Winters Through The Years

Winter I ( Beginning of 1994)
On a cold Tuesday in Plano, at 42° F (that's 6° C) and relative humidity 49%, Gee Phyllis and Melissa Jones decided that I was being too damn stubborn about leaving my mom, and forced me to take my first breath at 7:16 PM. A Cesarean section, obviously. And so I was born-- 9 lbs, 21 1/4 inches, black hair, 10 days late, all that-- a winter baby. I'm not too sure about the details, but I'm pretty sure I loved the incubator. I also loved quilts and mittens. Winter was a bit too harsh on me; my skin was terribly dry and some baby instinct told me to scratch and itch. Hence the mittens which rendered my fingers useless.


Winter II (1994-95)
I was wrapped up in cute dresses and blankets at home in Dallas. Hundreds of pictures were taken. My first birthday cake featured Ariel from The Little Mermaid. There was always family around.


Winter III (1995-96)
I began to say my name. A lot. My first sentence was... oddly enough, an imitation. Of the AT&T ad, 'True Voice'. My baby book vaguely mentions a fixation with blocks. We went to India. I celebrated my birthday there and got my first hair cut. I learned some Telugu, and cried while leaving my grandparents. I enjoyed my last winter in Dallas. It did not snow that year; of this, I am certain.


Winter IV (1996-97)
San Diego was warmer. I made my first friend, Ashley. I enjoyed sitting outside my apartment on the stairs. I distinctly remember spilling my dad's coffee all over myself when I was all bundled up in a thick sweater. It wasn't a pleasant experience. I also remember dropping a large marble bowl (the kind you use to pound spices in) on my foot. The scar has faded recently, but I can still find it when I look hard enough.We went to a lot more places than we did before. It rained when we went to Sea World. I got a life-sized Barbie doll, taller than me, for my birthday.


Winter V (1997-98)
We moved to Chicago for 6 months, in the winter. It was one of the loveliest houses we've stayed in. Our corner had an enormous lawn with a tree or two scattered around. All I did during those days was play outside, jump into stacks of leaves, put my doll in a stroller and walk around, and most importantly, feed the ducks that came in through the back gate with crumbs of bread. When it started getting really cold, though, they stopped coming. I didn't really understand why for some time, until I went to school. It began to snow, and my mom started falling ill very often. I went to day care for a month, always bundled up in a thick pink jumpsuit with a hood. I made some wonderful memories that winter, and I fell in love with snow.


Winter VI (1998-99)
I remember things like school and grocery shopping and Teletubbies filling up my days. Mom started working. My dad had to get me ready for school in the mornings; I have a vague impression that it was a miserable experience from both ends. Mom was disappointed in my dad's method of tying shoelaces that I had picked up, but I was too stubborn about it to change. When it wasn't too cold, we would all go out walking around the area. I listened to the Backstreet Boys everyday on the way to school. Sometimes the traffic would be stuck all the way up and down this hill, before the Carroll Canyon exit. I have forgotten the name of the previous exit, but my friend/classmate (who gave me chicken pox at school) lived there. (He used to eat erasers.) Anyways, the entire hill would be foggy and cold. My favorite memories of going to school involve this scene; the radio announcing that the seventh caller would get a trip to Hawaii, before playing 'Larger than Life', and me and my dad staring out of the windows, singing or laughing. School was lonely. I often sat alone at lunch, writing poems or singing, circling the trees. It was simply beautiful in winter, the forest near school. I grew closer to nature. We bred tadpoles and released them into the lake nearby. Pine cones fascinated me. There were very few pine trees near school. My mom forbid me from gathering more for my collection. I was gifted a keyboard for my birthday, the one that still sits in my room. We found a piano teacher at the Indian store, Sara Ingraham. She taught me through the year until she had to leave. I played even after she left, sometimes making disastrous music, but kept playing nevertheless. I fell in love with the piano. Once in a while we would drive to Fremont to visit Malavika and Mayuk. I realized I wanted a baby brother as well. From Fremont, we once went to this snowy place once and had a lot of fun. Me and Malavika were dressed in red velvet-y clothes. There are many pictures of this event. I loved my little sister and the snow. My dad's work group at Sony had a lovely Christmas party. I remember getting a great gift, but losing it by the end of the event. I remember that 1998 was the longest year of my life; I was somewhat relieved to see it leave.


