At around 2.20 pm on Monday, Siddharth Kasid left his home in Gurgaon.
He was not heading to work. He was not going to a shop or trying to get his car out of a flooded road.
He was trying to reach his five-year-old daughter.
The UKG student was supposed to be home between 2.15 pm and 2.45 pm. But heavy rain had left parts of Gurgaon waterlogged, and her school, Heritage Xperiential, had announced an early dispersal.
Kasid, who was working from home, began tracking the school bus on an app.
Then he looked outside.
The water was already up to his waist.
The bus was still about 35 minutes away.
As Kasid later recounted to The Indian Express, he realised the bus was unlikely to reach his society.
So he decided to go to it.
The bus was stuck in Rail Vihar
Kasid, 39, lives in Uniworld Gardens near Subhash Chowk.
He coordinated with Meetu Gupta, another parent from the society whose daughter was also on the bus. Together, they contacted the driver and established that the bus was stuck in Rail Vihar.
Kasid then set out with a friend.
The two walked along the highway through the water. According to Kasid's account, they were drenched during the journey. One of his phones stopped working and he lost his wallet.
But what they found at Rail Vihar was more worrying.
At least 10 school buses were stranded in a row, with very young children still inside, according to the account reported by The Indian Express.
There were children from nursery and KG classes among them.
Kasid and Gupta eventually got their daughters out.
But the journey home was not over.
He brought his daughter home, then went back
As the parents made their way towards Uniworld Gardens, Kasid began receiving calls from other parents asking for help getting their children home.
So he turned around.
According to the account he gave The Indian Express, Kasid went back and brought around six or seven children towards the society.
The children moved in a single line through the flooded stretch. Older students held onto his hands and T-shirt, while Kasid carried his five-year-old daughter.
The water also concealed potholes, making the walk dangerous.
He first took his daughter home.
Then he went out again.
The entire ordeal lasted around 1.5 hours, with Kasid telling The Indian Express that he left home at about 2.20 pm and returned around 4.40 pm.
‘Is it Holi?’
For Kasid's daughter, the flooded streets were difficult to comprehend.
She was frightened and exhausted.
Looking at the water everywhere, she asked her father, “Is it Holi? Why is there water everywhere?”
She then told him she was shivering and hungry.
Kasid told The Indian Express that hearing this left him feeling angry and helpless.
But one moment during the ordeal particularly stayed with him.
A young UKG student was looking towards him from inside one of the stranded buses, apparently hoping to be taken out.
Kasid said he was willing to help, but the bus staff told him that children could not be allowed to leave without parental consent. He did not personally know the boy's father.
According to the account reported by The Indian Express, the child eventually reached home at around 5.45 pm.
‘The whole of Gurgaon was an absolute mess’
Kasid's wife was also worried.
According to his account to The Indian Express, she eventually stepped out and began walking towards Subhash Chowk despite the water being above waist level.
Kasid said his anger was directed at the authorities and what he described as inadequate warnings and communication during the situation.
He questioned how parents were expected to reach their children when roads were flooded and buses were stranded.
The Indian Express reported that schools shifted to online classes the following day.
Kasid said he would not send his daughter to school if he believed doing so could put her at risk.
‘We don’t want to live here’
For Kasid, Monday's ordeal also revived a larger frustration with life in Gurgaon during the monsoon.
He told The Indian Express that his family goes through similar difficulties every year and said they were seriously considering moving out of Gurgaon after the academic session ends.
His comments reflect his personal experience and assessment of the situation; they should not be read as an independent finding about the city's administration.
But the immediate problem on Monday was much simpler.
His daughter was stuck in a school bus.
The roads between them were flooded.
And instead of waiting for the water to recede, Kasid walked into it.
