Monsoon Stories — How I Spent 3 Days With No Internet
Monsoon rains have recently become severe. The intensity of rainfall is increasing with every passing year.
People’s economies are already deteriorating as a result of high inflation caused by a variety of factors. The weather is changing. People are in distress. The poor have been the hardest hit.
Pakistan’s economy has been on a downward slide for some time. The dollar continues to rise against the rupee. The country’s debts are increasing, with each new government contributing to the problem. That’s another story I’d rather not discuss.
So, we were mentioning the monsoon. Multiple rain systems have hit Pakistan and neighboring countries since July 3. The rainstorms have been intense. Balochistan has been hit the hardest of all provinces.
My city did not receive a lot of rain. However, because we are connected to the internet via fiber cables, the flooding rivers near Karachi washed them away. Over 25 lakh people were cut off from internet access for three days.
It was suffocating, I must admit. While the constant rain has strained us in our homes, being unable to access the world of the internet has been extremely difficult. The banking system and all other businesses that rely on the internet to function were also impacted.
In retrospect, rains have effectively shut down almost everything.
We used to play cricket in the evenings, but with all the rain, we couldn’t. You couldn’t go anywhere to enjoy yourself and have a small trip down because you’d be afraid of getting stuck somewhere. In a nutshell, it was both boring and frightening.
So, how did I spend these three days without the internet, social media, Netflix and Amazon, Medium, and all?
I, for one, read every tweet in my Twitter timeline. I went through my offline Facebook feed a few times. Same with Instagram. I even watched every movie I had downloaded from torrent sites on my laptop. Yes! Not every show or movie is, for now, available on Netflix or Amazon, the two OTT platforms I have a subscription running on.
I had downloaded two series from the Netflix app the day before. Heavy rain was predicted for the following day. Load shedding is a vexing issue in every nook and cranny of this country.
And with rain in the forecast, you can bet your life on electricity being invisible. So I watched the first season of “Valeria”, a women-centric Spanish series, and “She”, also “women-centric, an Indian show. Both have a second season that I am yet to watch. I was actually glad I had downloaded both of these shows because otherwise, I would have run out of content to keep myself entertained in such a situation.
I even began reading a book. I haven’t read a book in a long time. After finishing my thesis and reading a zillion research papers, I felt like my appetite for reading had been satisfied for the time being. I’ve been watching a lot of movies and TV shows lately.
The more you watch and consume, the more addicted you become to the same routine.
Aside from that, I would cook for my family as another way to pass the time. To be honest, I usually cook food at home. I enjoy cooking. When the rain continued to fall, the beauty of cooking came in handy.
In all honesty, these three days were suffocating. I’d simply run out of ways to pass the time. Without a doubt, it bore me to death.
I had no idea I was so reliant on the internet and social media. This was actually quite frightening.
I shouldn’t be bothered by not being able to check my social media, right? It shouldn’t be a big deal if you can’t catch the latest episode of Better Call Saul for a few days. But it felt like a significant missing piece. It should be fine not knowing when my favorite football club’s next friendly pre-season game is. But it was annoying.
I’m sure most internet addicts have experienced the same annoying, bothersome, and frustrating thoughts. I call myself an internet addict because that is how I see myself now. And I know it’s kind of worrying.
In all seriousness, being deprived of the internet for 3 days is nothing. There have been hundreds of deaths due to floods. Livestock and agriculture have been severely affected. Many people are still stranded waiting for help. In short, the situation is pretty bad in most parts of Balochistan, my province.
According to Balochistan Chief Secretary, “… during the recent monsoon spell, 500% more rain was recorded than during the past 30 years.”
The government has currently imposed section 144 to limit the unnecessary movement of people in the province. With multiple linking bridges being partially or completely damaged due to torrential rain and floods, traffic is suspended in most parts of the province. People do not have much hope from the incompetent government. They know they are on their own in these tough times.
Prayers with everyone affected by the ruthless monsoon rains, hoping they get the help and courage to fight on.
