Remembering Mumbai monsoon of 2006

Sibashish Das : Let me take you to the monsoon of 2006. Place being the famous Mahim creek of Mumbai, the infinity city. A common geological phenomenon occurring at the interface of fresh underground water and saline sea water resulted in mass hysteria.

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The water surrounding the Mahim creek had turned sweet all on its own. When local fishermen went out to the sea, they noticed the difference and reported the incident. News then spread like wildfire in the vicinity and by afternoon, Mahim beach was suddenly crowded with people, who wanted to witness the strange incident. people came with utensils, plastic bags and bottles to carry the seawater back home for drinking and cooking purposes, thinking the water had, in fact, gained some kind of healing properties.  A lot of Hindus, as well as Muslim devotees, claimed that the seawater turning sweet was nothing but the revered Sufi saint Makhdoom Ali Mahimi’s doing and that the seawater was now holy. .
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Continuous rainfall over the preceding few days had caused a large pool of fresh water to accumulate in an underground rock formation near to the coast, which then discharged into the sea as a large “plume” as fractures in the rocks widened. Fresh water, being lighter, floated on top of the salt water of the sea and spread along the coast. Over time, the two would mix to become normal sea water once more.