And Then the Winter!

When we returned to Kolkata by the third week of January 2023 we hoped we still had a chance of catching the winter that we miss most often due to our compulsory visits to Maharashtra. As per our own experience in previous years in the city of joy the month of February could still be cold or even chilly if you're lucky! We had the stock of the woollens ready to welcome us in. However, to our utter disappointment the temperatures kept on climbing making the use of all my sweaters, jackets, blazers and so on an wasted thought. The summer looked to be around very early this time. In fact, in several regions of the country there were heat waves! February heat waves, imagine! 

Early March we came to Assam as another integral part of our compulsive itinerary. The first few days were almost the same in terms of heat, except that the nights were much cooler, but still not enough to justify the use of sweaters one of which I carried in my bag as a reasonable discretion. From the 15th of that month things changed, as if to recompense our unfulfilled desires. 

Weather became cloudy. Rains, not exactly downpours, became intermittent; there were thunderstorms in various parts; and a steady cold breeze became the order of every day. All these factors made the air cool, and then really chilly. I thanked myself profusely for my discretion of carrying a sweater. I wore that continuously for at least ten days and thought remorsefully about the unutilized stock cold shouldered by the cupboards of Kolkata! 

We don't know if the conditions thus created are thanks to the unseasonal rains or the westerly winds or the ominously omnipresent climate change phenomenon. But anyhow, we had the winter that we desired so much to enjoy, even though we'd discovered it quite a bit  late. Yes, and then the winter, belated but most welcome! 

Over the 'wintry' days we got the news that these conditions were observed in most parts of the country, and that the month became the coldest March in more than seventy years. 

Now, what but to brace for the looming summer which, as the Met department has already declared, is going to be rough with above normal temperatures in almost all the states of India. But as usual, we cannot be too sure of anything. Soaring heat that then becomes intolerably humid has been the state of things in the last at least three years, with add-on of the Pandemic. Only wish the Homo Sapiens had found a solution to tackle climate change and global warming effectively. To be safe, let's not worry too much!