This is the time of "Hemant Ritu," the pre-winter season. The mornings begin to mist, and there is a distinct coolness in the breeze that whispers through the neem and peepal trees. It is a time of celebration, anchored by the festival of lights, Diwali. The chill in the air provides the perfect excuse to wrap oneself in shawls and gather around oil lamps, the smell of gunpowder from fireworks mingling with the scent of marigold flowers and sandalwood.
Nature, too, puts on a show. The dry forests of deciduous India turn into artists' palettes—leaves turning yellow, rust, and red before falling. The landscape is no longer the monotonous green of the monsoon but a varied tapestry of earth tones. winter start in india
Perhaps the most sacred object at the start of Indian winter is the Razai (the cotton quilt). This is the time of "Hemant Ritu," the pre-winter season
And then there is the fog. The beautiful, romantic fog that grounds flights, delays trains, and kills visibility on the highways. It is the season of "slow down." The chill in the air provides the perfect