Hannah BW

Mumbai: Day 5

So, let's talk about the monsoon. The monsoon happens every year. It rains every day for more than two months, but somehow it never gets cooler. Even though the monsoon happens every year, the municipal government is always taken aback when it actually arrives. They never do any of the things they're supposed to do, like clean out the street drains. Then the streets fill with water, the trains stop working, people get malaria and leptospirosis and dengue fever, and the U.S. consulate issues travel advisories telling people to be careful and not fall into open manholes. Basically, it's a watery hell.

Questions:

How do people stay clean during the monsoon? I walked to and from work today, and the backs of my pant legs are completely mud-spattered. All the Indian women I see look completely pristine. How is this possible?

Why do people continue to wear open sandals even when the entire city is covered in smelly, sewage-y puddles?

Why do Mumbaikars think that the monsoon is a good time to drink hot chocolate and eat corn on the cob?

There are more questions where these came from.

Monsoon: 2 HBW: 0

posted by HBW @ 7:21 AM