Winter VII (1999-2000)
We were expecting Manvith in the coming year, in May. I read 'What to Expect When You are Expecting' from cover to cover. Not much about pregnancy can surprise me anymore. My mom, who abhors reading with a passion, often got to listening to interesting tidbits instead ("Did you know that at 3 weeks, the embryo is smaller than a grain of rice?") and instructions ("No more bending over anymore, because you're 5 months along. If you want to pick something up, bend like thiiiiiiiis."). I wrote fervently in my journal. I watered our garden (we moved to a new house) and watched hummingbirds and butterflies from my chair on the deck. I began to love science very much. I cut up mushrooms and dug up roots, and spent many cold days inside on the computer, typing in random science notes and reading a lot more. It was one of the best winters ever; I had the lovely blanket-book-hot chocolate combination that I still crave for. School was still lonely, but I became wonderfully active at school, and my grades soared. I spent many days poring over the encyclopedias, writing up animal and country reports. Miss Lisa asked my parents to take me to the San Diego Gifted & Talented after writing a couple of tests in school that fall. My dad took me to the exam centre; I wrote an IQ test based entirely on patterns of increasing difficulty for 3 hours while he waited in the cafeteria. I told him the exam was horrible. A few weeks later, me and my mom came home from grocery shopping and my dad had this letter in his hand. I was pretty sure he was joking about my result, but my parents were so happy about the letter that they asked me what I wanted for doing so well. I asked for 3 Barbies (hey, I was six!) and I bought the very best ones. I still have them, they're limited edition dolls. We also bought two parakeets that fall. Lily and Lalit. They were blue and beautiful. We went to Dallas for Christmas and New Year's; it was fantastic, primarily because it snowed that year. Me and Avanti attempted to make a snowman one day; we wore the gloves I'm wearing now as I type this ^^ but we never got past a single scoop of snow (or snow angels, for that matter). It was dreadfully cold!! We spent the next two hours in front of the electric fireplace, buried under a mountain of comforters. For New Year's we went to a party at a friend's house in this awesome locality famous for its snow-whatevers outside their houses. There were absolutely breathtaking pieces of snow-art! The party, I vaguely remember, was lots of fun. We popped dozens of balloons, and had lots of chocolate. I chimed in for the countdown and yelled 'Happy New Year!', for the first time, really knowing what was going on. I also learned how to knit that winter, at school. I often dropped stitches, but Ms. Lisa corrected them for me. I bought baby blue wool-- the wool I still use-- and began to knit a scarf for my soon-to-be-born brother.


Winter VIII (2000-01)
My days were filled with Manvith, Manvith, and endless Manvith. We were warm and cheerful through the winter, the happiest days of my life having begun. School wasn't lonely anymore. Two of my chief tormentors left school, and the one they left behind became my best friend (after a rather flowery speech on my part on the first day of school). Me, Lauren, and Anna formed the Adventure club; Prithvi, David, Lallae and Marci joined us pretty soon. I was the secretary (Lauren begged me to switch when I was made vice-president, and I agreed); I arranged meetings under 'our' tree. I found a love for organisation and neatness. I still wrote in my journal, and even bought a new diary (I still have this one). I learned to use MS-Paint more effectively, making birthdays cards for my friends, and I learned how to wrap gifts (the first one being a teddy bear for Lallae). We left for Dallas again for a brief vacation, and this time the Christmas party was hosted by us. We put up a Christmas tree at home, and my cousin wrote 'e-mails to Santa telling him what we wanted'. Santa was really kind that year. I got what I wanted. My mom asked me to thank my aunt for it. I refused, saying the gift was from Santa, of course. My aunt laughed. The party was fantastic. I remember having so much fun and all of us tiny kids staring at the tree for the longest time, fascinated by its size (we had to put it up in a room with a high ceiling; it was that big). Another party that winter was the huge one I had at Chuck E. Cheese's for my 7th birthday. I got 61 presents, and Manvith got 2. I also remember writing this fact in my journal at school. Among the presents was the Barbie camera (it took real pictures) I had been asking for since forever. I relished every moment that winter, the last one I was to spend in America. It was beautiful. I decided I loved winter.


