Mumbai has two seasons – sweat and wet. In summer, people sweat it out; in winter (that’s a joke) people sweat it out a little less; and in monsoon, people wet it out (as well as sweat it out under their raincoats).
It’s been raining for the past one week, with no sign of ever stopping, and already I’ve forgotten what the sun looks like. On some days a pale sun peeps out timidly, like a sick child wanting to get out of bed, before dark thunderous looking clouds (like an angry scowling nurse) chase it back under the covers.
Back in Kolkata, a day or two of heavy rain would mean that schools and colleges would declare rainy-day holidays and we could all sit cosily watching the rain from our windows or balconies.
But in Mumbai, nobody has the time to stand and stare, or sit cosily in an armchair. Everybody’s up and running: people going to work armed with umbrellas, women in trendy transparent raincoats and waterproof make-up, plastic-coated children bending under the combined weight of books and raindrops.
Rain is a fact of life from June to September, and everybody in Mumbai faces it matter-of-factly. Many, incredibly, claim to love the rainy season.
I, however, just CAN NOT. I have many many cribs about monsoon and wet clothes and wet smells, but there are four monsoon-months’ worth of blogposts left, so I’ll save my cribs for another rainy day.
And so, the rains go on, endlessly….
Sunday, June 15, 2008
MUMBAI MONSOON - I : IT'S RAINING...AD INFINITUM
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9 comments:
It sounds like Houston! Sweat and rain in the summer time! I don't think anyone can truly understand heat and humidity until you've experienced 98 degrees and it has been hotter and 100% humidity! It is unreal!
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Continuous rains can be a major spoilsport. Loved your succint description of Mumbai wether - sweat and wet! LOL! And those rainy day holidays were so much fun, weren't they? In Omaha, kids looked forward to schoold declaring a holiday due to the snow - now, I presume, it'll be hurricane-holidays!
I like just brisk showers - not endless ones . In Puri last week , I enjoyed the thuderstorm , the palms , the sea and crashing waves - sheer bliss
It must be so interesting, to see a monsun and rainy seasons. I'd love to experience it.
I think the weather became more and more intemperate all over the world.
When I was a little girl, here in Hungary summer was warm, not dry and not too many rains, winters were cold, but not VERY cold, and there were of course spring and autumn. Older people say the same, so it is not my imagination.
Nowadays? Summer is hot and dry, except for the big storms; winter is either chilling cold (-22 celsius degree) or quite warm, no freeze, no snow. And we hardly can notice some signs of the spring - one day it is cold and cool as if it were winter, next days everything warms up and flowers and trees go blossoming. I think it must be because of the global warming.
Mumbai monsoons can be quite a pain. And yes, ppl born n brought uo in Mumbai (like my Bhabhi) claim that that's their fave season. Well, I guess since they know no winter ... that's the best they can have ... at least some respite from the heat & sweat.
Hey SS, just noticed that u've put a link to my blog on urs. Thanks a ton. :-D
Hi,
white rose/ mina jade,
Global warming has sure screwed up the weather, but Indians always did understand what hot and humid is all about. Thanks for the updates on the weather in your part of the world.
margarita/eve/P Angel,
even I love brisk showers and cooling rain. but rain-rain-rain endlessly...becomes a real pain (pardon the silly rhyme!). and yes, sadly, mumbaikars think otherwise, though I'm doing my best by cribbing to convince them to come over to my point-of-view.and on top of that, they refuse to give holidays, come hell or high water (as it so often does).
My take on the monsoon and rains is slightly romantic!!
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sweat and wet... that sounds so much like philippine weather. :) the filipino words for it are much more mundane: tag-araw (sunny weather) and tag-ulan (rainy weather). these words fail to convey the sticky-sheen of moisture that covers my whole body during summer, and the pervasive chill of the monsoon rains, the never-ending downpours...i wish someone could come up with better terms. :)
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