“The Days are tough and nights are unbearable left an indelible memories”
Qysar ul Islam Shah
Frosty atmosphere every side, chill air, sitting idle,roasting walnuts in firepots, eating pickles with pluses (daal), attaining warmth at nearby masjid hamam, enjoying snowflakes, playing with snowballs, breaking icicles, watching vehicles slipping and dancing on the road, waiting for hours snow machines to come, commuters walking wearing tall shoes, trees in downward shapes/looks with heavy snow on their branches, children slipping on the mounds of snow, people clearing the snow accumulated on their roofs for the entire days, mounds/heaps of accumulated snow upto windows, cool and calmness everywhere and many more, are some unforgettable and mesmerizing memories. This was the winter that we have witnessed in the past.
Winter season in Kashmir starts from October and lasts till early March. This season left a lot of tales that people have been mentioning always like weaving of (pattej) hay carpets/mats. It was the season in the Kashmir people used to stay in homes for almost two to three months without having any sort of desired work. During this stiff period people used to store necessary food items. The heavy snowfall leads to road closures and disruption in transportation.Electricity seemed daydream due to improper wiring connectivity. Pesky power system was around. The older generation remembers a time when Kashmir was completely cut off from the rest of the world and to ensure comfortable winters people had to stock all the necessities in advance.
With advancement in technology things are quite comfortable as compared to earlier. People have adapted to the tough winter environment and these adaptations continue to remain due to accessibility of advanced gadgets. One of the basic and necessary preparations happens to be with regards to clothes suitable for winters. Apart from thermals, rabbit type clothes, sweaters, and other warm clothes an integral part of Kashmiri winter clothing is “Phern”–a long woven gown type cloth worn by both men and women. Women phern have embroidery work over them while as mens are simple one. Another way of ensuring warmath during the cold season is hammam. Hammams are special rooms built in almost every kashmiri house that has hollowed out floor, it considered very important for both old ages and young kids. The hollow space beneath the floor has small opening from outside of the house and also a chimney.Firewood is burnt in the hollow space through the opening. Copper water tank (steamer)is placed above the spot where firewood is burnt. Apart from old hammams now we have brick type hammam, electric hammam and many more.
During pre-winters floors are being covered with warmer carpets or “Namdas/Gabbas” and even warm rugs are being placed. The another important thing done during winters is to cover the window with polythenes inorder to ensure no cold air enters the room. During cold and long nights another problem people used to face during winter was non- availability of adequate electricity. As the winter set in, the amount of electricity gets reduced. The erratic power supply during the season was beyond the challenge.
Apart from the coldest days and long nights during the winter season, exposure to cold can cause frostbite in which infants and elderly people become more susceptible. Frostible is a damage to body tissue caused by extreme cold. Frostbite causes a loss of feeling and white or pale appearance in extremities like hands, foot, ears, ear loves, fingers etc. But this year’s winter tale is quite different than usual. No snow in Chalie-Kallan, no rain, no frost and even temperature feels warm during harsh winter days. Tourists are not coming, there have been hundreds of cancellation of hotel bookings as there have been no snowfall. Tourism industries have suffered badly due to the lack of precipitation this winter. A special prayer Salat Al-Istisqa
was offered in almost all Jamia Masjids of Kashmir valley in order to seek divine intervention in ending the prevailing dry weather. Though this winter didn’t suffice our demands, the way it has been behaving with us from last decades, but we are hopeful that scarcity of water for the rest of the year will not last long. Hopefully there would be frequent precipitation in Kashmir despite Challai-Kalan goes without snow or rainfall. May Allah forgive our sins and ease our hardships.
Qysar ul Islam Shah teacher by profession hails from Sonnar Darpora.