Rains in Mumbai have come to an end. That 'essential' part of the morning gear - the humble umbrella - has been consigned to the back of the shelf. But, during the blinding constant rains that drenched us and filled our shoes with water while walking from Mumbai Chatrapathi Shivaji Railway Station to the YMCA at Colaba, me, and hundreds like me, made a bee-line for these magnificent covered walkways for the shelter they offered from the rain. 

Reminds me of the song we sing in church written in 1880 by Vernon John Charlesworth and was sung by the fish­er­man on the north coast of Eng­land, as they ap­proached their har­bors in the time of storm: 

The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide,
A Shelter in the time of storm;

Secure whatever ill betide,
A Shelter in the time of storm.

Refrain

Oh, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land,
A weary land, a weary land;
Oh, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land,
A Shelter in the time of storm.

There are many verses in the Bible which talks of God being our refuge  - too many to be listed here. But thank God for those people who built such structures, who have lived their lives and gone on to their eternal rest.

P.S. Just a though - when we die, what do we leave behind that lasts and bring solace to others???