MONSOON VIBES
aka puddle city
aka sog-fest
aka I haven't seen the sun in 30 days and counting
Monsoon hit India fucking HARD and kicked off with a mf cyclone at the end of June. The season started a couple of weeks late, and combined with climate change weather patterns, is now drowning the entire country. Maybe y'all have seen the photos coming out of here bc it's flooding EVERYWHERE. Like people walking in waist deep waters, highways flooding, cars being swept tf away like a disaster movie. Just leaving my building includes hopscotching over ankle-deep puddles and I had to get half a dozen pants hemmed so I wouldn't get extra soaked every time I step out. It did drop an avg of like 15° so it's in the 80s now with 95% humidity. On rainy nights, I can skip running the AC and the crosswinds are pretty sweet!
I haven't seen the sun since the last week on June and that has def affected my mood like it does in a snowy winter. There was one solitary day where it didn't rain much and it was a bit brighter but actual sun? rays? shine? Nah. My days now are a lot lazier, involve more naps, and a lot more chai. And no posts ofc. Sorry about that. Consider it a rain delay lol.
Top Five Thoughts Re: Monsoon 🌧
Umbrella etiquette-- Every store, restaurant, cafe, pharmacy etc has a bucket outside their door where it's just understood you leave your wet umbrella and it'll be there when you get back. Honor system flex tbh.
There are "flood days" for school here like "snow days" at home. When it's extra rainy, and the trains are having trouble running, schools and colleges shut down for the day. I fr don't remember that from my childhood, so that's global warming for ya.
95% humidity all day every day, in a land with NO DRYERS, is a laundry nightmare. I've rigged a system where I have clothes all over my living room & bedroom under fans for optimal drying without that wet dog smell bc clothes are usually hung on clothes lines on a balcony.
I've accidentally made friends with crows that hang out on my balcony when it's pouring. They no longer flee when I approach and I usually say something soothing when I walk by bc I know they're super smart and remember shit.
How the city DIYs to accommodate the season. Stores and street vendors pull out plastic wraps to cover merch (see the bakery display below) and mannequins outdoors, restaurants rig patio coverings with tarps, rickshaws have those flaps to protect passengers, people have these full body rain suits, and the city just continues to chug along.
Please enjoy these grayscale-esque pictures of what my July has been like.
