So, the rains seem to have started, though I’m still not certain that this is supposed to be the Monsoons. From what I hear, the weather has been irregular in the past couple of years. Where hasn’t it been? Global warming maybe?
Last weekend it was one of those “When it rains, it pours” sort of situation. Amy and I had gone out to buy a washing machine on Saturday—yes, we’re moving on up!—and we decided to jump into an auto for a two-and-a-half-block ride to our “post-shopping-splurge-dinner.” Being a rainy day, we decided to go for a big Chinese soup. Plus, the Chinese restaurant is right across the street from a grocery store and we needed to buy some detergent for our new washing machine.
We stopped at the grocery store first—they close pretty early—and we were in there for maybe 20 minutes. When we stepped out, sheets of water were falling from the sky, and the road had already become a shallow brown river. So, rolling up our pants, we waded through the just-above-ankle creek of a road to our Chinese restaurant.
We had a leisurely meal, hoping that the bulk of the rain would have subsided by the time we were done. Unfortunately, that wasn’t really the case, and the main question became, “Do we wait for an auto and pay a ridiculous amount to get home or do we walk?” After all, we were already soaked the moment we exited the building, and our flat is just about a 10-minute walk away (on a clear day). Amy and I decided to brave the e-coli and walk the back-streets to our house.
One of the funny things with the rain here is that, despite people already being pretty wet, and despite them wading through ankle- to knee-high floods, they still seem to like their umbrellas….
On our way home, we came to another pretty well-flooded area and found ourselves behind an elderly man. He was literally shuffling on in the middle of the street—a white undershirt, a white lungie, and an old-fashioned black umbrella.
As we neared him and got ready to pass him by, Amy started to move over towards the “sidewalk” area.
“Don’t go there” the old man says, still slowly shuffling along. “Stay in the middle. If you go there you will fall. If a vehicle comes by, stop. Move to the left and let them pass. Then continue in the middle.”
Some fine words of wisdom….
The water is really pretty gross though. It’s not the same sludge I’ve described in the rivers in Chennai, but it still is pretty filthy. All the garbage, which often gets put at the intersection for collection who-knows-when, just gets washed down along with all the filth from the pee-walls and smog on the trees and cow dung…. I was wearing my new leather sandals through this experience, and literally, the following day, there was some strange mold-like stuff growing on it. Not a comforting sight.
The Grumpy Writer’s Grumps
Raining Words of Wisdom
So, the rains seem to have started, though I’m still not certain that this is supposed to be the Monsoons. From what I hear, the weather has been irregular in the past couple of years. Where hasn’t it been? Global warming maybe?
Last weekend it was one of those “When it rains, it pours” sort of situation. Amy and I had gone out to buy a washing machine on Saturday—yes, we’re moving on up!—and we decided to jump into an auto for a two-and-a-half-block ride to our “post-shopping-splurge-dinner.” Being a rainy day, we decided to go for a big Chinese soup. Plus, the Chinese restaurant is right across the street from a grocery store and we needed to buy some detergent for our new washing machine.
We stopped at the grocery store first—they close pretty early—and we were in there for maybe 20 minutes. When we stepped out, sheets of water were falling from the sky, and the road had already become a shallow brown river. So, rolling up our pants, we waded through the just-above-ankle creek of a road to our Chinese restaurant.
We had a leisurely meal, hoping that the bulk of the rain would have subsided by the time we were done. Unfortunately, that wasn’t really the case, and the main question became, “Do we wait for an auto and pay a ridiculous amount to get home or do we walk?” After all, we were already soaked the moment we exited the building, and our flat is just about a 10-minute walk away (on a clear day). Amy and I decided to brave the e-coli and walk the back-streets to our house.
One of the funny things with the rain here is that, despite people already being pretty wet, and despite them wading through ankle- to knee-high floods, they still seem to like their umbrellas….
On our way home, we came to another pretty well-flooded area and found ourselves behind an elderly man. He was literally shuffling on in the middle of the street—a white undershirt, a white lungie, and an old-fashioned black umbrella.
As we neared him and got ready to pass him by, Amy started to move over towards the “sidewalk” area.
“Don’t go there” the old man says, still slowly shuffling along. “Stay in the middle. If you go there you will fall. If a vehicle comes by, stop. Move to the left and let them pass. Then continue in the middle.”
Some fine words of wisdom….
The water is really pretty gross though. It’s not the same sludge I’ve described in the rivers in Chennai, but it still is pretty filthy. All the garbage, which often gets put at the intersection for collection who-knows-when, just gets washed down along with all the filth from the pee-walls and smog on the trees and cow dung…. I was wearing my new leather sandals through this experience, and literally, the following day, there was some strange mold-like stuff growing on it. Not a comforting sight.
Where are the words of wisdom for that?
No related posts.