Winter IX (2001-02)
We were in India. There was nothing remarkable about winter in Hyderabad, but the cold was biting enough to make me buy a dark blue woollen blanket (the one that I still use occasionally when it isn't too cold, but cold enough). Me and Malavika lived in the same apartment; we played together everyday, using our wrists and foreheads to pop these long red buds filled with air on this plant we used to call 'poison ivy', and running away from Nishant and Amit (for those who are wondering, yes, that's the Amit from Chirec) who chased us with stems of said harmless plant. I bought Chirec's prescribed navy blue cardigan. It sucked. (It still does.) I had a birthday party at my house and called everyone on class (although I was a bit reluctant about calling Akhil Abhilash. Yup, Ank, that's the one XD). The photos of the party still make me tear up a little inside. All those old Chirec kids, my friends, the ones who are so far away now, despite being physically nearby.


Winter X (2002-03)
Similar to the previous year. Same apartment, same friends, same experiences. My mom discovered a test paper I hid from her because I did really, really, bad. That was a not-so-good experience XD Jasmine and Armita got their hair cut really short. After the initial cat fights in the girls' gangs in the beginning of the year, we began to settle down, dissolve our groups, and be friends again. Sangam remained my best friend, Samarth and I enjoyed an easy camaraderie, and Armita came to swimming with me everyday. I wrote my first ever play script for the class play in the assembly. Samarth helped me direct the play (read: forced the boys to stop fooling around and actually learn their lines) and I have to say, it's probably the only play I've done that went off without a hitch. Good memories, good memories XD My dad decided to change jobs (he was in Motorola before) and he got this really great job, which, unfortunately involved us moving to Noida, near Delhi, for a year or two. I didn't want to move. My dad took us out to dinner-- Mainland China =) -- and managed to convince me. One thing I'll always be grateful for, simply because he didn't force me into it. It did not mean, however, that I was happy with the move.


