Two kinds of heat in India

I’ve run into two kinds of heat.

Chennai, and Nellore specialize in the humid variety. Simply go outside and stand still; in less than 5 minutes you are drenched in sweat. The air is so thick, and oppressive, every move I make seems like it is happening in first gear. It is so exhausting, and relentless, that within a few minutes of waking up in the morning, I just want to curl up into a ball, and give up. 

Cudappah, on the other hand, was blazing hot, and gloriously dry. The heat is sharp, and bracing, exactly like a stiff cold winter wind. They said it gets so hot that steam rises up from the ground. I was impressed, momentarily, before I remembered that I saw something like that in Wichita once. You stand outside in sandals, and the feet burn. Is the heat coming up from the ground, through the footwear, or am I being roasted from the top? No matter, I found I liked this weather – it slapped me out of my lethargy; it made want to get up and fight back.

Which of these two is Kansas? I realize now I’ve never really had to deal with the elements in Kansas. Or perhaps I’ve just been escaping the summer months somehow.