Winter nostalgia

Winters always remind me of the time spent in Buffalo, New York. I can safely regard those 20 months as the most phenomenal time of my life. I spent two seasons of harsh winters there, and it was a life changing experience.

The most notable thing about that place was that there was an ineffable energy in that atmosphere. It used to be freezing cold, with temperatures around -20, snowing every single morning. But none of that stopped anyone from getting out and doing everyday work. We used to walk (at least) 10 minutes to board the college shuttle. For an average Karachiite, it’s an impossible task. It’s not a piece of cake walking in a blizzard, but we used to do it everyday, and we didn’t feel a thing. Yes we were well protected with layers of clothes and coverings, but none of that works when you are walking against the snowy wind striking you face and it feels like you are being hit by tiny little stones. It was that bad, but no one ever used the weather as an excuse of not coming to work, or school.

We used to remove snow from our driveway, using shovels, hands, and everything that helped. I used to go out wearing only shorts and t-shirt, and my friends used to yell at me for being careless, and even they were equally careless, but none of us felt lethargic because of cold. None of us felt too cold to stay home. We didn’t even get sick. I have never seen so much energy anywhere else.

That’s when I learnt that if one is determined enough, it doesn’t matter if it is hot or cold, raining or snowing. Strong determination overcomes everything. Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor heat, nor gloom of night can stop the determined men.

Back in Karachi, when I see rain affecting the daily schedules of people, streets being blocked for days, schools and offices being shut down, I realize why we are not among the developed nations yet. We have to make a system that is not affected by weather, before anything else.