Winter XI (2003-04)
By winter all the hardships of entering Delhi Public School, Noida and all the drama that came with it had dissipated, so I'll happily skim over that part. Winter brought with it a change of uniform (we had a summer uniform as well as a winter one, for obvious reasons) and a drastic change in climate. Mornings became so intensely foggy that my driver had to walk me to the bus stop-- our apartment gate -__- I began to wear layer upon layer of clothing, from themals to thick sweaters and stockings, topped with socks and the school's DPS-green blazer. (I still wear the knee-high thick grey socks occasionally when my feet are freezing, and even pants from back then XD I really don't know how they fit =P) Winter was beautiful; nostalgic, almost. We had taken the 7th floor penthouse in the apartments at the top of the building, the biggest of them all. It had two floors of large, large balconies and open spaces. My own balcony was twice the size of my room. It was here I spent a few moments every morning looking out as far as possible-- in the fog, I could only see the entire Sector 51 while the rest of the city hid behind white curtains. The fog, oh, the mist was so solid. I loved it even though it made me shiver. Cold wind brushed my cheeks and hair, and my nose and fingers froze on the school bus every morning. Then was the long walk from the school gate to my class (all the way on the other side of school!) where I'd greet my friends, all clustered around a table at the back, far away from a window, rubbing their hands together and chafing their arms. Shresht would move over grumpily and put his head down again as I took my place next to him. The winter really dampened him; I was glad that halfway through the term our teacher changed places again and I got to sit next to Abhinav, my friendly partner-rival of sorts in academics, and behind my best friend Shivani. Assembly mornings-- Tuesdays and Fridays-- were absolutely dreadful; once in while, if it was too cold, they would be cancelled. One of assemblies caused much rejoicing among the girls; some parent had pointed out that it was unfair that the girls froze in their stockings while the boys got to wear pants, so the school decided that girls could wear pants as well. Shivani wore them the very next day XD Art class became boring as hell, because we couldn't go outside to paint and draw anymore. Instead, the blackboard and dim lights and grey windows were supposed to inspire us. I wasn't complaining about the windows, though. The grey was thrilling. Winter was also when me, Shivani and Nupur began our little excursions around the school during breaks and free periods. Nupur had a signature sheet from last Teacher's Day, which we often carried with us for safety in case anyone asked what we were doing around school. One flash of a teacher's signature and we were on our way again. We snuck into the physics lab once and played around with prisms; another time we roamed around the stables and watched the horses. We spent many free periods at the library (again, Nupur had a useful friendship of sorts with the librarian) and all in all, it was the beautiful scenes and the tinge of happiness of settling down at school, with the caressing cold that made winter at DPS so memorable. Have I mentioned that it was a beautiful school? 15 acres of loveliness, and random ducks roaming around.
I cut my hair really short again that winter-- it was a chin-length bob XD I remember going room heater shopping in Sector 18 when the comforters couldn't keep us warm anymore. First we bought this large thing which unfortunately seemed to give out more light than heat, so the next day we exchanged it for a smaller yet more powerful one. For the rest of the winter me and Manvith camped out in our parent's room, right next to the heater. I'd wear gloves and socks and occasionally a jacket to bed. This is a habit I still cannot get rid of in Hyderabad's winters, when it gets a little colder.
The cold was unbearable at times, even a pain in the ass (especially when you had to get up at 5:30 to switch on the geyser for a warm bath) but it was beautiful everywhere I looked. White mist and grey sky blended in and held us close like a blanket. Nights were terrifying with single digit temperatures, but there was one warm night that winter-- the night the apartment decided to have a huge bonfire. It was HUGE, flames double the size of a person dancing up the wood. Sanchita and Akshita got 'married' that night by walking around the fire 7 times, while this woman ran after them, trying to stop them. (This is precisely why Sanchita was doing it. We totally encouraged them-- the woman looked just too funny flailing about like a chicken). Besides, we were too young to get the whole homosexuality thing. Stupid woman.
We came back to Hyderabad to escape the extremely cold part of December, even celebrating my birthday at my grandparents' with my old friends. I went to Sangam's house for her sister's birthday and spent the whole day there. I was still tiny little Monica and she was still taller, warmer Sangam. It was a great day. I still believed that some things never changed at that point. Oh, blissful youthful naïveté.Winter in Noida was blankets, Bournvita, and books; fog, sky and numb fingertips.


Winter XII (2004-05)
The most uneventful winter, ever. We were staying in yet another apartment while our new house was being constructed. This apartment had the least ventilation I had ever seen, and the windows had nothing but views of other apartments, so I spent the winter indoors growing potatoes and spring onions in pots. The bus ride had become much more fun with my 'fan club', as my classmates called it-- an assortment of juniors who literally held on to me as I got out of the bus, making me look like a tree with kids fighting over which braid they could hold. Hey, I loved them. We occupied the last 2 rows of the bus and played hand cricket in the mornings and other games in the evening bus. I made my highest score of 632 in December XD That was a beautiful match. I was partnered with the other big scorer, Nimish, and together we crossed a thousand runs before we decided to stop batting. LOL. Good times XD I met Nimish again after many years, when he sat behind me during my exams in 10th grade. I was surprised when he randomly yelled out my name in the middle of the exam, and I turned around and was all, 'And you are...?' It finally hit me at the end of the exam, and I gave my paper, punched him in the shoulder, and-- 'Nimbu!! You look so different!'
I was a prefect that year, so for Republic Day Aditya (my co-prefect) and I got to wear our lovely white prefect uniforms, complete with badge and tie. It was a cold day, and I was warm in the silky layers of the uniform =)
Our school was hosting the CBSE athletic meet that year in the 'new' stadia in Gachibowli. We were to be a part of the opening ceremony. I didn't want to be a part of the drill, so I joined one of the dance groups instead. The green one. The color was hideous, but there was nothing we could do about as we stared at our dresses in shock and disgust when we opened them for dress rehearsals. Sangam and I went to the stadium together on the final day, laughing throughtout at our ridiculous makeup. Those were the good days..
My birthday was uneventful as well. Just called a couple of kids to my house. Had a great day at school though-- for once in my entire sixth-grade existence, the class decided to give me a break and let me have a day off from minding the class. Hell, even Aditya told me to 'shut up and go sit down.' XD My class room that year was a dull blue-grey, and it felt wonderfully wintery that season. Despite the overwhelming experiences that year (now isn't the time to share them), the window in my class remained a solid friend throughout, after I was done locking up the cupboard and stuff. Stand, stare (and occasionally peek down and wonder who the hell had thrown half the class' stationary onto the ledge beneath the window possibly in a fit of spite one day in January) and breathe the cold, cold air. Alone.


Winter XIII (2005-06)
We went to Kerala that year, on an excursion. That one week I remember like a blazing comet set apart from my other memories, happy and at home with Aditi and Jasmine, my roomies (along with two others). I packed and unpacked and packed everything again in my suitcase neatly. I stood at the tip of the country with the sun warming me from one side and the water charging forwards and backwards beneath our boat. I watched, with careful eyes, my classmates outside school. I ate the coconut kofta one of our teacher's mom made for us when we reached Cochin, and longed for more. I bargained on a pair of binoculars from Rs.300 to Rs.5 (long story). I curled up to sleep in the middle berth every time we had to go by train, petrified of cockroaches until I feel asleep listening to this collection of love songs called 'Have I Told You Lately..' which I still listen to with my dad.
It was Concert Year in Chirec again; I joined the choir which would be singing Christmas carols. Ms.Irina was our teacher; she had come from Russia for a year on some kind of program. She was kind of awesome =) The first two days of practice she led us through many vocal exercises, finally having an audition of sorts in the end. It was pretty informal, just matching pitches with her and singing parts of songs while sitting on our benches, but you know, singing in front of other people?? ... The first time I ever let go of stage fear. Have never looked back since. Although now I do not like to sing in front of other people as my voice is terribly out of practice and almost rusted through years of not using it. Speaking, no problem.
I got placed in the first sopranos. Later on, though, when there was a dearth of people in the second sopranos, especially when they held this vital part in the main Russian carol we were going to sing, a few trials were held and I was shifted. The lyrics remained the same, so there was no problem adjusting, but the pitch, tempo and time were all changed. Nevertheless, I must say I enjoyed the centre stage mike (where the 2nd sopranos stood, me right in the middle) very much XD And not to forget, the lovely way the 3 groups weaved their different tunes into one beautiful, synchronized melody. Ah...
Choir practice ended half an hour early than other practices for the Concert, so in that free time I hung around class with this other guy called Nagaraja. (Yeah, the one who topped English in 10th XD) Simply put-- we had fun. We ran around corridors, flung pieces of chalk at each other, played Tic-Tac-Toe on the board ... you name it. It's funny how someone who was so friendly becomes so distant as the years pass. He was in my class in 10th again, and I don't think we ever had a conversation that year.
We moved into our new house. Stone Valley was, and remains, beautiful. Winter ended in colors and butterflies and happiness.
I began to hang out with Aditi and Jasmine a lot more after the excursion. It helped ease the pain of Sangam's moodiness and her exclusion of me in most things, especially the boy-related stuff. I... wasn't very into them, let's just say. She was always, ah, well, the ditch-my-friend-for-the-new-girl type. I often was piled with 'our' group's homework under the 'Cricket Tree' on Saturdays when everyone was out on the grounds, while they huddled together elsewhere, creepily cooing over a couple of guys, or walking over to the basketball court to get some 'sightseeing' done, or calculate love percentages, even pairing me with random people and accusing me of blushing. Oh, sure, I was seeing red. One Saturday I stood up for myself. I picked up the pile she'd placed in my lap, dumped it under the tree, told her to 'Do your own homework,' jumped down the few steps under the tree, clasped Aditi's hand and left to roam the grounds with her.
I never left Ground-Roaming Saturdays with Aditi until we left school. Sometimes I wonder what would have become of me if she didn't look at me that Saturday and ask me to come with her, or if I hadn't looked at her inviting hand to take it. It is how two loners became one.
Despite all the drama, there was peace the season brought me. Once again I stood by our window, peering out into the school, watching the trees sway, the skies gray, and the cold, lovely wind. The winter part of every year and what follows is always highlighted yet soft and muted in my mind, peaceful memories skimming the surface like an ice rink.


Winter XIV (2006-07)
Eighth grade wasn't the best of grades. I began the winter in Malaysia, occasionally mooning over the violent break-up with Sangam. It was finally over, something akin to relief creeping over me, yet sadness as memories of all those years replayed themselves in my head. Birthdays, conversations, a warm arm wrapped around my small shoulders, sticking our heads out of her car's moonroof  and yelling on NH 7 on the way to her farmhouse.. that's my favorite one, in case you haven't guessed.
I hit my growth spurt all of a sudden, 'tiny little Monica' shooting up by inches. 5'1", 5'2", 5'3".... I was very happy. Shagun joined me that year, the winter is thus sprinkled with memories of her and her dragging me into this girls' gang of sorts. Now, this gang? I DID NOT FIT. I was uncomfortable as hell, so it was just wonderful luck that we were shuffled at the end of the year, our consecutive roll numbers ensuring each of us were in a different section. Bliss, baby.
Winter brought some peace to me as I stared out of the balcony next to our class with Aditi everyday. Things in class were beginning to settle down, Sangam and I partially patched up and begin to co-exist on talking terms, everyone had forgotten about who I had crushed on in sixth grade (courtesy Shagun's big mouth =P), went to this coaching thing with Jasmine and spent Sunday mornings watching her sleep in class with her eyes open, or listening to her new iPod in the break with Manveetha and Pooja (the one who was in Ascent, as well, and is not a reader of this blog. ;) ). I had submitted a first-class project, written, co-directed, and acted in a play... Winter has always brought me good things at the turn of every year. By the time the year was over, I was almost nostalgic about the class as we geared up to get shuffled again, just having begun to grow fond of my classmates. Ah well.


Winter XV (2007-08)
It was just me and Aditi this year, blissfully alone in a wonderful class which was both smart and fun. I smiled throughout this winter, working hard, enjoying it. I co-directed and acted in another play, once again. My class mates this year were the very best; everyone had a delightful sense of humor. Me, Aditi, Kavya, Rishika, and Neha made up the girls' team, often pitted against Kaushal, Prabhav, Rituraj, Srijat and Yeshwant. . It was not always girls vs. boys; I'd like to think we were all great friends, irrespective of gender. Aditi was already my bestie among the girls, Rishika and I had soft spots for each other, and Kaushal, who sat next to me, kept me company through torturous Hindi periods and engaged me in witty banter. Prabhav and I were pretty friendly as well, though I think he was closer to Aditi, as was Yeshwant. (Weren't you two in French together, 'Diti-chan? My memory fails me). Srijat, weird as he was, fitted in with everyone, and Rituraj, being the class clown, was of course loved by everybody.
Winter that year brings me hundreds of fond memories of rearranging benches  near the cold grey window to play Message while we chatted, Srijat finally having gotten over the 'cooties' stage) or more frequently, Dumb Charades. My birthday that year was wonderful-- we had 7 free periods out of 9, so we pretty much sat around my bag of chocolates and mints laughing and having fun.
To those who can never read this, as well as those who will- I miss you like I miss the snow.
I started going to Ascent classes at Fiitjee. Simply put-- good memories. =D


