I wished the angry muffled voices would invariably die out while I quietly pretended not to hear them. No one could be mean to a little girl now, could they? Alas, happy misconceptions! Mom would pull the warm blanket wrapped snugly around me in one clean sweep and expose me to the harsh winter morning. Breaking into a tantrum wasn’t an option since even a groggy me wasn’t blind to her glaring eyes boring into me. I hated waking up for school and prayed for winter vacations to extend for at least a month. This is the first winter memory that always comes to mind and it obviously isn’t pleasant. Sigh, but luckily that’s not it!
Let me confess, I have a love-hate relationship with winter. Growing up in Aurangabad, we felt dry winters very closely. Temperatures would touch single digits every day compelling us to indulge in early dinners. This was followed by parking ourselves in front of the coal segdi Dad would light up for us. We would gather around it and, although there was cable, mostly ended up playing antakshari, ludo, and other such games. Once in a while, we kids would get a rare adrak wali chai treat which made us feel important and grown up. Looking back, those were some of our fondest family memories.
Dad had a bike back then. Weekend get-togethers and dinners with his friends meant us layering up with multiple sweaters and rounding it off with a monkey cap. Mom would put vaseline, oil, and all kinds of creams on us to moisturise, making our skin glisten and slide. We looked so hilariously cute! It felt good sitting between Dad and Mom while my brother nestled cozily in her arms. I would slip my hand under Dad’s sweater for warmth and hold him close. The most comfortable car rides today cannot replicate that special feeling.
Frozen coconut oil, dreaded hair washes, and almost everything smelling of vaporub aside, winter was and is special for one thing; food. Mumbai gets every fruit and vegetable, including mangoes, all year round. However, during winter we get the best natural produce which tastes great and has immense nutritional value. Sarson ka saag and other green leafy vegetables, red carrots, fresh green peas, custard apples, apples, and oranges are just a few of them. Best time to take your tastebuds on a flavourful ride!
My winter comfort food is homemade vegetable daliya/khichdi with ghee and achar, bajra roti with methi ka besan, or a hot bowl of tomato soup topped with croutons and cream. How can I forget feasting on those amazing gond ke laddoos, dry fruit chikkis, and gajar ka halwa treats every other day? In Aurangabad, we regularly went to farms for the famous Hurda parties. They were a foodie’s delight and had the best winter specials served with baked hurda and an assortment of chutneys, dahi, and juices. Gosh, I’m drooling now!
Basking in the mellow morning sun is one of my favourite winter things. Books and hot chocolate make the perfect pair and are the best way to spend lazy afternoons. Hunting for winter special recipes and making them for my family gives me immense joy. Although it takes some effort to get moving, I try not to miss my workouts and sweat out indoors.
Winter unwittingly blesses me with a husky voice that attracts some rather funny comments. Endless cups of haldi ka doodh cannot salvage me from them, and it’s okay. I can sing away to glory, aka Phoebe. I haven’t bought a single sweater for myself in years and if I do need one, I steal my husband’s. It’s cozier that way. Mumbai doesn’t get cold much but when it does, we love settling on the couch, pulling up a duvet, and diving into a movie marathon. Ways of experiencing winter must’ve changed over time but the memories always remain special. As they say, life changes and so do we!
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I know that feeling of sitting on abike and travelling the world. My father had Rajdoot motorcycle and I enjoyed sitting in the front on the petrol tank while my lilttle brother would sit behind in mom’s lap.
Ah this reminded me of winters in Dehradun when going to school and waking up at 5 am for math tuition used to be an adventure of its own.
Being a foodie, all this mention of winter special foods just made me drool! Bajre ki khichadi with ghee and choorma are some of the delights I really relish. Methi ka besan I need to check out.
Awwww… nostalgia… brought back so many fond memories of the winters that I spent in my hometown. Loved your post Varsha, could relate to so many of the things you’ve written about. Having been brought up in a hill town, we used to get 3 months winter holidays and those 3 months were the best. I have the best childhood memories from my winter holidays.
Winter O winter… life changed from the ones we used to have in our childhood and now. I used to sit outside in the afternoon with ma and used to have orange and read story books…. and now its hard to get some time out to soak the body under Sun and enjoy the winters. But Winter has its own charm and I love it
Sometimes WINTER makes us feel nostalgic.
