Here in Chennai I'm told the rainy season is nearing its end. This means there is still a short season of rain to deal with. Of course, we're in the tropics which means we'll get a lot of rain all year round, but this being the rainy season it's something to deal with much more frequently. I've been unquestionably lucky with respect to my experience with the rain. Most of the time it rains over night and cools off the morning. If it rains during the day then I'm usually inside working in my office or just moving between two buildings which are close by and most of the walkway is shaded by huge palm tress soaking up all that delicious rain for themselves. Last night's rains gave me a lot more to think about.
I've noticed that when it rains, drivers in chennai are not afraid to splash all that muck underneath their tires right up on you. Bastards. I think that somehow falls under the rules of driving which is a post I'm still thinking about, there are a lot of unwritten rules and I'm trying to figure them out (at least half of them).
Forget the asshole drivers, what was most noticeable to me this morning was the smell of rain. In all my life, the morning after a rain (and during a rain) has in one way or another brought freshness to the air. Rain is, of course, water (in big cities usually mixed with some wonderful chemical offshoots and is highly acidic) which is heavy. Rain knocks down things such as smoke and smog. Go to some big city situated in a valley immediately after some heavy rainfall (duly noted this is rare) and you will see the surrounding area in a new way. The surrounding hills and mountains will be visible in a way you hadn't seen since the last rain. Rain brings a freshness. Growing up in the mountains I love the immediate after rain. In the spring, the morning dew is so soft and everything smells fresh and crisp.
Here in Chennai I've been ready for some fresh, crisp smells.
NO
SUCH
LUCK
HERE
I walked toward the train and I smelled old stale smells. The piss and feces that sit on the side of the street all day in sun get dried out by the hot sun. The rain wets them again (and does the opposite of whetting my appetite). The walk to the train this morning produced all the bad smells which I've learned to ignore in some sense. Everything just smelled foul. Oh my many Gods, rain is supposed to be refreshing. UGH! My olfactory senses have been attacked in a way I hope isn't repeated soon.
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eww, that's terribly unpleasant!
ReplyDeleteI totally get what you mean about the appealing smell of rain. Another comparison to Colorado, because it's so dry there and rarely rains, when it did, that initial smell was like the smell of clothes that had been hung out to dry - quite different than feces and such, ah yeah!