In the countryside even altar the heaviest rains, the water is drained away into the tanks and low lands; the village homesteads are seldom waterlogged. Streets in the city are under water for hours after a shower. The underground pipes are not of a capacity to carry off the large volume of heavy downpour. The result is that the surplus water overflows into the streets converting our city into an island, for a time.
A Street after a heavy shower of rains — particularly in Calcutta has its own special characteristics. The streets and lanes become minor rivers and rivulets. As soon as the rain ceases, boys come out in their numbers to play.
To one who lives in the better type of houses, a shower of rain is often welcome. He sits quietly by the window and listens to the music of the pattering rainfall. And if he is a busy man of the world, he finds a secret pleasure in being forced to stay away from work, and feels the hours flit by to the accompaniment of the music of rainfall.
In the rainy season, the bustees are flooded and the condition of the dwellers becomes woeful. Leaky roofs, rain-soaked floors, choked-up drains, the oven that will not burn, the clothes that will not dry, make the condition of the inhabitants pitiable, indeed.
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Those who are caught on the roads wade along, shoes in hand and clothes tucked up. Men are delayed, work is held up: A heavy shower in Calcutta means discomfort and dislocation of normal routine.
But it cools the temperature and that is a blessing with oil fries and khichuri (Potpourri). All things considered, we can say with poet Longfellow —
How beautiful is the rain
After the dust and heat.
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In the broad and fiery street,
And in the narrow lane —
How beautiful is the rain!