Monday, September 29, 2008

I want to be cool(ed)!

When I was a small 'un, growing up in the desert plains of Saudi Arabia, I remember a time when the temperature in our area dropped to below zero degrees centigrade. I was really young at that time, and my memories are slightly vague. Mostly remember a blue sweater, and blue gloves and a huge wollen cap that pretty much drowned my head. Everybody kept saying its very cold, but somehow, I kept hoping that it would snow. It didnt, and all i ever got was the frost on the window.
After that, I moved to various places, Dubai, Kerala, Pune, and Chennai, but ofcourse none of these places had a remote chance of being snowed down. Ever. And as time progresses, I feel that my interest in seeing snow are melting like the ice caps in the Artic circle.
Its ofcourse one of those things in India, where when talk of overseas travel comes up, one of the common questions is with regard to snow. If u've seen snow, then u dismiss it lightly like its an everyday occurence. But for people who havent, its still a unique experience the first time around, and lots of photos later, u get accustomed to the fact that its probably not really a good thing especially for various modes of transportation.
I'm, ofcourse, still waiting for snow, and with every trip I take to UK, I always hope that this time there will be snow.
Well, I came pretty close the last time. The temperature dropped below 0 again and there was frost.
It had settled over most of the scenery in the morning, and sort of seemed like somebody had done a desaturate in photoshop on the landscape. The initial reaction was to go shutter crazy and snap a lot of pictures, but i thought i'd wait and see if maybe this time, there might be snow! And my hope as a kid, to see snow, had been rekindled again. But it turned out to be a false alarm. There never came snow. Well, atleast we'll always have had frost!
I am actually a cold person. No, not as in, I'll-walk-by-a-dead-body-and-act-like-i-see-it-everyday cold, but more like, i'd-rather-be-in-antartica-than-in-the-sahara-desert type cold person. I sweat like a whole herd of pigs in the presence of the slightest increase in temperature above 20 degrees celsius. Yes, I come with storage instructions - keep slightly refrigerated at all times! This usually amounts to my clothes being drenched with sweat when most people dont even break out into a sweat. On top of that, i've got a very mild case of Axillary Hyperhidrosis. Wat's that u ask? Well, this wouldnt be an informative blog if u didnt learn something everyday. That's medical gobbledygook for sweaty armpits!! This is obviously a point of consternation for me, especially since I am in the corporate world, and in the diabolically hot land of Chennai. Chennai is also temperature controlled - maintained at a low grill setting of 40 degrees throughout the year. So sweaty armpits, hot city... u get the picture! I reamin indoors whenever I can, because the moment i step outside, its like i took a bath in my clothes.
I recently drove down to Bangalore in my new car (separate post on that one) and everytime I go there, I never want to return. It takes me a couple of weeks of moping, and wishing before I return to appreciate the qualities of Chennai... which pretty much consist of 'Since I am here, I'll stay here. Besides, its a nice place if not for the heat' Yup, Bangalore, despite its growing traffic problems, is still an amazing town weatherwise. And women wise as well, but that's another story.
Anyways, no point in wishing, when I've got Chennai! I guess the best I can do is hope that due to rapid climatic changes caused due to some meteor hitting the earth in Russia, there will be some really cold weather in Chennai sometime... wishful thinking...