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Brown Clouds and Black Humour
Indians are choking—on the vile air in Delhi and other cities, and with laughter about the way the authorities are responding.
It’s always wonderful to go home. But these days, there is a raw, smoky edge to returning to Delhi. It is the city’s eternal smoke and December fog. The chill of the air mingles with sulphur dioxide, creating a comforting yet jarring feeling that you are home, even if home may be very bad for you. You can’t see what slowly gnaws at you, and you certainly cannot escape it. It’s the very air.
Mobile weather applications these days describe Delhi as “smoky,” rather than “sunny” or “partly cloudy.” People routinely check the air quality index on these apps like they used to check the weather. Most December days read, “AQI 300, temperature 20 degrees Celsius.” On certain days, Delhi’s air “improves” to “very poor.” A very poor chronic condition.
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