Delhi winters: time to enjoy the sun, weddings, and gajar ka halva

One of the best songs that describes the Delhi winters is from Sanjeev Kumar’s movie called Mausam. The lyrics of the song is something like this “Dil dhoondta hai phir wahi fursat ke raat din”. Written by Gulzar and sung by the melodious Bhupinder Singh the song captures the beauty of the Delhi winters.

It’s 6 am and still dark outside. The maid rings the bell but who will get out of the thick cotton blanket called razai is a big question. The wife asks the husband to open the door but surprisingly there is no response. Finally, the wife opens the door telling the maid why she comes so early in the winter. Memsaheb poore 6 baj gaye hain! The next big challenge after opening the main door is who will make the tea. There is a role reversal and in a war of words, the subdued one has to get out of bed to make tea. This is how a typical day starts in Delhi in December and January.

The colourful gardens and balconies

The balconies in every second home are decked up with colourful Dahlias, petunias, pansies, marigolds, and roses. Families start their day by reading the temperature chart to see if the minimum temperature has made a new record or not. The maximum temperature is 18 degrees while the minimum is 5. Depending on the temperature the clothing for the day is decided. Jackets and shawls form the outer layering while woollen sweaters and cardigans are the innerwear.

Every Delhiite has two set of dresses – one for winter and one for summer. As soon as winter sets in Delhi, the entire wardrobe changes to woollen sweaters, cardigans, shawls, mufflers, and silk sarees. On the other hand, T-shirts, shorts, half-sleeve shirts, cotton sarees, and trousers are ready to be packed. Along with the daily wear a Delhiite has to be ready with a set of formal clothes like woolen suits, ties, silk sarees, and shawls that are required to attend the numerous parties and weddings.

The Delhi winters and the awesome food

Winters bring the choicest of vegetables into every home. There are plenty of leafy vegetables like palak, methi, soya, and sarson. Every foodie gets a chance to gorge on dishes like palak ka saag, palak paneer, methi ke paratha, sarson ka saag, and missi roti.  As a result, moms are happy as there is a whole variety of sabzi to choose from – gobhi, matar, gajar, shalgam, bund gobhi, etc. Kids are no more complaining at the dining table as there is plenty to choose from – matar-paneer, aloo-gobhi, gajar-matar, aloo-methi.

At the corner of every market, you can find vendors selling gajar ka halva, and gulab jamuns. The red-colored gajar ka halva dressed up with white khoya served on an eco-friendly bamboo plate just tastes like heaven. The hot black gulab jamun that burns your taste buds is something to die for. You can see the cart surrounded by people who take a stroll during the lunch break from the office.

Weddings during Delhi winters are a feast not only for the eyes but also for the taste buds. If you ask me for just one dish that one should try out at a wedding party during Delhi winters, I will suggest moong ki dal ka halwa. It’s a sweet dish that appears only in winter and is difficult to prepare at home. There is a huge variety of sweet servings in a winter wedding. From hot milk served in a kulhad to the circular-shaped jalebis served hot and topped up with rabri. The ones who prefer halvas can choose from gajar to moong dal. Those who are fond of traditional sweets prefer hot gulab jamuns with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The winter sun is a blessing

Walk into any park and you will find hordes of people strolling in the park. Few relaxing on the bench while the rest sitting on the green grass busy gossiping about daily life. The ones who had heavy lunches prefer to take a power nap with a towel on their face.

Winters happen to be the peak season for the tea stall vendors. The day starts with a foggy morning with office people trying to warm themselves standing next to the burning chulha. A cup of tea with a hot bread pakora warms up the body for the rest of the day. As soon as the sun sets several roadside vendors make an appearance from nowhere. The carts line up the footpath serving the stressed-out office-leaving crowd. Boiled eggs, bread omelet, and hot maggi are good enough to fight the winter chill.

Weekend at home means soaking in sunlight just like the elephant seals on an island in the North Sea. Nibbling moongfali with a pinch of salt adds to the fun quotient. Meanwhile, if a guest arrives, he is also offered the same precious space under the sun. A welcome round of tea along with a gossip session is good enough to raise the body temperature.

Delhi winters make you lethargic

Getting dressed up on a wintery day is a big challenge. The morning chill makes even the die-hard exercisers feel lethargic. The few brave ones who gather the courage to go out for their morning walk cover themselves with at least 2-3 layers of clothing. A warmer plus a woollen sweater covered by a jacket is the minimum clothing one needs to face the morning chill. In addition, there are a few accessories like woollen gloves, a cap, and a muffler that add up to the morning dress protocol. A completely dressed-up man during early morning in the Delhi winters resembles an Eskimo.

Taking bath in the morning hours is a challenge – the bathing routine changes from daily to alternate days. Switching on the geyser becomes a norm. Getting ready for the office means getting layered up in thermals followed by the regular shirt and trousers or a salwar suit and finally getting wrapped up in a suit or a cardigan.

The open lawn wedding

Winters are a big challenge for women. The question for them is whether to wrap a shawl while attending a winter wedding party in the open lawns or not. As a strategy, the shawl is kept as a backup in the car and if the Delhi winter chill is beyond the tolerance level, the spouse is supposed to activate plan B by fetching the shawl from the vehicle. Men generally don’t face this dilemma. They come fully dressed in woollen suits. Their roving eyes are looking for the bar that will power their batteries to stand the Delhi winter chill.

With the morning becoming foggy and sunlight, a precious commodity a Delhiite prefers spending his day indoors in the warmth of a cotton razai watching his favorite soap on Netflix.

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