Even as the municipal corporation employees were busy cleaning up the mess and declogging the choked drains, Thursday afternoon saw another spell of heavy shower which has brought life to a virtual standstill. The low-lying areas were flooded. The city's life-line MG Road was in water at several crossings. Hundreds of vehicles got stuck up and were inching ahead at snail's pace. Even the farmers' stir in Etmadpur was affected by the rain. Farmers who had announced they would plough the land "forcibly taken by the government agencies," could move the tractors to the sticky fields.

 To add to the woes, the private discom Torrent has been shutting out power supply to avoid accidents, but residents in many colonies complained of inconveniences. Sudhir Gupta of Vijay Nagar colony said "without power how can we fill up our water tanks."

 For the tourists at the Taj and other monuments the pleasant weather was a bonus. "Oh we were told it would be too hot in Agra, but last two days we have had fun and what a fascinating view of the lush green lawns in the Taj and Sikandra," said Linda of Australia.

Forget the damaged roads, the heaps of dirt piled up along the drains, the open manholes, the shaky electric poles, the mosquitoes, the erratic power supply, the disrupted traffic, life is still fun in the city of the Taj, with "Sawan ke jhoole, purbaiyya, the time for ghewars (special kind of sweet), saiwaiyan and the Hindolas in the temples," said housewife Padmini.