Warming up to welcoming the winter
THE HAPPINESS OF EATING ORANGES UNDER THE BALMY SUN ON A WINTER DAY OR THE SENSE OF COMFORT WHEN A HOT WATER BOTTLE IS TUCKED INSIDE THE QUILT AT NIGHT – ARE ALL LITTLE MOMENTS THAT MAKE FOR A BEAUTIFUL LIFE
Robert Frost felt that “An hour of winter day might seem too short, to make it worth life’s while to wake and sport ,” while for Matsuo Bas ho, “When the winter chrysanthemums go, there’s nothing to write about but radishes.” Whether it is the evil queen of frozen Narnia or the terrible icy ordeal of Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant, winter has symbolic ally represented negativity in almost all the literature and movies I have come across. It might be right for the West, but should we be indoctrinating our mind with what is right for them? Are these white winters really so whiny, rigidandbad?
Well, these waves of thought regarding winter were set in motion when on a fine day in December last year, an aunt of mine asked me how I was doing. My spontaneous jolly reply was, “Very well! Enjoying the winter.” My old aunt raised her brows and looked at me rather petrified and affectionately corrected me saying ,“Bib as ar di ya man a a ina hi jan di a kati a jan di a ne ( Winters are not to be enjoyed but suffered through )”. Well this time I raised my brows – al ittle puzzled, a little amazed.
I cannot deny my love and optimism for winters, not that I’m as adist! Perhaps, my love for this cold season emerges from the realisation how warm and welcoming winters are from the inside. Paradoxical it may seem but look at it from another looking glass and it would dawn, that winters have been adding memo- ries to our memory flora since generations. Only we have failed to notice.
The happiness of eating oranges under the balmy sun on a winter day or the sense of relief when a hot water bottle is tucked inside the quilt at night– are all little moments that make for a beautiful life, but sadly enough we often neglect it in the larger pursuits of ourl ives. It is worth noting that one cannot even enjoy the warmth without experiencing the cold.
My happy memories don’t end with this. The memory flora rather blooms as the chilling winter approaches and I get to relive the vivid pictures of my childhood – of family reunions at our hill estate around bon- fires– peanuts, cakes, the whiff in the air of rum sand w hi skies! Or the one and only sarson ka saag and makki ki roti back in Punjab! And yet every year there is more to add, because ironically despite the chill – we still decide to save the dates for the wedding of our loved ones in this season.
My winter cautious aunt also got married in winter and so did I. Certainly, my winter saga has lot more lovely stories in its fold and as the season approaches, my mind rings Terri Gui l le mets words: “Welcome, winter. Your late dawns and chilled breath make me lazy, but I love you nonetheless.”