And it Rained

I woke up yesterday morning to rain. When there was a break, I went for a run, but five minutes into it, a drizzle started. Fine, I can handle that, I said. In another minute it was a downpour. Then a torrent. So that was a quick run back home.

Off to work a little later, the usual spots were flooded: in front of Chief Advisor's Office (across from the old airport), Bijoy Shoroni area, and the patch of Mirpur Road between Manik Mia Avenue and Road 27. The funny thing was the middle of the road, where there was less water, was taken up by broken-down cars and CNGs, so moving traffic had to use the edges (the left side) where the water was deeper. So that of course caused more cars to break down.
The water was mostly between 6" and 1ft.

As cars and busses made their way, they made huge waves. It was a lousy day to be a pedestrian in Dhaka. In front of Rangs I saw an office worker dressed in nice clothes get sprayed with street water as a car sped by. On Road 27, a student type crossed the road in a nice pair of shoes - when he finally stepped out the shoes were no longer nice. Several women garment workers in Airport road took off their sandals and gingerly crossed a small river of water flowing from higher to lower ground. It looked like they would be swept away at any moment.

The torrent continued until about 4 pm. Whew. I thought this kind of rain only fell in Sylhet.

Rickshaws had a field day. They can easily go in a foot of water. CNGs, otoh, fared worst. A design fault - they break down easily in a little water.

The poor street vendors were running around trying to sell newspapers, popcorn or whatever else. On the way back, when we were stuck in traffic, one of them came over and offered me a pirated copy of the new Potter book! No beggars in sight - I'd bet they have squirrelled away enough for a rainy day.