Winters In South India

So here's my little something to the chilly months ahead of us.

As I start talking about winter you might think that I am one those fool proof Delhiites or a Kashmiri or perhaps a rich brat from a cliff facing cottage in Shimla. It so happens that I am not any of the above mentioned and nor do I fit the bill of a typical north Indian who has seen the extremities of cold.

But of course, if I am not a person right out of the capital then how can I talk about the cold. For a person who has never lived in the north, has spent her life in six different cities of South India and is presently a hostelite in pune, winter should be something alien right?

Don’t our dear north Indian friends keep bragging about their chilly winters, with freezing days and arctic nights?

Often we hear them describing the taste of “garam jalebis” or how we need to wear layers of clothes and how you can’t see anything at the distance of five meters because of the fog.

Jealous though I feel, I think winter is not something you can enjoy only when you are bundled up under tons of wool or when the water turns to ice in the tap. Having lived all my life in Southern India I wouldn’t say that I missed out on the winter fun.

 Hyderabad, with its cozy mornings and unsettling coolness, the pleasant evenings with it’s by the by winds that I spent on Necklace Road are something that I can never forget.

As a young kid I remember going for evening plays in the Cubbon park of Bangalore wearing a thin sweater and still enjoying the longer evenings.

 The wintry mornings that I spent on the beaches of Chennai, inhaling the salty air and sipping the coconut water may not be the usual winter routine but is a treat in itself.

Mumbai may not be freezing as such but the cold air that stings your face in train travel which makes the vada pav even tastier is a different winter all together.

Tell me, is it necessary for the weather to be ice cold for us to relish the taste of hot momos, to enjoy a long sweat less run, to feel lazy in your bed or get excited to wear a nice smart jacket.

Isn’t winter just another mood of the weather?                                      

Not depressing, nor exactly happy. Perhaps that time of the year when the climate is lost in its own reverie. It’s the time when the year looks back at its younger self and realizes it has to come to an end.

I think we can all enjoy snuggling up in our own warm blankets and eat through the suddenly grown appetite without the temperature boasting off a minus sign ahead of it. Sitting in my hostel room with a stationary fan, wearing a warm hoodie, with the mercury levels decreasing and enjoying whatever “thandi” South India has to offer I feel the taste of garam chai or the aroma of hot coffee would be the same even if the weather men don’t predict zero vision for the night.