I did not hear about Methi ka besan. I have lived in Andhra all my life and never seen any winters. I would like to experience the chilly days and hot steaming food.
I still remember the frozen coconut oil. Used to get up early and put that oil near the stove for melting. Sitting in front of fire (shakoti) for hours and grandma telling lots of stories. Winter break was so memorable. Your article reminds me my childhood.
Aww your post has made me nostalgic. I remember my childhood days when we used to enjoyed all these amazing winter things that you have mentioned in this post . As usual, a brilliant post from your side .
What a write up. This post brought back so many memories. You have painted almost every thing here that I experienced in childhood. I would long for spring to arrive. Foggy winter mornings in Delhi and Sundays spent sitting in the sun getting oil massages, would be the only shade I would add on your painting.
Winter, dry weather, dull skin and lots of moisturising is something which O have been tru for a long long time. I cant atand winters and now after being in Mangalore I hate the heat 😂
Your post was a trip down memory lane. It reminded me of the good old times. Sitting in the sun and having gajjak and rewri.
The winter season in Oman is very pleasant. Even if it’s cold inside, we can still go out and do the things we love. Nonetheless, I felt a pang of nostalgia as I read your post. Overall, I found it to be delightful. I was wondering if methi ka bessan was the same thing as muthiya.
Winter is definitely my favorite season. The fresh fruits and greens during the winters are the best. Enjoyed reading you reminiscing about winter growing up.
Loved reading this imagining myself somewhere cold as well…haha…while in reality I’m sweating my armpits out thanks to Singapore’s humid weather. I’ve always loved and enjoyed everytime I get a chance to stay at cold places.
Such a cute post! I hate winters. Nothing to love about it. Dilli ki sardi is harsh. And getting kids ready now that I am a mom is super challenging.
I love winters. Mumbai does not witness extreme cold but we are quite comfortable with the winters here. I loved reading your nostalgic memories. Even when I was small my mom would pull my blanket to wake me up in winters and that would do the trick. I wish I could feel her again. I loved eating my mum’s Khichidi with kadhi and papad. Miss those days.
When you talk about winter, I miss Delhi and Bengal. In Mumbai, it isnt cold at all. Huff…
However, I liked reading about your preferences.
Being in Mumbai I miss layering up the woollens and enjoying moongfali with bon fire. Oh! so nostalgic with your post Varsha!!
Every season brings with it lot of fun things to do and one thing as you said that changes drastically with seasons is the food. As most part of my schooling and college days were spent in Hyderabad I must say I escaped the daunting experience of shivering mornings.
Ah a nostalgic post!! Growing up in Northern part of the country we had our shares of struggles and loving memories on winter.
I still am celebrating my winter the same way. So many food, so good way enjoy winter with loads of colors , winter is always my fav season.
I used to also have a love-hate relationship with winter. Loved the cold but didn’t like wearing all the sweaters and stuff. Now I just love the cold because heat makes my head ache! Lovely write up!
Winter days memories are so close to the heart. And as im a foodie all those food talk and memories made me reminiscence my own childhood days. Thanks a lot for sharing such a beautiful blog.
what a beautiful post , brought so many lovely memories of winter from my childhood in north India. currently i am in western India, where it is same season all through the year, I so much miss the winters and all things wintry
Oh I am missing my mom. Winter food are so special and yummy. With goondh ke Ladoo, til ke Ladoo and gazak are my favorite. In Bangalore due to moderate temperature we neither experience too cold nor to hot. But miss north wali sardi.
I like winters only because of the awesome food. Specially the greens. Palak, sarso, methi, bathua wah…
Winter brings me joy! I don’t mind the multiple layers of clothing, living in the NCR region. BTW, chai is my staple too. My constant amongst the changing seasons 🙂
Lovely to hop onto your blog today!
My fondest memories of winter in Bangalore are me cozily bundled in denims and a pullover and meeting friends for hot idlis and coffee on the IISc campus. Ofcourse i would later be at the library to borrow murder mysteries…. something about winter makes reading mysteries all the more interesting 😀
I still curl up in my couch at night with a throw on me and a hot chai to accompany my favourite book or series.
The winter sun, bringing out those red sweaters that were part of our school uniform, the blue Nivea, Gajar ka halwa… Oh that childhood winter
Delhi winters are very similar to your Aurangabad ones… I do actually love them even though I complain about them. And now I’m the mom giving my son the glare to get out of bed!!