Rain, rain, go away

For nine out of the 12 months that Karachiites experience sweltering heat, accompanied by irregular power outages and frequent loadshedding, we bicker and moan for the skies to ‘shower’ their blessings. In the midst of the gloom resulting from the recent target killings and kidnappings, the pre-rain and short-term post-rain weather were meant to provide some uplift to the city’s beleaguered denizens. However, no sooner did the blessings commence that we wished them gone. Are we the most confused people, or what?

On the face of it, the rain is a welcome change; the weather becomes pleasant, people’s moods lighten up, the otherwise dirt-ridden plants and trees look greener, and the not-so-often washed buildings look as though they have received much-needed cleaning. The common man might even stop to purchase a pakora or samosa which he otherwise might not have. People display a renewed sense of zest. For others, the rains allow an opportunity to enjoy the city in a new light and Seaview is thronged by thousands of Karachiites. In a sense, the rain does provide for many a rather enjoyable change from all that is dull and mundane.

However, for the majority of city denizens, it brings more havoc than relief. People who don’t have their own means of transport have to wait for hours to get a ride home since public transport comes to a halt. Waiting in the rain, these people are the ones who get drenched, as it were, to the bone. And while this may be fun at first, wearing wet clothes for several hours could land someone with at least a cold, if not a flu or fever. Then there is the ever-present hazard of electrocution, which can happen whenever there is standing water, thanks to KESC’s inefficiencies. And let’s not forget the traffic jams, which now have a new twist to them — gangs of armed boys robbing stranded motorists.

So, clearly, the rain is a big nuisance for most ordinary people.

Of course, were Karachi a city which didn’t practically fall apart every time it rained, even a couple of inches, its residents could perhaps better enjoy one of the world’s romanticised weather occurrences — the monsoons.