Monsoon: A Drama in Two Acts

Act One.  A Comedy.  "Laughing in the Rain."

Monsoon season keeps getting funnier and funnier.  I can't get an auto from work to save my life.  It's absolutely pouring, yet everything around me is absolutely hysterical.  I don't mind getting drenched; I'm completely entertained.

First there are all the men walking around with plastic bags over their heads.  Depending on the type of bag, many of them form two "points", making it look a bit like Halloween.  Then there's the occasional man with tupperware on his head -- absolutely ridiculous!

The men on motorcycles make me laugh the most.  Everyone seems to have their own strategy for staying dry.  Some lift their feet when going through puddles.  Some try to avoid puddles altogether by just driving on the wrong side of the street. 

I see two men on the back of a bike...one friend is holding an umbrella over himself and the driver.  Just as I begin to think this is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen, I see another motorcycle driver holding his OWN umbrella over himself AS HE DRIVES!!  

Ah India.  I know I'll miss this all one day.

Act Two.  A Tragedy.  "Home Sweet Home?"

The next day, on my way home again -- this time from one of our hospitals.  Again, pouring.  Again, can't seem to find an auto.  One finally comes, and it's one of the most awful trips back.  The road is absolutely torn up from all the rains, making the ride even bumpier than normal.  It's amazing that they have to repair the roads every year because of the rains!

I look out the auto, and see rows and rows and rows of slum tents and temporary shelter.  With no doors to these "shelters", I'm able to look straight in.  I see families huddled together, the entire floor transformed into mud and water.  

Improving health through higher quality hospitals is one thing, but what happens when you sleep literally in mud for a good portion of the year?  What does that do to your health and self-worth?  For the rest of the journey home, I wonder what can be done.  Clearly there are no easy answers.  

But there has to be something better than this.