He created a form of protest called dharna , which fits our predilections perfectly. It's not marching around with placards and shouting. You just go someplace and sit there and lay siege until the other guy relents. On the streets of Delhi, where temperatures range from 106 to 110 F., nearly everyone appears to be engaged in some form of dharna , more out of necessity than out of protest. Many shops close their doors until dusk.
Pedestrians stay indoors, giving Delhi a ghost-town feel.
Guddi, who irons clothes in a shady spot in the fashionable Jorbagh neighborhood, says she works a little more slowly to survive the heat. But all things considered, summer is good for business. Extreme summer temperatures have strongly influenced Indian custom and philosophy. For many Indians, summer is neither a boon nor a blight, merely something to endure. In the adjoining room, another 20 boys lie sprawled out, resting for the next shift.