Coastal Andhra is drenched in heavy rains in the last 60 hours. This is very unusual for the season and the area hasn’t seen such a continuous rain during the recent past. My parents tell me that they could barely get out of the home for 3 consecutive days. These rains have caused heavy losses to crops and the local micro-economies are going to take a considerable hit.

The weather pattern’s effect is felt well off the coast, even in Hyderabad. For the last 3 days, the temperatures have fallen and I took my winter jackets out. If this pattern continues through the week, it is going to be one of the coldest Diwalis in recent times.

Let me present the scenario first. The time is about 8.30am and I am driving my good old M-800 to work. Already a bit late to work, I am revving the engine to its max. The moment I reached the main entrance of KBR park and headed towards the checkpost/Jubilee hills area (just to give you Hyderabadis a picture), I noticed that my car engine temperature is almost hitting the top. I slowed down and realized that the car is due for servicing. I pulled over into one of the empty parking lots of the KBR park. Mine is the lone vehicle there and the only other person in the parking bay is the guard in the security post.

Once I opened the hood, I found that the coolant tank has open lid and the leftover coolant from last top-up evaporated due to hot weather. I found a spare water bottle in my car and put the remaining water from it in the coolant tank. The tank started fuming from the hot steam from the engine fan. I needed more water to fill the engine fan, but ran out of water in my bottle. I gave an apologetic and requesting smile to the security guard who has been watching the whole fiasco. I told to him that I needed more water. he pointed me to the gardener who is watering the lawns with a rubber hose a couple of hundred yards from me.

Now comes the challenge. The gate to the fence between the parking and the lawns is already locked. The time now is about 8.35am and the gates close at 8.30am. I walked up to the gate, saw the lock and ended up in a dilemma. There is no shop in the next mile or so where I can buy a bottle of water. Leaving the car there and fetching it in the evening is an impractical solution. So I decided to jump over the gate and get water. I put my hands on the gate and gave another inquisitive look at the security guard. He understood the situation and gave a nod. My childhood skills from the countryside helped me hop over the gate. I reached the gardener, got water and filled the coolant tank. After a few thank-yous to the gardener and the security guard, I am back on the road, retrospecting on the whole episode.

Ethically, in that particular scenario:

• Is it okay for me to consume a couple of liters of water from the park in that situation, from the hose that uses a few thousand liters a day to water the lawn?
• Is it okay for me to jump over the gate when it is locked, barely 5-10 minutes after the visitors hours, despite getting the nod from the guard?

What do you think?

Spurthi completed her Board exams on Wednesday. With the local situation a bit bad due to riots in old city, we had some tense moments on Wednesday, right from transportation from School to the exam center. Finally, everything went fine and we didn’t have any unwanted situations in this part of the city.