BRRR!!! Bihar is cold in January! And
foggy! The air feels cleaner here than in Delhi. For a climatologist I am fairly ill-prepared
for a north-Indian winter: in my defence we seem to have had colder weather
than suggested by the long range forecast I checked before I packed. And I'm hoping that the first two weeks of my
8+ trip away will be the only really cold ones: I will need my warm weather clothes soon!
Earlier this week was very foggy, and when it’s foggy it’s cold:
we’re not far from the Ganga and I think we get some river mist too. Everyone here is wearing scarves, shawls, pashminas, quilts (probably); wraps of all descriptions. It seems to be de rigueur for men to wear one round
the head, turban fashion (hats are uncommon), women wear one more loosely draped around the head; everyone wears another round the shoulders and
an outer all-embracing one (or more) over the head and torso. As a keen wrap-er I feel right at home (although not as elegant: I need more practice!). Monday
through Wednesday were three-wrap days: this number was only limited by my poor
preparation in not packing more wraps (actually I only brought two: fortunately
I succumbed to temptation in Delhi and bought a warm woollen one! Proof, if it were needed, that shopping is good
for you J)
Three-wrap day
Thursday and today have been considerably warmer (though I'm
warned spring will not be here for another 9-10 days. The weather here seems to have a much
stricter calendar than in Australia).
The
advantage of wrapping a scarf round your head, rather than wearing a hat, seems to be
that when it gets too hot you can tie it round your torso to keep it
clean and close to hand. Additionally they are multi-use items and it's there, ready for any other purpose.
I, and some staff and other visitors, return to the
guesthouse for lunch: after lunch lots of us have enjoyed the guesthouse gardens in the sunshine before returning to work. It
certainly feels much more civilised than a quick sandwich at my desk: I will
have to practise this back home!
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