Start of winter.

Where ever you go, whichever country you live, we always like winter.
In Chennai innumerable music performances in as has spread across South Chennai give us a feast with variety. Dance, dramas, kutcheries. Encouraging all these is mainly weather.
In Calcutta we can see the colourful saris and shawls and coats come out of the storage.
My mother used to say, Maharanis on parade.

Cool morning breeze, cloudy days, chill evenings make the city naturally air-conditioned.

I hear and seen in TV how western countries feel the winter. I had never been to Europe, except touching down at airports in UK, Germany, Belgium andFrance, but seen the Beauty from air.

But I have seen winter in USA. Unlike India, western countries have the added delight of seeing and enjoying snowfall.

It was in 2009 I fist saw snow. I was sitting by the window reading, Tramp_in_Armor by Collin Forbes. Weather was chill and even inside home was wearing light wool. Wind was heavy outside with trees swaying, the whole previous night. But now it was only slight breeze.

I saw some thing hazy and thought my glasses need cleaning. My daughter came and told me, it may snow soon.
With an expectation of a child's waiting for new toys, I was waiting searching sky for some thing to pour. Then I realized snow won't fall heavy, but slow at first.

For a person who has never seen a winter in India and seen only hot hotter and hottest seasons, seeing powder falling from sky and floating on wind was a mesmerizing experience. The road clean spotless dark with cars parked on either side on a lazy Sunday forenoon slowly turned salt and pepper and then grey and then pure white.

Trees with little leaf after the fall look forlorn. Heavy snow clinging to bare branches with no leaf stooping low like an old man, made me think younger.

 

The cars and street visible with children on roller boards suddenly become lonely.  Want to touch the snow and feel it. Ran down stairs, forgetting my age, feeling young like teen. But it was still snowing and the height of snow increased in deck railings. At one time I can’t see the opposite street or far off roofs even with binoculars.

 

Children started playing in snow when the snow fall subsided. Children with parents, teen with friends, grown up, couple and some oldies like me ventured into snow filled lawn and side walks feeling for the sudden fall or depression under our boot clad feet. Children made snowmen and threw snow balls.

 

But all of a sudden there was a roar. Snow truck came pushing the snow to sides, making it accessible to vehicles. Next day when sun came out of clouds I can see the melting of snow and slowly snow turning into hard ice forming the border of the roads and the path inside the ground inside the yard. After three days there were no snow but there were hard ice, like rock, on both sides of road reminding us that there was snow. I still dream that and wish to see that again and again

Veeraswami. V

Chennai, INDIA

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