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Freezing Cold In New Delhi
Just got off the mOM and she says its freezing cold in New Delhi. Apparently the temperatures are down to 0.2 degrees centigrade, making it the coldest in 70 years. Reuters reports that a severe cold wave is sweeping Asia right now. Global warming is showing form, and well I bet it only gets uglier in years to come.
It used to get cold in Delhi, but nothing like that. I infact always enjoyed the winters as a kid. Mom would fire up a little “anghiti” on which she would cook some great jaggery-filled parathas, and we would gather around to keep warm. The smoke from the charcol-fired stove would sting our eyes, as we huddled under coarse Army-issue blankets my grand father would get. Still, all of us would stay put, listening to grandma’s stories about the old country. Dad and grand dad would quietly watch over the brood, never uttering a word; and then let me know, time to hit Wren & Martin for my english lessons. I would complain about the home assignments; and why I have to study, and everyone else gets to relax. (Well, 30 years later, we know why….)
Getting up in the morning was always tough. Still, getting dressed up in flannel trousers, a rep tie and blue blazer with a gray woolen vest to keep me warm. And then waiting in cold for the school bus. Then in faint light of the dusk, playing cricket in the street, with a hard cork ball, paint peeling, that would almost always rap on unprotected knuckles….it would hurt like a m*********r. Winter! Oh sweet days of eating cholia… (Anyone know direct english translations of anghiti, paratha and cholia, please leave a comment!)
I wonder what would have happened if it was cold like yesterday? Maybe I could get to stay at home? I am feeling a bit homesick, overwhelmed, like many, by loss of innocence and perhaps being part of an anthem without a nation. Perhaps time to turn back to things I can deal with like broadband…
Om,
You are gonna get us all homesick by that post and the mention of anghiti and trouble getting up early part !
i know…. i also saw this movie song last night… which just killed me … you know the pankaj udhas one…. “letter from home etc.” i am feeling pretty blue right now….
i have never been to india and where i come from 0 centigrade doesnt seem so cold but this part about getting up early is pretty international. but please enough blue for now!
Last year the fogs had shutdown the delhi airport for a few days… I hate to see what this year would be like. I still remember walking to the bus stop every day in the morning at 7am… it was a freezing hell with a few meter visibility.
What I miss the most is the visit to the tea stalls from work for a quick masala chai… starbucks doesn’t come close to it. 🙂
yeah Om, it goes like ‘Chitthi aayee hai…’
i know i know…. just straddling the two worlds here… 🙂
This post makes me so homesick.
I think a anghiti would be a charcoal stove. But, a paratha is a paratha is a paratha. If you cannot say it, you cannot eat it – IMO :->
Om, what a great post. I have been pondering about home quite a bit. Certainly miss being in India, when one of the greatest sporting rivalries is going to unfold within a week.
Ash, so finally i have figured out why I am blue. There is no baseball and I cannot watch cricket. sigh…
On the subject of homesick and home, did anyone catch the Jana Gana Mana on Google Videos? I found it very inspiring.
google videos, sigh… it doesn’t play nice with mac and well, maybe forced to use windows soon enough…
Paratha – griddle fried bread resembling thick homemade tortillas but made w/ whole wheat usually instead of refined flour.
Chholia – aka “green gram”, aka “hara channa”, aka “green lentils”, aka “mung beans”. Often cooked and eaten like peas. Sometimes eaten sprouted.
[Om, note… in transliterated written English I think there’s 2 h’s in there.]
Chole – spicy chick pea paste fried in clarified butter.
Chholia Halwa – mung bean flour sweet/savory dessert.
PS… Ghee (clarified butter) makes everything taste better!
Gosh, so many homesick indians in the US. Why don’t you people come back?! India is also growing, be part of the change that is taking place and help it grow further!
the difference between memories and where we choose to live are two different things. it is nostalgia. this too shall pass!
Even after living in the valley for over 20 years, I still miss IIT Delhi Central Cafteria. Ganjae and chikna serving Aloo Paratha’s, Oh I miss nippy and foggy Delhi winter.
This post should have been aptly titled … Nostalgic OM and Co. 😀
Ha ha nice…. i am over my blues by the way… moving on back…
Om, what do you mean Google Video doesn’t work well with the Mac? That’s only the paid videos which aren’t even on the site yet. Regular video.google.com videos play fine in all browsers that can use Flash.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7399792002477900458
Is the only one I could find with jana gana mana in the description.
OM,
I miss my dosa and vada’s too !! :)- you post and comments just made my mouth water with all goodie goodie dishes that you describe. I miss the pav bhajee too !!
Argh you’re making me hungry, Om. BTW, parathas are easily found at any Indian restaurant in the states, even here in West Virginia. Probably not as good though. Chholia sounds worth looking into…
Hey, i just heard, that some junior schools have also been closed for a few days coz of the cold wave, don’t remember nething like that in our days. N Wow!! It used to be a site to watch in Lodhi Garden in the mornings, with the regulars still out with their monkey caps, however thick the fog would be.
Gosh!! Guys we should have a paratha party here, to get over this nostalgia!!