So you decide to go to the supermarket in the city, it's drizzling a bit and you should be back in an hour or two. Before you've reached the end of the street the rain is pouring down and the wipers on the windscreen can hardly cope with the downpour. You consider turning back, but decided that by the time you've done a few kilometres on the highway everything will be fine.

Wrong! Ajmer road – one of the arterial roads leading in to the centre of Jaipur was transformed in to a river, the water knee-deep and traffic complete chaos. Motorbikes, unable to cope just give up – their riders pushing them along the street helplessly looking for higher-ground...of which there wasn't any. Small cars suffered the same fate – stuck, sitting and waiting and consequently blocking traffic even more. And in situations like these the words empathy or sympathy seem to be lost from anyones vocabulary. Honking reaches fever pitch, trucks try to force their way past and at best people get out of their vehicles to push your little car out of the way – so they can pass. Of course if you get out of your small car then you have to be prepared for the deluge of water flowing in and the imminent ruin of your interior. But that will all dry, eventually.

The chaos was beyond anything I have ever seen. Even for India this was whole other level of madness. Crossings completely blocked by cars, buses undertaking the most insane maneuvers imaginable. Everyone dead-set on making some progress come hell or even higher water.

Flouting traffic rules here is almost a national hobby – but at this particular juncture the rulebook had gone completely out of the window. Police officers stood and watched, the legs of their trousers rolled up to above the knees and no doubt wondering if their intervention would make even the slightest bit of difference. Probably not. For once pedestrians and cyclists were king of the road, being the only ones who could get through, even if it meant wading through waist-high water at some points.

To give you an idea, it took me three hours to get from home to Collectorate Circle (in the centre of Jaipur) which is a distance of around 12 kms. And for the most part of that drive, every single main road and side street was submersed. The city looked like the flood plane of a delta region. Alternative routes were just not an alternative.

The upshot? I got out of the chaos, stopped at a hotel for food and a drink and then sized up the idea of heading back in to the insanity to get home. The rain still pouring with no signs of imminent let up, booking a room for the night seemed like the most sensible option.

This monsoon has more than made up for the lack of rains in previous years. The last week especially has brought longer downpours which are much-needed. However, as Rajasthanis learn to adapt to more arid conditions, localised flooding seems to present city dwellers with a problem of mammoth proportions. It's almost ironic in a way. But for agriculture, which is crucial for many in this state, the rains are already a significant boost and not to be sniffed at. And anyway, life still goes on.

As for me - almost 20 hours after leaving home, it's still drizzling but I managed to make a quick supermarket stop, stock up on the essentials and finally get back to base. Thankful that I don't drive a small car, I'll be thinking twice before popping down to the shops next time.