It rained in Gurgaon today.

The morning began like any typical summer day—harsh sunlight, warm air, and the certainty that the heat would only grow stronger. By afternoon, a few clouds gathered lazily in the sky. Nothing dramatic. Nothing that hinted at what was coming.

And then suddenly, it poured.

Not a polite drizzle. Not a passing shower. The sky opened up and rain fell with a kind of urgency that made the city pause.

Hours later, at night, I noticed a muddy puddle outside.

And a strange thought crossed my mind:

Where was I when all this happened?

When did the clouds arrive? When did the wind change? When did the rain begin?

I was there, technically. In the same city. Under the same sky.

Yet I had somehow missed it all.

And that’s when it struck me.

Maybe that’s exactly what has happened to life.

Life was happening somewhere else while I was busy passing time elsewhere.

In meeting rooms. On video calls. Inside PowerPoint slides. Replying to emails that nobody will remember next year.

The rain came and went. The seasons changed. People grew older. Memories were created.

And I was staring at a laptop screen.

Sometimes I wonder how many beautiful moments quietly arrived and left without knocking loudly enough to be noticed.

A beautiful sunset. A spontaneous conversation. A walk after dinner. A parent’s aging face. A friend’s call. The first rain of the season.

All sacrificed at the altar of “just one more meeting.”

Aadhi se zyada zindagi toh laptop ke saamne hi beet jaayegi.

More than half our lives will probably be spent looking at glowing screens, discussing targets, deadlines, projections, and quarterly goals.

And perhaps the scariest part is not that it is happening.

The scariest part is that we are getting used to it.

One day we’ll look back, much like I looked at that muddy puddle tonight, and ask:

“When did all this happen?”

When did the years pass?

When did life move on?

Because while we were busy making a living, life itself was quietly happening somewhere else.

And honestly, that thought scares me more than any deadline ever could. 🌧️💭