The dystopian winters of Delhi

The air we breathe is so hazardous that even the fittest people fall prey to it and have a compromised immune system
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Image for representational purpose
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"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair”, these lines by Charles Dickens from his 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, ring true today in the Delhi-NCR of the 21st century.

In my childhood, winters meant spending lazy mornings outdoors basking in the sun and enjoying the juiciest fruits of the season like oranges and malta sprinkled with some rock salt. In another corner, my grandfather would be lying down on a ‘chatai’ placed at a sunny spot in the garden, reading his newspaper with a cup of steaming hot adrak chai by his side.

At another sunny spot, vegetables like carrots, turnips and cauliflowers would be sun-drying, to be turned into pickles for the season. We would look forward to winter outings to Nehru Park and Lodhi Garden as all the cousins and friends would gather for a picnic to make the most of the season. But those days are well past us now.

Today, pollution and smog blankets Delhi-NCR like a shroud. Last week we woke up to a thick mist in the capital, which most of us confused for the untimely winter fog, but the itch in the throat and the watery eyes confirmed that it wasn’t so. Before I knew it, my husband and I were running a fever and a headache became our constant. The air purifiers were brought out and displayed a scary denomination of the current AQI of our city. How does this keep getting worse with every passing year? Will the next generation know what winters without smog even looked like?

The air that we breathe is so hazardous that even the fittest people fall prey to it and have a compromised immune system. One of the immunity-boosting snacks that I swear by during this time is the traditional panjeeri (a lot like desi granola) made in most North Indian homes. Loaded with roasted dried fruits like almonds, cashews, raisins and seeds like pumpkin, flax etc, this is a quick-fix healthy option to be consumed first thing in the morning with milk.

This time I tried the one by a Delhi-based home-business called Mirai-maia. “The traditional panjeeris are made in winter and have some warming spices in it apart from nuts and seeds. Some panjeeris are also grain-free and are taken as nutritional supplements”, explains food consultant and author Sangeeta Khanna in one of her Instagram posts.

In season right now and available in every local sabzi mandi is kachi haldi (fresh turmeric) and amla (Indian gooseberries), along with ginger. A few years ago, I learnt a recipe from Gurugram-based home chef Surabhi Bhandari, which has been my go-to during this seasonal shift. The recipe requires you to grate amla, kachchi haldi, and ginger, then grind it together with a little water in a blender, and then consume the drink as a shot. This not only ensures immunity but also acts as a great digestive and reduces the chances of congestion due to cold and cough.

Earlier, Delhi used to adorn the beautiful hue of winter with marigolds lining up the pathways and the aroma of saptaparni wafting through the lanes, with people heading out to India Gate, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar and famous parks to soak in the winter sun. Now, we are forced to shut our windows and doors tight and sit inside our homes to breathe air that is being purified by the air purifiers running over time. The attack on our health, the isolation, and the monotony of these days are just unfortunate. The once romantic winters of Delhi have given way to dystopian fiction, which is unfortunately our reality today.

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