Lahore is cold tonight. Its getting a bit foggy after 11 on roads and ppl have started taking out blankets and quilts now. Out of the 8 ppl that I saw at a coffee shop today, 7 were wearing either a sweater or a jacket. The 8th one was a lady who insisted on wearing a sleevless shirt inspite of the cold ( how they manage this is still beyond me .. do they come in cold-blooded modes too? ). I also saw the first round-the-corner coffee machine today; a lot of more will start replacing the cone machines as temperatures go down.

Lahore is cold tonight, but there are thing still missing. I still havent seen the typical ‘mongphali ki rehri’ (peanut push cart) with a little coal pot resting in a large peanut pile and a gas lamp on one side. I still havent heard the kid with the cooler full of boiled eggs shouting ‘garam-aanday’ in the streets. I still havent tasted the pink kashmiri tea with a thick layer of pista and almond coated malai from the big steel ki daigchi out on the road. I still havent smelled the wood that the chowkidars burn in a tin can to keep themselves warm at night. I still havent felt the cold chilling penetrating fog that freezes my ears so much that they start hurting.

Lahore is cold tonight but a winter night, its not… so here’s the cold, where is winter?