“Winter is coming”, the Starks reminded everyone time and again, with their motto and their words, warning of the dark terrors that come with it. While winters in the real world are much less horrific (and thankfully, without zombies), they have, since the beginning of time, been associated with darkness, hardships and even death. This probably stems from the difficulties humans faced when they encountered winter in those early days, with their surroundings barren, the land white with snow. Winter was something that was feared and dreaded.
With time, however, we have innovated and changed our lifestyle to adapt to the different seasons, and this shows in our attitude shift towards the same things that terrified our ancestors. Landscapes covered by a thick layer of snow are, in our eyes, some of the most visually appealing scenes. We admire the sight of soft snowflakes, as the earth pulls them down, through the clear glass windows, staying in the safe confines of our houses, for hours on end.
Everyone might not have the same romantic notion of winter that I just described, but I know I do. A naive summer child in the literal sense, who has lived his whole life exactly on the thirteenth parallel (yeah, Bangalore and Surathkal lie on the same line), I have never really known a real winter. Most of my winter fantasies are a result of the scenes that movies, TV shows and books paints, be it the Famous Five chilling at a ski resort, Robert Frost’s guy watching the woods fill up with snow or (spoiler alert for the minuscule portion of people that haven’t watched yet!) Mike and Phoebe’s wonderfully heart-warming wedding scene from Friends. So I crave the soft snow, the chilly winds and the chance to wear more than two layers of clothes and nestle up in front of the fireplace maybe.
That is not to say I will definitely love living through a snowy winter. Until three years ago, I had this desire of spending the rainy season somewhere on the west coast so I could really experience the bountiful rains the south-west monsoon brings, that were so hyped in my Class 10 Geography classes. Well, that dream did get fulfilled, and I think you all would agree when I say it’s not all roses. I expect it’d be the same if and when I experience a full snowy winter, but until then the curious mind will keep nagging at me about it. Isn’t it the same curiosity and spirit of discovery that propels us though?
– Article by Dwijesh K Athrey, final year Electrical and Electronics Engineering