COLD DISCOMFORT

A sunny and pleasant Sunday with the minimum rising to 9ºC was what I wanted badly to coax myself to go to office. A Sunday in office after ages, must add here and not to say it was a very depressing thought to begin my lazy, lousy day. So this not-so pleasant experience needed some extra dose of sunshine to make my day a little brighter. What an irony, I am chasing the Sun now which I so conveniently avoid in the summer? Thankfully, the weather department said the minimum today was recorded at 9.4ºC, a notch above normal while the maximum settling at 22.7ºC, which was one degree below normal this time of the year.

Gosh, my heart almost sank yesterday! The temperature had plunged to this season’s lowest of 6.2ºC, with icy winds adding to my woes. Not to say, it reminded me of Shakespeare’s Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind.

“Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude…”.

More than reminding me of man's ingratitude, this plummeting mercury was just a signal of how harsh the weather can be this season. And I was right. The weatherman has predicted that mercury may drop a bit tomorrow and lot more in the coming days. Wow, could I ask for more to add to my winter blues?

It was no good news, not for me by any means. I can be comfortable in this cold only till it is bearable.

But what makes this season memorable are many sweet-nothings, quite quintessential to the winter in Delhi. In the last 10 years, they have just helped me see through the cold, by adding warmth, colour and beauty in my life, at least in small measures.

In Delhi, I always felt the need to cover myself, bottom’s up! Well, I didn’t mean what most of you are thinking. I meant draping and layering myself, from the bottom, starting with thermals. I can’t afford to carry many layers comfortably on my slender frame unlike my li’l sister, who becomes a little Eskimo, except this is Delhi and no Alaska and she doesn’t live in an igloo. But this must-do is indispensable for survival here so she says and I firmly believe in too; it is good to be safe than sorry, my dear friend.

The Sarojini Nagar, Janpath and the Tibetan monastery, all of which have enough winter stuff (stoles, shawls, mufflers, colourful socks, gloves, jackets, sweaters) on display to make me go bonkers if I ever get to visit these shopping hubs. I go completely crazy! It is just trying to be affordably fashionable, you silly. For someone, who is brand conscious, then a visit to factory outlets at Mahipalpur is a safe bet. Cheap and best deals and that too branded. What more can one want?

Winter is all about food, nothing but food to make this chill a state of bliss. The concept of Sunday brunches seems to be fast catching up in the Capital with the who’s who making a buzz or two at the most happening places. Well, lesser mortals like us don’t get invited to one, but only get a glance of it, thanks to a good P3 coverage of such social dos, the day after. For me, a brunch is best enjoyed with your close few loved ones (family and friends), even if it means having just litti-chokha with ghee, bharta and aachar. And voila, you can easily count this brunch as an afternoon well-spent. Before you realize, it would be time for a cup of steaming masala chai, best served with hot popcorns or bread pakodas with aamla-dhania chutney. Too good to be true any time soon for me; I have to go to office when most of my friends would be busy lazing around. Nevertheless, I have had my share of such lazy afternoons in plenty. Those get-togethers will last me this winter and help me sail through.

A visit to the Mughal Gardens to see the beauty in full bloom is another favourite winter activity which is a must-do for anyone in Delhi. The flowering daisies, marigolds and roses, etc, add a dash of beauty and make you scream and say, life is beautiful and so are these flowers.

I must say that my life-saving devices all these years, of course, have been a pair of room heaters and geyser — to beat the chill and keep my home a little warm. Imagine living without either would have been insanely impossible here; never mind the soaring electricity bill, it’s ok. For those who live abroad, winter chill gets taken care of by the centralized heating system that almost all the places there inevitably have. At home, you are warm, no matter even if it is sub-zero outside and there’s heavy snowfall to make it worse. But in India, it is the good ol’ heater that does the needful.

The peanut-sellers, who are found on every nook and corner of the city, indeed seem to be making hay while the sun is away in winter. They sell nuts and other goodies (tilkuts and gazaks) to munch on while their small mud ovens give the much-needed warmth, even if for some time. The hawkers selling sakarkandi chaat are a big hit with me. The sweet and tangy taste just tickles my tastebuds, the right way. The gazar ka halwa which was once upon a time made only at home, is now easily available at sweet shops. So no more grinding and cooking. Just buying and eating, simple!

How can I forget my innumerable trips to Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Haryana, near Gurgaon? This place is a visual treat for those wanting to indulge in some bird watching, quite literally. Nestled around the Sultanpur lake, over hundreds of migratory birds come flocking here, in the cold winter. The small drive through bumpy mud paths flanked by mustard fields is simply awesome. I so love these drives and Sultanpur being a good place to spend a day in the company of nature, with or without someone, is and will always be my all-time favourite weekend getaway in winter.

The plunging temperature throws life out gear. The white blanket of fog that envelope the city reduces visibility to bare minimum. Days are still tolerable, but the white nights are quite miserable; especially you are out on the streets, behind the wheels. You would exult at the streets being empty but the hazard being, how not to lose your way, and if you are stuck in an unknown area, you are at God’s mercy. A dreadful experience, must say. Everything else, except our Delhi Metro, seems to be terribly delayed. The trains, buses, flights, practically everything, including life comes to a grinding halt and there’s little that can be done to beat it.

Though winter is comparatively mild and short here, compared to what my friends abroad are going through, still its effect is widely felt, both among the privileged and underprivileged class. For one, too much is too less, the other less is too much to grin and bear. The best are the bonfires usually lit up on the streets to provide some respite from the cold, mostly to those who can’t afford to enjoy it the other way. My heart goes out to those who end up spending nights after nights on the streets without anything warm to comfort them. It is quite discomforting sight to see people curled and huddled up in torn blankets everywhere in the city. There are over a lakh homeless in the Capital alone, who survive the chill without proper clothing, shelter or food. Wish the weather was a bit kind to them, man has never been.

So, my friends, I am leaving you on this note:

Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! Unto the green holly:
Most friendship if feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.