Winter

Winter has a way of sneaking up on you. One day you have the AC on, and the next, you are debating whether to keep even the fan on. Even with global warming, that nip in the air does come around, deliciously, with that air of ‘is it-isn’t it?’ There is the mandatory conversation about how winter used to start around Dussehra, and go all the way beyond Holi (“One year we had to take out the woollens again after putting them away after Holi!”) Now that the duration of winter is drastically reduced it has become even more precious: to be savoured to the fullest. Yes, the clothes are bulkier and bed-making is a chore at this time of the year, but that is balanced by all the joys winter brings. There is basking in the winter sun to be done, chikki to be gorged upon, not forgetting the rewdi and the gajak. The first almost- translucent carrots to be looked forward to, they of gajar- ka- halwa fame. Yet all those calories can be burned by any kind of workout because one does not feel drained like one does in summer. The feeling of snuggling into blankets and quilts, cocooned in soft warmth, cannot be replicated by comforters in the AC in the summer. Winter blooms brighten anyone’s day, nodding in the slight breeze. Winter is also the time when the maximum weddings take place in North India. That’s when the ladies swish about in shimmering silks and the gentlemen look dapper in their suits. The chill of winter, enjoyed for such a short while, shores us up for the long, merciless summer. This post is a part of the BlogChatter Blog Hop https://www.theblogchatter.com/blogchatter-blog-hop-a-new-way-to-write-collectively

On Coffee

Coffee, as has been rightly said, is an emotion. One reaches for it for comfort, or to feel energized and stimulated. With the plethora of choices available these days, one would think the humble filter coffee would be relegated to the background. But no, it holds its own amongst connoisseurs of the aromatic bean. It is not instant; it is not quick either. It takes a while for the decoction to percolate and slowly drip into the compartment below. It illustrates how good things come to those who wait. With me, coffee is a gesture of welcome, and also a measure of closeness. There are people who pick up the phone and say, Set up your filter, I am coming over for coffee! I look forward to these impromptu sessions, because that is when I treat myself to coffee too. Alas, I have not yet acquired the taste for it without sugar, so I don’t have it every day. Therefore, I savour it even more, when I do have it. I was introduced to coffee at a very early age. I could not have milk by itself or with any of the health drink mixes, so my mother would put a few drops of the decoction in milk and I would happily have “coffee”! As I grew older the coffee part increased and the milk part decreased. I read somewhere that coffee should be Black as the Devil, Sweet as an Angel, and Hot as Hell! While we have had filter coffee of all kinds, our present brand was discovered on a trip to Yercaud, the hill station in South India. From the plantations which were a sight to behold, came this particular brand. Another memorable trip was one to Coorg, again abundant with coffee plantations. I indulged in different blends and varieties of this ambrosia at that time. Of late, I have found myself noticing the smell of coffee in hospitals, malls, airports, and offices. I unabashedly judge these places by that smell! This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop