Sweet December

Winter is not my season.
It's cold.
The sun sets early.
It gets a tad depressing.

But I love December.
Especially December in Calcutta.
Yes,it's cold.
The sun sets early here too.
But there's a sense of warmth associated with this month and the city soaks it up and surrounds you with it.


December brings with it the routine trip to New Market, resplendent in its old world charm :the merry, christmas decor,the heavenly smell of freshly baked cakes and brownies from Nahoum's wafting through the air and children with the cutest head-gears.
Park Street resembles wonderland in all its Yuletide splendour.
Flurys looks like that house of goodies from the fairytale Hansel and Grethel.Only there's no wicked witch here.
It's true that the footfall increases by a dizzying amount and you need to queue up for your favourite sizzler,but you'd hardly see people complaining.
There's this infectious sense of well-being and bonhomie all around.
It maybe a far cry from the reality,but a little escapism didn't hurt anyone.
Come December,and down comes the Kashmiri Shawl-walas,winning our hearts and the bargains with their genial natures.Then again,bargaining isn't the priority of the season.The Circus,though trampled by the sands of time,rolls in and you see that big colourful tent at Park Circus Maidan.
December is,as it always was.


December brings back memories.
December for the good 14 years of my life had meant the longest vacation of the year.
It meant the Nativity Play at school;singing for the choir with hideous make-up that made my cheeks look like that of a clown rather than being rosy.
December meant writing inane holiday notes on each other's hands and arms and the thrill of keeping it hidden from Ma who didn't approve of the skin being used as a replacement for paper.
Shivering on our way to school,cursing the skirts,and then basking in the winter sunshine before classes began : that was December.
Rubbing my hand vigorously to keep them warm,letting someone see how cold it was,which later I realized was his juvenile excuse for simply holding it,for a good two hours.That was December too.
December memories, from bygone years still keeps me warm with its sepia aura.

December brings with it an eventuality.
The hope of a new beginning in a discrete time scenario.
The sigh of a huge relief for all the bad times traversed.
A promise of tomorrow,with a fond recollection of yesterday.

Yes,it's cold.
And the sun sets early.
But there's hardly any darkness in the December I see.
All we gotta do is to look for the light at the right places.
And very often,the chances are that it's within you and me.
December doesn't bestow heavenly light on you.
It simply helps you seek it for yourself.
That's my December.Sweet December.
:)