𝗙𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝘂𝗻: 𝗔 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲

Winter is around the corner, and we spoke to our member Ms K. Ghosh about her love for the colder months, childhood memories, and the vast array of winter foods she has always looked forward to.
All year round I wait for winter. I dislike the heat as much as the rains. During these months I avoid going out as much as I can. Nowadays, with the city turning into a concrete jungle, the summers are getting from bad to worse. I feel bad when the Support Elders staff have to visit me, and I try my best not to ask them for help. I feel it is difficult for anybody to work in such conditions, and so I try to be as self-reliant as I can. But come winter and my mood changes. When we were younger, winter meant trips: school trips, picnics, and trips with the family. Those times were simpler too. A trip to the zoo, and a picnic on the grass in the gardens, meant a lot to us. I grew up in a joint family and we were a big group. School trips were a different dose of fun because it meant we would be travelling with our friends. We used to be taken to Bandel church, Diamond Harbour, Dakhineswar, Belur, and we’d enjoy it very much.
Winter also meant special foods and sweets: Pithe (sweet pancakes stuffed with coconut and jaggery) and payesh (kheer or rice pudding) were my favourite wintertime sweet dishes. My mother would fry nimki (savoury treats) as always but along with that we would get a whole lot of dishes made from winter vegetables, which I used to love. It is possible to get cauliflower and frozen peas throughout the year now, but when I was younger these items were a winter specialty. My mother would prepare karaishutir kochuri (flatbreads stuffed with peas) and dhakai paratha (a flaky, layered flatbread). My father used to dislike eating out and so he insisted these dishes be cooked at home. When I got married, my father-in-law, who was quite the opposite, would take us out and try and convince us to eat the varieties of food available outdoors.
Along with good food, winter has always meant peace to me: peace and pleasant weather. When the bustle and grime of summer and the constant battering of the rains die down, winter arrives with its comforting hand. I look forward to the coming months and hope to enjoy it as much as I can.
(𝘈𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳)