The Diplodocus

It’s official: the monsoons have begun. The wife and I were lucky — we arrived in Mumbai a full week before the rains came, just enough time to sweat buckets while familiarizing ourselves with the neighborhood. Now being sweat-drenched has been replaced by being rain-drenched, a mostly fair trade. However: these monsoon rains, in the last few days, have been a bit treacherous. A cab ride home Friday night took us through standing water that appeared to be about knee high, and a walk today involved more than a handful of flooded roads and sidewalks. The rains are pretty, and cool everything down nicely. But they are also not to be trifled with.

Of course, we’re both a bit timid, having read accounts in various media outlets of children being sucked down storm drains never to be seen again. The locals are a bit more brave:

That’s the Arabian Sea, in case you’re wondering.

We wandered in the rain for part of the afternoon, partly to do some shopping and partly to explore another part of our ‘hood.  There were the usual number of auto-rickshaws, taxis, oxcarts, pedestrians, street vendors, and begging children out, despite the intermittent downpours. Bully for them — it didn’t make being soaked, having your feet covered in silt, and having to find the least flooded path forward any more pleasant.  In my book, these rains are still a bit daunting. I think one local we saw had the right idea: