Rain and a Bonus Day!

There is nothing like the smell of wet dog with morning Chai! This morning as I do most mornings I waited for the first glimmer of daylight to appear, put on my sneakers and headed out the door with Abby my large yellow dog for our morning walk. It was drizzling a little so I did take a second to grab a light jacket. We usually walk for an hour around the lake so Abby can run and chase squirrels and I get some exercise and also use the time to let my subconscious work on projects and problems. This morning it was warm and the rain did not bother us until we got to the dam and the drizzle became a downpour. We continued and had a great walk, but it reminded me of the last time I saw heavy rain which was in India on one of our bonus days in Delhi.

Our plane home was cancelled so the group had two bonus days in Delhi. On the last day which happened to be Indian Independence day a group of us gathered on the rooftop of Sams to drink chai and pass the time until our late evening flight.  All around the city Indians were celebrating. Indians fly small kites and there were probably 200 kites flying over Delhi from our vantage point. The rain came and went but did not discourage the residents from enjoying their day. With each torrential downpour Indians embraced the water standing out on the rooftops and relishing the refreshing water. At the beginning of the day I had witnessed a young man who literally took a shower in his shorts in the rain – right there on the rooftop across from the hotel’s rooftop restaurant. We shun the rain but in India it is embraced as a blessing.

Rooftop Showers!

Typical Delhi Rooftops

Flying Kites on Independence Day

A common rooftop scene in the rain

Kites flying on Independence Day over Delhi