First and foremost: come winter season and there is an onslaught of warm clothes, sweaters, blankets and quilts which are taken out of the trunks where they are stored for a major part of the year. For warm clothes, there is a major spring cleaning of wardrobes under the supervision of mothers. Summer clothes are folded away and put at the back, while the warm ones are brought out to the front.
It is quite interesting to note that even though it is quite fun to step out of the house each morning and pull one’s sweater tightly around oneself to guard against the chilly winds, there are some young people who take immense pride in not wearing any warm clothes at all. There must be at least a couple of such people in your own school if you look around carefully. One cannot imagine what is so cool about not wearing sweaters, especially if the temperature is indeed quite low. But not wearing sweaters is something that is bragged about to no limit.
Of course, winter is also the time to bring out and wear fancy shawls. They can be worn at all occasions and several varieties of shawls are available to choose from. In fact, there are some people who have genuine allergies to wool and they end up with rashes on their arms if they try to wear one. Shawls are indispensable in such cases. But, as with any item of clothing, shawls too sometimes become a fashion statement and hence, the “cool factor” comes in again. However, if you compare shawl-wearing-for-fashion to non-sweater-wearing, the less desirable option is quite clear.
Apart from warm clothes, a major charm of winters is the delectable selection of dry fruits. Yep, there are all those peanuts, walnuts and cashew nuts which your mother doesn’t allow you to eat the year around stating that these shouldn’t be eaten during summers. Well, now is your chance to gorge on them. You can either gather around a heater with your family after dinner and enjoy these delectable items, or curl up on your favourite arm chair with a bowl of mixed dry fruits. Or you can have a sleepover with your friends or cousins, and make a midnight snack out of these dry fruits. The choice of food, however, is not limited to dry fruits. There is a wide variety of winter food which you can enjoy from coffee and hot chocolate to bars of chocolate and simmering chicken corn soup.
And who can resist the hoards of juicy oranges? If kino is a bit sour, you can enjoy the sweet malta. Eat it or savour the frostly squeezed juice — the choice is yours.
A close synonym of food at least in the Pakistani context is a wedding. Come the more chilly weather and suddenly there is a spurt in the number of wedding invitations. Winter weddings have their own charm and their own issues. First and foremost, there is the extreme reluctance on the part of most young people to wear something warm over the fancy dresses. Then, there’s a very annoying yet regular sight at most of the winter weddings. When dinner is served, people pile up their plates with food only to discover that it goes cold within minutes. Hence, they go fill up their plates again.
Alas, all isn’t totally hale and hearty when it comes to winters. It is all too well to snuggle up in blankets with a book or munch on dry fruits after dinner. However, the beginning of the winter season also means the start of a dreadful flu. For some, it is a routine sinus problem. For others, it is the change of weather. Whatever the reason may be, you are sure to hear quite a lot of sneezing and sniffles around you as people brave through a bout of flu. And if you happen to be one of those people, then all you can do is wait patiently for it to run its course as this flu is usually viral. Of course, if you are into home remedies, then honey and white pepper combined does work wonders.
Another very difficult thing to do during winters is to wake up in the morning. Nothing is more irritating than the sound of the alarm clock on a winter morning. It is an absolute torture to pull oneself out of the warm blanket or quilt, and then stand shivering in front of the basin, waiting for hot water to wash one’s face.
Woes aside, there are some things which seriously constitute a to-do list for winter. If you haven’t already tried some of these things out, then take this winter season as an opportunity to do the same.
• Make a list of books to constitute your winter reading. When the temperature drops to the extent that you don’t feel like doing anything, it is always a good idea to curl up with a book.
• Don’t miss out on a winter walk. Even if it is just a stroll around the neighbourhood park, do make it a point to go. Winters are one time when early morning walks can be enjoyed to the fullest. Of course, dragging yourself out of bed and then willing yourself to step out of the house may require a huge effort, but in the end it is well worth it.
• As the winter season approaches, there are calls for donations by many welfare organisations. Find the one which you can trust, and do give some of the warm clothes for those who are not as privileged as you are. For the poor people, winters are a trial and your spare blankets and quilts can do wonders.
In short, try and make the most out of the winter season instead of grumbling about how cold (or otherwise) you are and how your flu is making it impossible for you to do anything else. After all, winter does come for only a very few months, and before you know it, it is summer time again. So be positive and make this winter season a truly fulfilling one, not just for yourself but for others as well.
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