Rain?

Upon wakening, the sound of water dropping was evident. Being orginially from the west coast of Canada, it is a sound that one associates with rain. Those clear drops of water falling outside the window. To conclude it is rain is to reach an erroneous conclusion. Standing up and looking out the window, I saw what appeared to be a fog which I took to be smoke from the garbage fires. I would again be wrong. What instead I saw was the thick mist of a near 100% humidity morning. The sounds that I had been hearing were water droplets formed on the plants from the humidity and then dropping off.

Temperatures have hit the mid 30s this week. You can really feel the intensity of the sun immediately upon entering its rays. Sweat forms on your skin while sitting and you quickly come to realize that you will be wet throughout the day.

Midday activity is slow. Those who are wise about the weather, being the locals, seek a quiet corner at midday and then curl up for a snooze - a practice common in hot countries. Those of us from further up in the northern hemisphere don't tend to do this naturally. Silly fools that we are.

Life returns to a busier pace mid afternoon with dinner not coming until later - 7 p.m. or afterwards.The mid day is not to be a period of activity but I do see many a westerner insisting on keeping active in teh hot hours. We have learned that exercise, like a walk, is best done very early in the morning.

I had a rather fascinating conversation with a taxi driver yesterday. He observed that come May, most westerners will have left this part of India going home or to the hill stations around India where temperatures are lower. Many taxi drivers leave this area and go over to the hill station regions where they can again find work. A few stay here. One told me that he prefers to be here, even with little work, so that he can be with his family. Many drivers dislike chaing the business as it takes them away from family.

Yesterday's drover proudly told me that his oldest, a daughter now 20, is  a teacher. The next , a boy, is at post secondary taking some engineering program while the youngest is still in high school. School is impotrant for his children and he is proud that they are getting an education which he did not get. In various ways, I have heard this story from many drivers who are anxious that their children exprience a better quality of life than they have had. This is a somewhat universal parental theme. These parents are working hard for it to happen.

As one looks around at the markets, the people working, the families, the children - it is easy to see that there is much more that unites us as a human race than divides us. Indeed, it is the themes of politics, nationalism and greed that seem to be the ones that pull us apart.