What happens when it rains

My last day before a brief vacation from Chennai was rainy. Not too surprising considering it was near the end of the rainy season. I hadn't been out in the rain too much to witness what happens, but I was walking to the train, umbrella in hand and was forced to notice a few things. The slum dwellers have it really bad when it rains. They have it really bad when it's not raining, but the rainy season must just be terrible. Many people don't even have roofs over their heads and so take shelter in abandoned broken down houses, near construction sites and more frequently at train stations where they take to begging. Of course, no one gives them any money. This is all part of an elaborate complicated scheme involving a religion with a deeply seeded belief in reincarnation and punishment for sins in past lives.

In the standard hutments for slum dwellers, the roofs are tin sheets covered with dried palm leaves. The rain wetting the palm leaves drips through the and the tin sheets (often with holes, and not level) drop water down onto the dirt to make it mud. This mud is either inside the huts wherein it produces mildew and mold, or it's directly at the front step. Moreover, for me walking around while it was raining was tough since the dried feces on the sides of canals and rivers begins to smell again.

It seems that everyone (and everything) seeks shelter when it rains. Take these guys for example taking shelter in my local train station...

India


When I got to Lebanon it was rainy. Luckily it wasn't snowing. The mountainous roads don't have guard rails and cars are not always well maintained. One might expect to slide off the road and down into a ravine. Generally this is not a pleasant undertaking. Well, the rain also causes things to get slippery. The mud on the mountains causes problems for construction equipment too. Take this picture for example (sucks about your car, and your wall)...


Lebanon