Wintery indulgences: 'Arrey, thandi ma chaale baka!'

Afew days back, I received an SMS - 'Dear Rajnikant, please close the door of your fridge properly, Gujarat is freezing over (lol)'. The flavour of this week for Amdavad has undeniably been winter — Gulaabi thandi as we colloquially call it.

Our lovely weatherwoman revealed that this week Ahmedabad has hosted the coldest day of February in a decade. Amdavadis happily enjoyed the frosty mornings, coldish evenings and how. By well, hanging out till later than usual at the chai kitlis, drinking a bit more of the hard drinks in the evenings (uh hmmm, c'mon, not that we need an excuse but this time the weather commands it, with great emphasis on the word 'commands') and bringing out the great book of Gujju winter recipes (we cannot imagine enjoying something if food is not an integral part of it).

So Undhiyu is still around, Tal and sing chikki are selling like hot cakes and red pepper is sprinkled a tad more generously with the variety of deep-fried farsaan (thandi ma chaale baka!). Some are gleefully revelling in the knowledge that poor Bombayite cousins are also freezing at eight (something) degrees Celsius and they haven't ever owned a sweater unless they visited Manali. "Hey J, it feels like it's going to snow in Bombay this time," one of my distant cousins told me in all seriousness on Friday. I downloaded two 'free' weather apps on Friday evening to prudently plan my couture.

There are all sorts of theories floating around as to why it is getting so cold this season - none of which involve a scientific input from a subject expert. I am not including the ones which deal with morality issues, but in one conversation, someone supplied it has something to do with climate change. "Ohhh… wasn't it supposed to get hotter or something… that's what the American guy said in all those presentations na," quipped this pretty wife of a friend's friend to join into a conversation as she realised she was losing the thread. "Arrey, that was global warming silly," nudged another as if the lady committed an infraction.

I suppose it helps that mushy love is going to be the flavour this week with Valentine's Day tomorrow. I am sure it's no news young Amdavadi girls (and not so young) are really, really (really) into celebrating the urban embodiment of good ol' relationship maintenance guidelines - like say I love you, give a pointless gifts, spend time alone, go moony-eyed looking at each other; the list can be long enough to test your patience.

The weather, I am told is going to play cupid this time; a lot of parties happening on far away farmhouses because the 'weather is so good!' Ironically, none in the special 'Valentine's Day line' at the haute boutiques in Amdavad seem to have kept the cupid weather in mind. Pretty petite red dresses and little skirts dot various ensembles (how cute, but no red shirts for metrosexual guys please, black cardigans are just fine).

Traditionally too, it is vasant (spring), the season of love, melody, smiles and happiness and it is indeed for the first time in a long long time that it actually feels like spring. So, here's hoping the Mayans are wrong about the world coming to an end in 2012 but till we find out, lets enjoy the spring, rub hands at bonfire and barbeque parties, ogle at the migratory birds at Thol and Nal, flaunt some lovely scarves and woolies, wear the reds, share marshmallows with your Valentine, gorge on the bhajiya-gaanthiya farsaan and raise a toast to life (Arrey, thandi ma chaale baka!).