Winter in Delhi

You wake up in the morning wondering why its still dark outside even when the clock says its 7am?...you look out of the window and see....nothing...only a white smoky world. Delhi is enveloped in thick fog in the morning. Its almost like a huge fire was burning the entire night and by morning the flames have died down leaving behind smoky remains... Ofcourse, you cant feel anything remotely close to warmth. Its cold..and getting colder...

Its my first extended stay in Delhi during winter time. I am extremely curious about the fog. It seems to move on its own, swirling along with the wind. The locals tell me that these fogs are nothing. Later on it gets much worse, when you cant even see a meter in front of you....should be interesting..

Winter is the season of weddings in Delhi. The night air is filled with sounds of the 'Baraat'. There are innumerable weddings happening in the resorts and the party farms scattered around the city. One common feature of all these weddings is the 'lavishness' - truly epitomising the 'Great fat Indian wedding'!! The baraat is interesting. A hapless groom sits on top of a horse, all dressed up and I'm sure praying to God that the horse dosent bolt!! There is a band accompanying, with trumpets and drums belting out various filmy numbers...There are brilliant lights to light up the dancing family in front...The baraat finally culminates in the venue where I'm sure the relieved groom dismounts from the horse and goes forward to tackle his next great adventure called marriage.

In all this excitement and happiness, people somehow forget about the band. The bandwallahs are forced to huddle together in a corner to keep themselves warm from the biting cold as their colourful uniforms fail to offer any protection. The horses are also tied alongside with a piece of decorative cloth or if they are lucky, a blanket on their bodies to keep warm. I am sure they are paid for their troubles, but this is one face of India that is ignored. People, especially poor people, are acknowledged only when there is a need for them, otherwise slipping into oblivion as soon as their 'use' is over. This is an attitude that needs changing if we are to truly aspire to being a great country as we so often proclaim to be.