A huge cloud of more than 20 km in radius was hovering over Mumbai. No one realised till 3:30 pm that this vast sheet of water-clad rain cloud would bring to Mumbai lots of destruction. Time was not right on 26th July 2005 when weather department issued a warning. But by then it was too late for many. Students had left their schools. Thousands of other people unaware of the expected heavy rains had come out of their offices, homes, shops. Mumbai was buzzling with life as always.

It started raining at 2:30 pm. Nothing unusual for the Mumbaikars. The usual monsoon rains. Oh everyone was enjoying the rain. No one knew but the weather department that there was something unusual about the cloud that hovered over.

A usual monsoon cloud is at a height 6-8 km above the sea level but this was unusually high at a height of 15 km that too covering almost entire Mumbai. And thus the this rain was unusually strong, heavy and poured continuously.

At 3:30 pm, many low lying areas got water logged. Traffic everywhere was affected. Thousands of people got stuck in the water-logged roads. But no one yet imagined the destruction that was to soon follow. There were people stuck everywhere. At homes, at offices, in schools, on roads, in buses, in trains, at airports, at stations, in cars, everywhere. No one could move. By 6:30 pm, entire Mumbai was drowned. There was water water everywhere, nor a drop to drink. Everyone wanted to be safe but no one could. For hours it rained and every hour that rained it claimed more and more lives.

The financial capital of the country by now had realised that the vast stretch of black cover above them will show no mercy.

Continuous downpour was claiming lives. Mumbai electricity board decided to cut-off electricity from the entire city. Mumbai was engulfed in the darkest of all nights. The Bollywood of the world that never sleeps was under a silent attack today. Road, rail and air link were affected. Mobile lines were jammed. Mumbai was cut-off from rest part of the world. It had become an island of small islands that day, unaware of what's happening in the neighbourhood. Because of no connectivity Mumbai could not reach itself. There was no help from anywhere. Amidst all this Mumbaikars were fighting the rain God for their lives and it happened so that many lost their lives. There was no rescue from it.

26th July 2005 rains in Mumbai had brought to those thousands of people every colour of life from dark to bright. But to those who got killed in the fatal rains, there were no more colours.