Tuesday, January 24, 2017

COLD AND WINTER ARE SYNONYMOUS







We in North India are in the grip of severe cold. January is the worst month and feels the longest. It meanders. Fogs and mists have become our uninvited friends. They keep clinging to us. We wish them good-bye all the time and eagerly wait for their departure. Sun has acquired the propensity of being elusive. Some days it does not show at all. Those days are the gloomiest. Sometimes all at once, the sun wriggles out of the smog by late morning or by afternoon. A sigh of relief and joy takes over. I dash outside with something to read while basking in the glory of the golden sunshine. I sit at a point where there is no wind and let the sunshine penetrate into my body unhindered. How happy you feel when for a few hours at least you take off your layers of clothes. You bare part of your body to sun's invigorating rays. Such days are heavenly.

Otherwise, on sunless days you keep snuggling in your quilt the whole day. You get up only for cooking, eating or for some unputdownable chores. If you are at the computer as I‘m now you need a room heater near your legs to prevent them from getting stony cold.

For the  poor and daily wage earners winter is tough and brings misery. Authorities in all states of India keep building night shelters for the homeless and the deprived.

Yet winter has its plus points. It is great in many ways. For one there is so much variety in fresh vegetables available in stores. Street vendors ply their carts loaded with veggies and make rounds of the area all the time.

image google
Winter is the time to savor goodies and special dishes, which are only prepared in cold months. Breakfasts are incomplete without radish stuffed paranthas. Sweet carrot dish cooked in cream is always mouthwatering. Bars of sesame seeds and groundnuts prepared with jaggery are everyone’s favorite snacks. Freshly roasted whole groundnuts are available in plenty. Vendors on the roadsides pop corns in your presence making you enjoy the warm crunchiness. Moreover, delicious sweets, in eye-catching arrangements, adorn the counters of sweet shops. Yet who can dare ignore the special winter dish of sag eaten with makki di roti and dollops of fresh butter? Nothing can beat it in nutrition as well as taste.

Such are the joys of winter that small discomforts don’t matter. 

Linking to:
Our World
ABC Wednesday    C is for Cold
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Seasons
Wednesday around the world
Foto Friends
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 Friends,welcome here as always!



18 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh! I totally understand your feeling about the cold. I live in a very temperate climate where we usually get rain in the winter - seldom snow. But in December an Arctic front came over and stayed until the middle of January. We got some snow, but then the skies became blue and sunny. I liked that part even though it was cold because I could go outside and play with the dog and that kept us both warm and toasty.

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  2. And here i am struggling in -10 without such awesome goodies to eat :( loved the post Uppalji :)

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  3. Lovely post which makes me more grateful for what I have, a warm house, food etc although I've complained about the cold here ... which is nothing compared to what you write.

    Have a nice ABC-Wednesday / _ Week
    ♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc=w=team)
    http://melodymusic.nl/abc-wednesday-20c/
    (want to take a preview at the new url starting round 21 ? http://abcwednesday.wordpress.com)

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  4. Yes I keep hearing the news about Delhi cold from my family there! Stay warm and cosy. Sending some warmth from the southeastern city by the bay!

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  5. Stay warm Uppal Ji.. and it's a beautiful and cosy post. I, for one love Winters so much that all discomforts are lost in its frosty beauty and hand made woollen love!

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  6. Thank you much for sharing what is happening right now where you live and sharing it with ALL SEASONS! Greatly appreciated:) Especially because it is so different! Here in California, vegetables are at its peak in the summer. Of course we have them also in winter, but at higher prices in the stores! I can imagine that it is cold now in N. India. Hope you are dong okay, and have heat and enough food to eat!

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  7. Pros and cons of an Indian winter.

    Happy Republic Day!

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  8. I prefer winter over the summer heat. However, freezing cold is a challenge as I don't like clicking or shooting with my camera with gloves on my hands.

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  9. Lovely quote! I am not much of a winter person, but I can appreciate its beauty. Have a great weekend!

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  10. Lovely post Uppalji..stay warm :)

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  11. You paint a wonderful picture of a winter in north India.

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  12. I enjoyed hearing about January where you live.

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  13. I feel the same way about sunless days. It's amazing what sunshine does for our souls! I believe God made us to crave Light! Thanks for sharing today. HOPE you have a great weekend!

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  14. That is one of my favorite quotes from Camus.

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  15. I really enjoyed your post and reading about your area of India. I had to look up "sag." It sounds like it is kind of like spinach or chard that I am familiar with here. I always pray for the homeless on those very cold nights. There are shelters where they can go, but I suspect some to not make it to the shelters and opt to find their own safe place.

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  16. Thanks a lot Pat B for showing interest in SAG.It is a winter delicacy in Punjab(one of the states of India). This is how you cook it. Have mustard greens,spinach and bathu. Wash the leaves thoroughly.Coarsely chop all and put them in a pressure cooker along with salt to taste,finely chopped green chillies and ginger juliennes. Add some water if you have squeezed all water from the washed leaves. Put on high flame. As soon as steam starts escaping through the vent lower flame to the minimum. Cook for one hour.Let it cool. Open the pressure cooker lid and mash the sag properly.Then add some maize flour while stirring it all the time.Place on low flame,keep stirring till it thickens. In a frying pan saute till golden brown chopped onions,garlic cloves and ginger juliennes in clarified butter. Add to the sag and mix it well.

    Knead maize flour with warm water.Make balls and then very carefully fashion them into rotis. Transfer each roti on hot griddle.Turn the side and swathe it with clarified butter to soften it. Cook well on both sides and serve it with sag.

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  17. Obviously each season has an essence of plus and minus… for us in south India esp. Chennai it’s the time to get out and experience places while the weather wasn’t too cold or hot as north India. Very sorry for the people there who experience summer and winter at extreme.

    Take care

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