It’s extremely cold here in Delhi today. My room heater has been on for several hours and yet I don’t dare get out of bed. It’s nice and cosy under my comforter, but it was the coldest morning in Delhi in 4 years today, with 4 degree celsius. I have no idea how to function in such weather even though this is my 7th winter in Delhi. I bunked a conference today, for the embarrassing reason that I couldn’t get out of bed until it was too late to even consider going. I don’t know how I am going to manage going to work, come January. I’m excited to be getting back to teaching full time after 2 years of my PhD residency period got over recently. Yet I know I would miss not having to set an alarm and getting to stay all day inside my cosy comforter at least for all of January.

The only thing that makes the winter bearable in Delhi is having parathas for breakfast- gobi, mooli, methi, matar and aloo taste so much better when stuffed in hot, buttery parathas. Needless to say I put in considerable weight every year during the winter months. The cold outside gives a legitimate excuse to do absolutely anything to feel warm and happy, and that includes having multiple glasses of cocoa and stuffed parathas daily.

As I write this, I am realising that I have been whining about pretty superficial and petty issues. It’s amusing how quickly we get used to our good fortune, and find out something or the other to be bothered with even when we are blessed. Note to self: be more grateful. Granted it’s extremely cold outside, but I would do well to remember that I have a great terrace right above my apartment and I can afford to artificially heat up my home when the sun is not there. Not many people can say that.

You and I cannot even imagine the plight of the homeless, both humans and animals, in such cold. We are miserable even with our coats and blankets and appliances to heat up our homes, and there are people that have to sleep out in the open with tatters on their bodies, braving the elements, sometimes without food in their stomach. Though the scale of the problem may not allow us to make a great deal of difference, helping one family or even one person is actually not very difficult. I plan to follow some of the things I am going to list below in the coming weeks, and I request you to consider doing some of them.

The next time you are tempted to go out for dinner, consider reducing your budget by a few hundred rupees, and buying a blanket instead. Donate it to someone that sleeps on the street near your house/workplace. If you can skip that dinner and cook something at home, you could probably help a whole family.

Consider diverting a small amount of your holiday shopping towards buying a few items that might make the next one month a little more bearable for a child or a family living on the streets. You can spot them under bridges, near some metro stations and particularly around the railway stations.

The next time you buy a new jacket or sweater, consider donating an old winter wear to someone living on the street.

Let your maid use hot water, if possible, for the household chores. It’s cruel to have to touch cold water in the morning these days.

The next time you get on a rickshaw, notice whether the rickshaw puller is wearing socks and gloves or not, and pay a little extra money and ask him to buy those things soon. Taking care of health has to come before saving money, especially now when pollution is at its peak and everyone that works all day out on the streets in Delhi is prone to God knows what all health complications. Needless to say, never haggle with such people. I used to; I have realised how petty that is now. We spend thousands in restaurants but haggle with poor people to avoid spending extra 20-30 rupees.

The world needs more kindness; God knows Delhi could do with more kindness, particularly during the winter.