Of People and Places

I had heard so much about the bitter winters of the North but nothing could prepare me for the days I spent in Delhi in Winter. It is a peculiar cold that tries to claw at you- dry and treacherous. In the wee hours of the morning, this is a common sight in some of the streets in Delhi - A group of people huddling against each other trying to warm their bones in little bonfires by the side of the road. What I was so amused and happy to find was that large-hearted people in Delhi  give out vests to street dogs to help them make it through the winter. I have seen many snug gunny bags laid out for street dogs that serve as makeshift shelters.I have seen street dogs with some funky looking jackets and vests - like they are part of some Winter Fashion week :D . Apparently some colonies find street dogs curled up in the embers of last night's bonfire trying to warm themselves. 

The way to Nainital from Kathgodam. Uttarakhand welcomed me with her arms wide open, as the bus turned yet another hairpin bend. Her pines glistened in the winter sun and the small mountain streams twinkled at me like her two merry eyes.   Two places have filled me with infinite delight because of their tininess – Gokarna and Nainital.   I cannot describe what I felt when I finally reached the Tallital bus stand.The Naini lake stood there in majesty with the town all around her. From the cycle rickshaw that I sat in, I drank in all the beauty surrounding me. Truly you do not  know what sunlight means to you unless you are out on a winter’s day in the hills. And the sun is so caressing, it fills you with warmth. Picture if you can a tiny teardrop of water, surrounded by higgledy-piggledy houses amid tall trees. Add to that a gloriously clear baby blue sky with dreamy clouds. That is what I saw on the ropeway. It must be so beautiful to see it in the night....