Winter mornings have a beauty that is inspiring and comforting.
They have a bracing air that cannot be matched by mornings of any other time of the year. lazy they are but once the quilts are thrown off and the newspaper arrives, the first cup of steaming tea or coffee (for me, it’s tea) tastes like heaven. Even the birds come out late and sing a bit slowly at first. A cosiness and languor suffuses everything. If it rains, it looks even more beautiful. The black-grey mornings of winter seem depressing to some people I know. But they do not depress me at all. In fact, the sharp sun can put me off sometime but never the cloudy winter morns!
My mind goes back to the winter vacations at my grandmother’s (Naani’s) house in Delhi where we often spent Christmas and the New Year. And Delhi, as we all know, has few sunny winter mornings.The fog and clouds would give the entire place such a fairyland-like look that I would feel that I was back home in Mussoorie (where we used to live at that time). Even Mussoorie has more of the sun than Delhi in winters.
Nanaji made sure that we all had mugsful of hot milk with a bit of coffee powder (the latter was on our request) and always wore our woollen caps so that the cold would not harm us. Water was heated every morning in a huge hamam (placed on a wood fire in the backyard) as that would enable all the children to get a bucket of hot water at the same time. The morning baths, with the shivering and all, were great fun as it was followed by a lavish breakfast of mouthwatering parathas, butter, omelettes and ginger tea. After breakfast, we would sometimes go back to the quilts and read our storybooks, snoozing at times. Those wonderful winter days spent at our grandparents home are among the most beloved memories I have today. That is why the winter mornings always have been so dear to me. I do not want ever to waste them by staying in bed too long. The evening in winter can sometimes make me sad. So I try to make the most of the mornings that stretch before me, inviting me to enjoy their splendour and plan things at leisure for the day.
Sometimes, I do my work in the morning and get ready later (if its is a holiday). The morning inspiration helps me do my writing better and in a relaxed manner. Sipping my milky tea, I can describe my feelings and views more easily as I write an article, story or even a poem. In the valley where I live, the cloudy winter mornings are not frequent. It is a sunny place usually. But at the end of December and the beginning of January, we do get cloudy and rainy mornings and days. Christmas sometimes is white in neighbouring Mussoorie. In the monsoon season, we have months of cloudy mornings but they are quite different in tone to the grey winter mornings. They do not have the air of mystery and charm exuded by the sharp December air and the freezing raindrops when the drizzle begins.
Remembering old friends, half-forgotten loves, childhood joys, school and college days, I sit here in this lovely winter morning, trying to capture its wonder and sweetness in words. Am I succeedingIJ The reader knows best. I am feeling bright without the sun! There are many people I know who would any day prefer a sunny day when clothes will dry easily, when the family can bask in the verandah, garden or courtyard, eating oranges, guavas and peanuts. I do not mind that sort of a day, of course. But given a choice, I would always prefer a foggy or rainy winter day when routine work is forgotten and mundane stuff (like drying clothes) can be put off for a day or two... a book can be picked up and lovingly read in a favourite chair or even in bed! A rainy winter day is a beautiful excuse not to do the regular things. To spend time with yourself and your thoughts. To meditate, ruminate, to daydream and drink lot of coffee and tea. To get back in touch with one’s memories, one’s aspirations and inner self. To take stock of life and nourish hope. So forget the sun once in a while and look out for the clouds this winter!