine. The entire sky was being lit up by streaks of lightning bolts. The windows were shuddering with every rumble of thunder.
The vibrating window panes created an eerie sound even as the rain continued to beat against them. I immediately started jamming the rails with pieces of cloth. But the vibration continued even after that.
In the morning, residents rushed to the basement parking and deployed additional pumps to drain out the water.
Yash Tolani, 35th floor, South City, Tower 1
It was scary to be woken up in the early hours with such loud noises. The first thing I remember seeing through the window folds were flashes of lightning. I immediately switched off the AC and went around the house to check whether everything was alright. I checked whether the windows were closed. Every two-three minutes there were flashes, accompanied by thunderclaps. All our family members were awake except my five-year-old brother.
