Delhi Rains - Reflections of Beauty and Pollution

Delhi's rain has brought the city to a standstill, flooding roads and stalling traffic. According to the Hindustan Times, the rain also enters homes, sometimes bringing along sewage-contaminated water. However, the rain also leaves behind puddles that reflect the city's life in unique ways. The rain has created shallow films of water on paved grounds, enough to catch reflections of the city's landmarks and daily life. In Connaught Place's Inner Circle, a Sunday morning cricket tournament continued in the rain, with the wickets and players reflected in the water. The plaza has a shallow film of water spread across the paving. The wickets are yellow. Their reflection stands complete in the water, alongside the blurred reflections of the players. A batsman swings his bat as two players run towards the ball. Above them, rain is falling through the tree leaves. Below them, for a few moments, the cricket match is being played a second time. Further ahead in the Inner Circle, CP's white colonial-era columns rise from the colonnade's boundary and descend again into the shallow water of the plaza, their reflections stretching as far as the columns themselves. For once, nobody is walking through the corridor. There are only the columns and the rain, with our good old CP standing twice. Outside Ajmeri Gate, near New Delhi railway station, dirty brown rainwater is stinking of urine, with plastic bags and a discarded paper cup floating in it. However, beneath the pollution, the reflection of the centuries-old gateway appears, its stone battlements descending towards the discarded cup. In Khan Market's front lane, the rain has turned words around, with the white lettering of a bookshop sign appearing upside down in a muddy puddle. In Bhogal bazar, a battery rickshaw and its driver appear entirely in reflection, with the wheels, seat, and shade hanging upside down. The aforementioned Fatehpuri Masjid has another noteworthy reflection. The vast courtyard has a shapely pool of water that stays through the year; it is the mosque's ablution pool. After sunset, the mosque's arched corridors, pillars and lamps appear on its surface. The view returns every evening, rain or no rain. A rain puddle is lying on the stone floor of Fatehpuri Masjid, this evening here in Old Delhi. The rain had stopped some hours ago. In the unmoving water stands one of the mosque’s domes, upside down. The actual tower is somewhere above. Now a bare foot enters the frame from one side. The Hindustan Times notes that the puddles created by the rain are also breeding grounds for fever-causing mosquitoes. The rain may bring beauty to the city, but it also brings pollution and health risks. In Fatehpuri Masjid, the mosque's ablution pool reflects the arched corridors, pillars, and lamps, creating a unique and peaceful scene amidst the chaos of the city. The city's reflections in the rainwater are a sign of its beauty and complexity, but also a reminder of the pollution and health risks that come with it. The smell of urine and the sight of plastic bags and discarded paper cups in the rainwater are a stark contrast to the beauty of the reflections.