In 2008, the year I left Bombay -
during my first stint, it recorded possibly the coldest day in those years when
the mercury fell to as low as 8.5 degree Celsius in February that year. It was
and still is the most coldest weather I have experienced in Bombay.
(image source: www.thenewskick.com)
With Madras as home for the next
seven years, cold was unheard of, as the most minimum Madras records in
December - January are 'late teeny' or 'early twenty' degree temperatures. It
is balmy and even salubrious, but never cold.
Bombay, for me, has also
been mostly like that, except for a few occasions like 2008. I could adjust to
the Bombay climate because it was almost like Madras. So when someone asks me, "Can't you bear even this?", my
answer would be, "No, because I am
not used at all to this!"
The last two weeks have seen me
hark back to those days in February '08, when Bombay literally froze, more so
in the mornings. Even now, the mornings seem to be relatively colder (no, not
'cooler') than the evenings. I find some discomfort in venturing for my regular
5 am walk in shorts with the cold omnipresent. It is like standing in front of
a heavy tonnage air-conditioner at full blast.
My body can handle a good deal of
heat (Thanks to Madras' heat and humidity), but cold is something I cannot bear
beyond a limit. The first thing I do every single day in office is go and
request for a 'toning down" of the air conditioner. Thrice in the last two
weeks, I had to take short breaks during meetings since the air conditioner was
pounding and I found it unbearable to sit inside.
However, natural chill is
something my body tries to adjust better to than those created by the air
conditioners.
I don't know how long this
weather is going to stay or whether it will peter off now but return, as it did
in 2008. If it does, it is going to be another round of shivers and "good night, sleep tight!'.
6 comments:
"I am an asthmatic. I have been into the ICU and back in 2008...... " So Pradeep, please take care.
Sure. Thanks :)
Looks like this year (2015) has been a year of dramatic climatic changes. Thanks to Global warming....
Yes, Madras is an example.
I love winter. I am from a place (Bankura, West Bengal) where we experience extreme weather, summer it is 'supper' hot and winter it is 'super' cold. After coming to Mumbai 14 years back, I started yearning for real winter. I miss sleeping under lep (a thick cover made of cotton) from head to toe.......waking up late in the morning and then having a hot cup of tea under warm sunlight in the garden.....wearing beautifully handwoven sweaters.......
But I understand your situation also. My wife, who is from Chennai, can't even bear a little cold. May be it is similar for all from the southern part of the country.
Indeed:)
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