--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Water began to drip steadily through the…" description: "\"“Water began to drip steadily through the dormer window. Outside, in the treacherous city, a thaw had come, giving the streets the unreliable consisten..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/salman-rushdie-153_quote_water-began-to-drip-steadily-through-the_1577670.jpg" --- # Water began to drip steadily through the dormer window… ![“Water began to drip steadily through the dormer window. Outside, in the treacherous city, a thaw had come, giving the streets the unreliable consistency of wet cardboard. Slow masses of whiteness slid from sloping, grey-slate roofs. The footprints of delivery vans corrugated the slush. First…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/salman-rushdie-153_quote_water-began-to-drip-steadily-through-the_1577670.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/salman-rushdie-153_quote_water-began-to-drip-steadily-through-the_1577670.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/salman-rushdie-153_quote_water-began-to-drip-steadily-through-the_1577670.jpg) > ““Water began to drip steadily through the dormer window. Outside, in the treacherous city, a thaw had come, giving the streets the unreliable consistency of wet cardboard. Slow masses of whiteness slid from sloping, grey-slate roofs. The footprints of delivery vans corrugated the slush. First light; and the dawn chorus began, chattering of road-drills, chirrup of burglar alarms, trumpeting of wheeled creatures clashing at corners, the deep whirr of a large olive-green garbage eater, screaming radio-voices from a wooden painter's cradle clinging to the upper storey of a Free House, roar of the great wakening juggernauts rushing awesomely down this long but narrow pathway. From beneath the earth came tremors denoting the passage of huge subterranean worms that devoured and regurgitated human beings, and from the skies the thrum of choppers and the screech of higher, gleaming birds.”” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, chaotic cityscape illustrates how ordinary life intertwines with surreal, overwhelming forces. **In simple terms:** City life feels chaotic and surreal. Key Takeaway Find calm amidst urban chaos. Themes urban life surrealism chaos environment Mood melancholic intense Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - commuting - night shifts - urban planning - mental health Key Concepts modernism sensory overload Questions to Reflect On - How does environment shape perception? - What strategies reduce urban stress? A Different Perspective Sensory overload can cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“He stared out across the lake. And suddenly he felt the fire and iron of her presence, a moment before the water began to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-deas/he-stared-out-across-the-lake-and-suddenly-he-felt-the-fire-and-iron/) [Stephen Deas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-deas/) > [I thought it was all over. My lungs were filling with water and I began to black out. 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And so it came to pass that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/we-aimed-for-no-more-than-to-have-dominion-over-every-creature-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [We didn’t come to earth to get anything. We came to awaken our full potential and infuse this dimension with divine light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/we-didn-t-come-to-earth-to-get-anything-we-came-to-awaken-our-full/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [“Water on earth came from space. Everything which is there was once upon a time not there and everything which is there shall return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/water-on-earth-came-from-space-everything-which-is-there-was-once/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Those Who From Heaven To Earth Came". They landed on Earth, colonized it, mining the Earth for gold and other minerals, establishing a spaceport…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zecharia-sitchin/those-who-from-heaven-to-earth-came-they-landed-on-earth-colonized-it/) [Zecharia Sitchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zecharia-sitchin/) > [So God stepped over to the edge of the world And He spat out the seven seas; He batted His eyes, and the lightnings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/so-god-stepped-over-to-the-edge-of-the-world-and-he-spat-out-the/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [Scientists have a theory that life on earth came from a meteor that crashed long ago. I dont know about that. But I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scientists-have-a-theory-that-life-on-earth-came-from-a-meteor-that-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Earth Came quotes > [“We are not alien visitors to this planet, after all but natural residents and relatives of every living entity here. This earth is where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/we-are-not-alien-visitors-to-this-planet-after-all-but-natural/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [So God stepped over to the edge of the world And He spat out the seven seas; He batted His eyes, and the lightnings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/so-god-stepped-over-to-the-edge-of-the-world-and-he-spat-out-the/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [“Those Who From Heaven To Earth Came". They landed on Earth, colonized it, mining the Earth for gold and other minerals, establishing a spaceport…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zecharia-sitchin/those-who-from-heaven-to-earth-came-they-landed-on-earth-colonized-it/) [Zecharia Sitchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zecharia-sitchin/) > [“Water on earth came from space. Everything which is there was once upon a time not there and everything which is there shall return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/water-on-earth-came-from-space-everything-which-is-there-was-once/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [We didn’t come to earth to get anything. We came to awaken our full potential and infuse this dimension with divine light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/we-didn-t-come-to-earth-to-get-anything-we-came-to-awaken-our-full/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [We aimed for no more than to have dominion over every creature that moved upon the earth. And so it came to pass that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/we-aimed-for-no-more-than-to-have-dominion-over-every-creature-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“The Men of Earth came to Mars. They came because they were afraid or unafraid, because they were happy or unhappy, because they felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/the-men-of-earth-came-to-mars-they-came-because-they-were-afraid-or/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Most people, originally when Google Earth first came out in 2005, they thought, well, what can I do with it? I can figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-moore/most-people-originally-when-google-earth-first-came-out-in-2005-they/) [Rebecca Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-moore/) > [“Tiny pieces of clay that they would never find, that would be absorbed into that earth from which they came. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaa-gyasi/tiny-pieces-of-clay-that-they-would-never-find-that-would-be-absorbed/) [Yaa Gyasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaa-gyasi/) > [With 'The Missing Picture,' we'd shot for a year and a half already when this idea of the clay figurine, the life that comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/with-the-missing-picture-we-d-shot-for-a-year-and-a-half-already-when/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [I don't see it as coincidence that the great acceleration of the Anthropocene influences on Earth came during the same decades as our first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-don-t-see-it-as-coincidence-that-the-great-acceleration-of-the/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [Scientists have a theory that life on earth came from a meteor that crashed long ago. I dont know about that. But I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scientists-have-a-theory-that-life-on-earth-came-from-a-meteor-that-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 13 Earth Came quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Water began to drip steadily through the dormer window. Outside, in the treacherous city, a thaw had come, giving the streets the unreliable consistency of wet cardboard. Slow masses of whiteness slid from sloping, grey-slate roofs. The footprints of delivery vans corrugated the slush. First light; and the dawn chorus began, chattering of road-drills, chirrup of burglar alarms, trumpeting of wheeled creatures clashing at corners, the deep whirr of a large olive-green garbage eater, screaming radio-voices from a wooden painter's cradle clinging to the upper storey of a Free House, roar of the great wakening juggernauts rushing awesomely down this long but narrow pathway. 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