First Snow

I experienced snow for the first time when I was in grade four. It was the summer holidays and my parents took us on an epic vacation from the southern tip of India to the northern tip, the glorious and mighty Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir. It was a trip of a lifetime.

I remember the bus journey that took us from Srinagar to Jammu. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It was summer in Jammu and there were gorgeous falls and the tallest majestic mountains I have ever seen in my life. As we travelled in bus , we “shouted” at the driver - Bhaiyaa, ruko, Brother, please stop, we want to get down and live here forever!

Interestingly, the one thing I remember was that I was wearing a jeans pants and had my hands in my pocket. As I got out, Amma took my hands and exclaimed that my hands are so warm. Then everyone wanted to touch my palms and share the heat and I ran away from all of them giggling and laughing. Good times :)

We drove to the mountains and for the first time I saw snow. It was thrilling, we took a sled ride. At the bottom of the hill, the guide gives you extra clothes, then each tourist is assigned a sled. One guy pulls the sled all the way to the top of the snow covered hill and then he lets it go. He sometimes sits with you. I remember the thrill of it and holding on tight to the guide and his smelly jacket. It was 1/2 day of sledding, snow fights with sisters.

This was my tourist first snow, not the real wintry snow. The real snow came many years later in my first semester in Michigan. It was the Xmas holidays and Ann Arbor was empty. My roommates were gone and I woke up to a snow storm. I woke up to see the gentle snow falling, no hurry in the world and I sat there mesmerized and decided to venture out.

 I am used to monsoon season where the rains pour and make a racket, within a minute you are outside, you get drenched completely. With a monsoon, what you see is what you get. But, snow is a completely different beast. It lures you with its softness and beauty, it feels blasphemous just to step onto the fresh snow. As I walked, I saw a swing set and started swinging. I inhaled the cold December air and just sat there swinging completely in awe of the beauty around me.

Fast forward 11 winters and it is your first snow storm. We bundled you up and took you out to explore. You looked amused, didn't seem too thrilled but smiled at seeing big sister’s tactics. As she jumped, ate and threw snow around, you giggled.

I wish you take a few moments to appreciate the beauty of a snow flake even when life gets busy. I wish you many more snow storms and fun playing in the snow with your sister!