Come rain and shade

As soon as the temperature drops even a little from 47C down to 42C, the collective sigh of relief from everyone around is almost audible.

As D calls it, the 'murderous heat' makes it impossible to even think let alone function well. And then M said the other day, clothes out of the washing are dry within minutes of being put out on the line and wet within minutes of being worn.

With some respite from the heat's intensify, everything feels better especially if as a bonus there are no desert storms from Rajasthan for a day or two.

This summer as a bonus, we've had unseasonal rain before the monsoons. Unlike residents of sun worshipping countries like Australia or the Mediterranean, Indians love shade, overcast days and rain. It's a cool change. The rain settles the dust, refreshes green spaces and the breeze carries the freshness of the renewed air and scent of flowers. It's also called romantic weather. Film clips for many love songs in Bollywood films have over time been filmed in rainy settings.

It started raining just before dawn today. We woke in the apartment to a slower streetscape below that comes with rain.

This morning the tea stand was doing a bustling trade of chai with samosas and pakoras.