‘One hour commute, 3 minutes at the office’: Woman’s viral post amid torrential rain sparks debate | Today’s news
As unrelenting rain continues to disrupt life in Mumbai, a LinkedIn post by a city marketing professional struck a chord with social media users and sparked a wider conversation about the city’s recurring monsoon woes and the strain they place on millions of commuters every year.
The post comes as Mumbai remained on high alert due to heavy rain, with schools and colleges closed, waterlogging reported from several parts of the city and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) urging residents to step out only if absolutely necessary. The Maharashtra government has also advised private offices to allow employees to work from home whenever possible.
On that note, marketing professional Ihina D shared an incident from her time that many on the internet said reflected the city’s annual monsoon reality.
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“An hour away, three minutes in the office”
In her LinkedIn post, Ihina revealed that although she had been granted permission to work from home due to the weather, she realized she had accidentally left her laptop in the office.
“While the rest of the city was canceling plans and pulling out raincoats, I was driving to the office like a madman,” she wrote.
She said the office was almost empty when she arrived and staff were already preparing to leave before the weather worsened further.
“I picked up my laptop. In 3 minutes I was back in the car. One hour away. Three minutes in the office,” she added.
The brief visit made her reflect on what she described as Mumbai’s annual battle with the monsoons.
“It’s not just rain. It’s a full year shutdown that the entire city has collectively agreed to pretend isn’t coming,” she wrote.
Pointing to familiar scenes of waterlogged roads, flooded streets and last-minute work-from-home recommendations, she added: “We know it’s coming in June. We know July is going to be worse. And yet every year it still catches us by surprise.”
“That’s not Hustle Culture. It’s just Bombay’
Ihina acknowledged that she was lucky to be able to work remotely, but said millions of Mumbaikars do not have that privilege and continue to commute despite adverse weather conditions.
“I’m WFH today, lucky me. My work never ends and my commute is my bedroom to my desk,” she wrote.
“But it reminded me that there is no WFH option for millions of Mumbaikars. They showed up anyway. In the rain. On locals. On bikes.”
Summing up her thoughts, she wrote, “It’s not a hustle culture. It’s just Mumbai.”
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Her post quickly gained traction online, with many users saying it reflected the resilience of the city’s workforce while raising questions about recurring infrastructure problems.
The internet weighs
Several LinkedIn users echoed Ihina’s concerns, saying the city continues to face the same problems every monsoon even though disruptions are predictable.
“Every year the rain surprises the system but never the people. Mumbaikars are constantly moving locals, buses, bikes or on foot. That’s resilience, not just hustle. Stay safe!” commented one user.
Another wrote: “And yet we don’t stop and ask why the infrastructure continues to be in ruins, why the time of the millions who drive the economy is not valued enough. Our collective short-term memories and lack of demand for accountability are part of the reason the status quo prevails. We shrug our shoulders and continue to sit in traffic.”
A third user attributed the burden to rapid urbanization, writing: “We the people are responsible. We clog up few cities. Everyone wants to live there. Because everyone wants access to schools/health care. If we develop tier 2 and 3 and 4 better, we can reduce the burden on the bigger cities. This will reduce dumping, encroachment, etc. The real cause of flooding is lack of storm water drains.”
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Another commenter said: “The most predictable thing about Mumbai’s monsoon isn’t the rain – it’s our surprise. We shouldn’t have to rely on the resilience of millions of commuters to compensate for predictable infrastructure failures. The spirit of Mumbai deserves better planning, not just more praise.”
One other user wrote: “We don’t have the skills to solve large-scale technical problems. This is not government. Overall, we don’t have the skills. When we plan and have the skills, problems get solved – permanently.”
