Good times are coming!

Good times are coming!

You might not agree with me when I say that good weather is slowly coming.

I can understand if you associate winter in north India with smoke or haze, created by air pollution; delayed flights, trains running late, traffic jams due to poor visibility in fog/smog.

Smog in Delhi

You might talk of the larger issue of stubble burning which is now becoming an annual issue like the floods and the government (any and every) has yet to do something about.

A friend believes that in the colder months, life becomes dull because nobody wants to move out of the zone of warmth whether it is near the electric heater, a log fire, sitting in the sun or under the weight of a stuffed razai (quilt).

Food gets cold fast, clothes or anything else for that matter, don’t dry,

But feeling cold is a very subjective thing. When we were living in Chennai where the weather fluctuates between hot, hotter and hottest, with the minimum day temperature at 24 degrees C in late December, a railways public relations official, with whom I had to interact frequently, always complained, “There is too much chill, madam,” and I had to suppress my laughter lest he should feel offended. But before you can say touché, the brutal fact is that now-a-days the harsh summers in the north are much worse than the hottest days in Chennai.

People generally rattle off the temperatures when the Met office records one degree Celsius at night in winter. But in my experience except those who work night shifts, very few of us venture out to look at the stars during those hours.

Yes, blame the climate change, but it gets practically difficult to accomplish some jobs during the foggy, intense cold days that now come sometime in January, but on the whole, winter brings respite from some things which I think everyone appreciates, even if grudgingly.

One can have steaming masala chai (tea boiled with spices), coffee or hot chocolate/cocoa any time of the day. Stuffed parathas oozing butter, carrot halwa, jalebis, spicy mutton curry, succulent kebabs, it is easier to burn off everything. Nothing fights cold better than steaming hearty chicken soup or a bowl of scalding dal with a pool of white butter melting on top. You can sit in the sun with a mound of roasted peanuts, hot pakoras or samosas on Sundays and reconnect with your friends and family.

You can walk, run, cycle or exercise without the feeling of sweat trickling down your back and the clothes slowly stinking.

You can wear layers and layers of colourful clothes and be happy. Such simple pleasures of life! One does not even groan if there is a power cut.

Makki ki roti & sarson ka saag

Nobody thinks it odd if you want to stay in bed longer. As soon as your toes and hands are warm, you get that fuzzy feeling of all being well with the world. Pushing your feet to the farthest corner of the warm quilt, do you want to experience that feeling in 45 degrees Celsius?

An excellent time for introverts! They can jolly well spend their evenings cooped up in their havens. You can do whatever you want at home and nobody raises an eyebrow if you are not seen much.

A ball of woollen yarn slowly unfolding in my hands knitting something, is what I look forward to in the short winter.

Mutton curry

And another of my favourite points is the creepy-crawlies stay hidden!

Nature too has identified more colourful flowers and vegetables for winter.

There should be no doubt left that I prefer winter to summer in India. God, I should have been born in the Tundras. In my next life, maybe if He deems it fit to answer my prayers!

It is Diwali tomorrow. With the UK and the USA recognizing it as a festival worth celebrating, it would be stupid of me to write an essay on the topic. For those of you who still do not know about it, Google baba shall tell you this festival for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and whoever else feels like celebrating it, competes with Christmas in spreading good cheer.

I plan to travel for a few days, so shall meet you here, probably on the 25^th. If things go half as planned, I might share the details too.

In the meanwhile, wishing you lights, happiness, celebrations, great times on Diwali. May the festival remove all darkness from your lives!

                                                                                               -Anupama S Mani