Winter XVI (2008-09)
Tenth grade winter was a blur of studying and working hard in the cold depths of my loneliness. Pre-boards and marks and satisfaction, enjoying conversations with my favorite teachers on days no one came to school. Laughing with the few backbencher friends-- that's a loose term, they weren't all that close-- I had made by the end of the year, particularly Anushka, Muffadal and Rohan and my math-nerd-friends, Shubham and Varun. Anushka was among them, too. XD It is always odd to see Rohan or Shubham at Fiitjee, Shubham no longer a math nerd but a Maxwell resident, and Rohan just ...there. Once again, the distance.
Aditi and Shagun became prefects that year. I laughed my ass off in the audience as I clapped for them when their names were announced, and imagined a blissful year sitting back and watching them slave XD One of my winter memories that year involves me helping Aditi separating exam papers that were tied up by subject and bundling them up into piles for each person that included all subjects. We talked for ages that day... I stumbled upon Prabhav's pile and expressed shock at his scores; he'd been a smart kid... Aditi told me about his unfocused gaze and bloodshot eyes, and simply weird speech, which I had noticed too, but never accounted it to drugs. Which he seemed to be doing with Tanash ever Saturday he bunked school. I thnk we finished up our work and roamed the grounds again, slowly, painfully, feeling sad about the distance all over again and and the tiredness of losing friends to time crashing down on our shoulders. We were weary. We grew up together some more that day.
We did our last play in Chirec, Aditi and I. It felt good. I participated in everything that year, determined to enjoy some thing before I left forever. I won a couple of stuff, too. The only thing I regret not winning was the essay competition. I poured my soul into it that year, the word limit having been lifted. I didn't win.. and the reason was made painfully obvious a month later. Our principal was giving out some random speech in the assembly, when she suddenly started talking about this essay she had read from the competition. It was mine, although she didn't say so-- I recognized it at once. She proceeded to completely ... completely... kill my essay, vehemently disagreeing with all my points. I just stood there, boiling in rage. I lost simply because my views didn't match with hers? Hell-o, what ever happened to impartial reading and fairness and freedom of speech and opinion and all that?
Chirec celebrated its 20th anniversary that winter. I won this special prize in the science-something competition. That thing was simply FUN. There were all types of apparatus and everyday materials placed on this large table, and we had to do as many experiments with them as possible. The team were mixed up and had participants from different school; although my team didn't win, the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan prinicipal-- a science teacher herself and the judge-- called me up for a special mention for floating a needle on water (gotta love surface tension, baby!) and my science teachers from 7th, 9th and 10th were ecstatic XD That day was so much fun, so much fun. I got to put all my crazy scientist needs and ideas to work with the extraordinary amount of materials given there. Winter that year? Academically beautiful.

Winter XVII (2009-10)
I froze to death everyday in Faraday, fingernails perpetually purple-blue, thanks to Fiitjee's torturous AC. I stayed back everyday as well, perfecting the art of chair-stealing and cabin-grabbing. The beauty of winter I witnessed on walks with Oreo, cool fingertips brushing flowers and gripping window grills, was the only thing that kept me living in those dark times. I completely lost it academically, falling in a downward spiral. Getting up for school was torture in early morning night-like temperatures. I would roam around with my blanket draped around me like a cloak, brushing my teeth, switching on the geyser just in case the solar heater did not receive enough sunlight, heading downstairs to let Oreo into the garden and making myself a cup of hot Bournvita, and leaving for school after getting ready. I often left for school without waking anybody, mostly grabbing something random for breakfast if my mom didn't wake up by then, which she usually didn't. It was cold, that winter. Unnaturally so.
I turned 16. I had a huge bash, wore a dress, a tiara, and danced. It was weird as hell, but well worth the Bleach poster in my room and wind chimes o'er my windowsill. And all my friends' affection. =)

Winter XVIII (2010-11)
In progress. I feel warm already.
Winter, bring me the peace and comfort you always have with your beauty and grace. Let me feel warm and wrapped up in the cold, gripping something hot to drink; and let me feel your biting air on my face every morning as I walk Oreo before going to school. Lend me your strength, I'll be needing it; and give me memories for a lifetime.

Last link in the chain: I have yet to write an Ode to Winter; somehow I don't think 18 winters have captured all of it. So I shall wait.

I miss snow. *lobs snowball at you*

I was supposed to be born on Christmas. I wasn't a big fan of the idea of getting my Christmas and birthday presents together XD So I was born late. Ten days late. I would have been born even later, if it weren't for the concept known as 'induced labor', implemented in my case.

Merry Christmas! <3