Indians are the masters of ‘jugaad’, perhaps even its inventors. From filling water in empty shampoo bottles and creating enough shampoo to wash hair for a week to making lassi for an entire party in a washing machine, we know how to make the impossible possible. It therefore doesn’t come as a surprise that while Americans and Europeans have their sophisticated central heating systems, we Indians have our own sweet jugaads to combat winters.
Here are some quirky jugaads Indians do during winters:
- Love their pets even more
When the cold winds of winter knock at our doors, we turn to our furry friends for some warmth. Could there be a better excuse to snuggle up to our pet under a cosy blanket?
- Observe No Bath December
With great dip in temperature, come greater excuses to skip shower. It is always ‘too cold’ or the water is ‘never hot enough’. And the best part is that we master how to look clean and bathed, even when we haven’t.
- Do a baar baar barbeque
Winters bring with them a host of barbeque parties. While everyone’s salivating over the delicacies at such get-togethers, there is always that one person who keeps sneakily warming his hands at the barbeque pit, as if it is an angithi.
- Sing ek garam chai ki pyali ho
Doesn’t matter if the chaiwallah is attractive or not, we still queue up in front him. Even after meticulously shouting out instructions such as ‘Bhaiyya, more ginger’, ‘Don’t add too much sugar’, all we end up doing is, fondling the hot cup of tea to stay warmer.
- Turn alcoholic (well not really) for good
Winter is the time when you can drink without any guilt, especially rum and brandy. Brandy also helps you keep warm even if you rub it on your fingers and toes.
As someone once put it, ‘to be a real Indian, you must know how to jugaad’’. So don’t worry about keeping warm this winter and keep looking for innovative ways to keep the cold out. Happy winters!
