Wind Chill

Ram Shankar Shukla exemplified our state of mind today. Normally we troop into the Garden around 7 a.m. for the exercises. But there he was, at 7 a.m. coming out – all huddled up, his 6 feet-plus frame reduced to 5 feet-odd, hands clasped together and shivering. “Bahut jada lag raha hai!” he complained and walked away.
It was cold – freeeeezing cold. The morning temperatures had suddenly dropped by three degrees, taking everyone by surprise. While the newspapers attributed this to hailstorms and continuing weather disturbances in northern India, nothing had quite prepared us for the ferocious wind chill. Pullovers, mufflers and shawls, which are usually adequate for Mumbai’s winters, today felt useless (see pic). Only a couple of men could be seen in their trademark shorts and T-shirts. As Nafisa Sayyad pointed out, our only consolation was that we did not have to brave rain or snowfall as those in the northern parts of the country.
Yet another relief, we may add, is that tomorrow is Sunday. We get a day’s respite from this horrible refrigerating torture.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Strange phenomenon! Shukla-ji hails from a place where the maximum temperature during winter remains well below the minimum temperature of Mumbai. So winter in Mumbai should be comfortable for the north Indian. Instead Shukla-ji went back to the pavilion!!!
Harish Wadhwa:
It was nice to see members in woollens, cardigans and shawls. But there were some like Bose Babu and Arora-ji who still come in short pants and T-shirts. Wah kya baat hai, thand hee nahi lagti unhe... Cold-blooded creatures!