“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.”
―
Helen Keller
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| Sunshine smiles- Google image |
W is for Winter.
CELEBRATING
WINTER!
A nasty bout
of flu, notwithstanding, I love winters. If I’s incapacitated for more than two
weeks, I’ve no reason to rile winter. The fault lies with my immune system. It
played me false.
In North India where we live, we face extreme
weather conditions both in summers and in winters. Yet somehow, the severity of
winter is declining as also its duration. Ceaseless construction activity,
congested roads, vehicular emissions, burgeoning population all are the culprits. Let it be for another time!
Winter
ushers in fun, frolic, golden sunlight, festivals and delectable cuisines. Winters are famous for providing good things in plenty, be it vegetables or fruits, sweet dishes or crunchy crisp snacking items.
Here
is the list of activities, which makes winter special for me.
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| Early morning picture of the rising sun in the urban milieu. |
SUN AND ME:
Basking in
the sun is one of the greatest pleasures of my life at this stage. As the sun rises, our back verandah is
lighted up with the mellowed luminosity and sweet raw warmth. Setting aside the
curtains of all rooms, and allowing the morning glow to filter through the windowpanes
is the most joyful task of the day. It fills me with gaiety and gratitude for
being alive amidst such loveliness. My inner being smiles and shakes off
inertia. I welcome the new day.
FIRST THINGS
FIRST:
I head to
the kitchen for preparing my favorite ginger tea. I itch to go out while
sipping the first cup of the day. A stroll in the driveway energizes. A
tentative plan for the day emerges in the mind. What to prepare for breakfast
and subsequent meals is traced in the mind’s calendar. Mental assessment of
other tasks ensues. Things feel doable.
(Prior planning
has helped me all along. It enabled me to strike a balance between my home and
professional life. Now retired but the habit stays. Time management helps me to
carry on my creative pursuits and indulge in my hobbies now.)
BREAKFAST IN
THE BACK PATIO:
The golden
mellow sunshine is so inviting that to eat breakfast inside feels like a sin.
Hubby helps in transferring the eatables outside on the tiled raised platform
in the middle of the open yard. It is a
private kingly domain. We linger on enjoying every bite coupled with background
music of a different kind. The chirps and peculiar sounds of the members of
various avian families converged on our stately NEEM tree, add to the joy. What a blessing!
ME TIME:
I wait
eagerly for this time. Some food for thought. Newspaper is waiting. I savor
uninterrupted the columns, I enjoy while the sun goes up wrapping the area in
its warm blanket. It is heavenly. Thank you GOD for being so generous. I solve
'SCRAMBLE' and 'SPELLATHON' next. My grey cells need some shaking up after all.
‘THE TIMES OF INDIA’ does cater to the needs of the retirees, ha ha ha.
WHAT I READ:
Reader’s Digest and my Kindle books provide me
enough reading material to be relished in the balmy and restorative sunshine. The poor KINDLE lazed on my computer table for so many days because of my sickness.
Dusted and brought to life once again. I’m reading Dostoevsky’s 'CRIME AND
PUNISHMENT' for the third time. It describes tragically life in Russia before
the Revolution. Winter sun transforms even dense books into a pleasure reading.
RAINY DAYS ARE WELCOME:
I’ve no
complaints even on bad days in winter. In fact, one can have a great time
during winter rains and foggy days. You can sit snuggled up in your quilt with
a book or pursue some hobby. I’m experimenting with a crochet hook. I’ve
already learnt to crochet a circle and a square with left over wool of bygone
days.
Now friends,
this is just a tiny part of the trailer of my life. Like every other householder,
there is always a lot in the work basket to be performed in the lapse of a day. Yet this is how I feel on my cherished days
in winter.
