War With Winter

I have always been a summer person. Summers define activeness, productivity, energy and movement. But living in North India, you get to experience wonderful winters and obviously, I am annoyed by them.

But I am a tough summer soldier and surely, I won’t let the vicious winters defeat me. So, I strategized a complete warfare to defeat winters and I must say it was a chilly battle indeed.

 

The first attack comes in the morning and makes getting up from bed a real- life struggle. The very quilt that saves you from freezing to death at night entangles you in its wrap in the mornings. Lying back down for just a second would sink you down and you would be waking up after an hour or more.

Finally, out of my bed, I enter the washroom and the cold chilly morning air hits me in the face. But I look winters in the eye and switch on the geyser. You can keep hitting me with coldness, but I got hot water to fight back. I know hot showers can leave your skin wrinkly in old age, but beauty takes a backseat in such extreme conditions.

 

Out of the shower I come back to my bed and solemnly fold my quilt cause if I enter it right now, I will never be able to leave it.

 

Then I prepare my battle drink of hot boiling water which would keep me both warm and hydrated.

 

Finally, it's time to suit up in my specially engineered battle armor. 

It has 2 layers of warmers, 1 sweatshirt, 1 sweater and my favorite jumbo jacket fit to live in Artic region. I then wear 2 layers of socks before sealing them with my shoes. To fight off the gusts of chilly winds I wrap around a woolen scarf and put on a woolen cap as my head gear, and my gloves too. 

Don't worry I manage to hang my bag without toppling over.

 

Finally, I am ready to step out for my first class at 8 am. But then I commit the mistake of asking Google the temperature as she tartly replies, it 4 degrees but feels like 2 degrees Celsius.

 

Yes, just the right amount of motivation required to walk into the white wall of dense fog.

To cross through the fog, I lower down my head and try to navigate my way blindly, trusting my instinct. On reaching the classroom I cannot stop the smirk, as I had one - upped winters.

Next winters siege the sun from me. It gets really depressing for a summer soldier to live without the sun for days stretch. Continuous artificial lights do not make me feel better. My spirits are greatly dampened. Clearly this move of winters leaves me greatly injured. My savior in this condition is my little electric bottle, it acts like the power of the sun in your lap.

 

Next, winters hinder my study pattern. With so many layers of clothing I feel warm and snuggly, it's like wearing a portable blanket. The early darkness and eerie stillness trigger my hibernation cells and leaves me nodding off on the desk.

I am still coming up with a technique to righten it but yeah studying in winters is hard.

 

Then winters are really manipulative and alluring with their food and cravings. These winter delicacies pull you towards them and leaves you munching constantly throughout the day. But it is all an illusion these are too sleep-inducing things which make brave soldiers' slowdown in their war against winter.

 

But in a way this food is a boon too as it gives us warmth in winters.

 

I guess food is a neutral party in this fight.

 

Winter then attacks me with dryness which I counter with creams. It attacks me with cold and coughs out comes honey, cough syrups, and tea to battle.

 

Winters slow time down and turn the wait into torture. They make it impossible to travel freely, they confine me indoors which maddens me sometimes as I can’t go out in the open. It feels stifling to be stuck in one place but then winters give me time to ponder about things. They say winters are the time to look inside yourself.

 

It is the time to do some deep reflections. Even trees shed their leaves and stagnant their growth enclosing their life in just their core.

 

Maybe I am fighting a wrong battle. It is not about pushing back winters but instead letting it flow over you. It will stay outside if you stay calm. It won’t touch your inner flame and keep you motivated. It's tough for me to slow down as a summer soldier and I want ups and downs in life. But seeing the fog settle over my window this winter morning and hearing not even a leaf rustle I realize that the war with winters is a cold one.

 

Where, no action, will lead to victory.

 

Yeah, it’s a silent battle but being happy each chilly day adds to my winning streak and winters might win somedays but I pity them as we humans have caused so much Global Warming that days of winters are short and soon spring would be knocking on the door and I would be rushing over to welcome it.