Chillai Kalan: The Heart of Kashmir’s Winter

The Three Chillas: Degrees of Cold and Human Endurance: 

The terms "Chilla Bacha" and "Chilla Khurd" refer to very cold weather conditions, however these time periods are more likely to represent mud, dirt, intensily cold mud than Siberian climates. In addition, "Chilla Kalan" is cold and vicious, it will freeze you out of your bones and make you shiver both in day time and in night. It is a beautiful sight to look up at a night in "Chilla Kalan", a shiny, moonlit night that is "glaciating" but is a contrast of the stars too, an oxymoron in itself. The mad trees of Poplar, Chinar and Willow are full of icicles around, casting huge shadows on the ground. Witching hours are blanketed with frost so that the tail (and nuts of a brass monkey) freeze and make animal life invisible. No creature will rest anywhere on the stripped icy branches of the trees during the witching hour. Once in a poppy's lifetime (or a coon) will the insanity and craziness of "Chilla Kalan" cause an "ulta" reaction, and with it will come a wild surge of chilling winds through overcast skies, producing a blizzard. Snow spins around in the air at its heaviest creating a perfect white-out, "Blow, blow, thou winter wind; thou art kinder than man's ingratitude." Once blizzards turn into downpours of rain to the point of overflowing drains and ditches.

A Strange Morning: Snow, Children, and a Frozen Santa: 

In the middle of the night, at an undisclosed place on earth, Wiccas were in the middle of a night ceremony (just like all witches do) when they all of the sudden stopped what they were doing and were no longer able to hear raindrops hitting against the ground. The next morning was the time when 'crows crowed,' and while resting for the first time that morning, children looked outside their windows and yelled, shocked, and thrilled at what they saw. The children said they saw Santa Claus at the foot of their chimneys, standing still, and it looked like he was stuck on the chimney as if he had fallen from the roof. When talking to the children, they told them Santa Claus has bright red clothing, a long white beard, and a big nose. The children all saw Santa Claus had a lot of snowflakes covering his head, and the presents that Santa Claus brings, along with the ice flakes from the snow, are made from pure, cold, white flowers collected in the woods. Santa had the tools to use to make his tree tops white with snow, white with white wires, and white with white roofs. He had the tools to indicate elevation and curvature in addition to contouring how white the surface of a garden or field was.

Snowflakes, Innocence, and God’s Finest Creation:

As snow continues to pour onto the ground in large clumps, thousands of snowflakes fly into children's noses while the children twirl and roll around on the frigid soil creating a "Mohnev." To God, flakes of snow are considered one of the finest creations. But when they merge, they form incredible structures. On these beautiful winter nights, frozen by window frost, a view of freshly fallen snow will amaze all who look through the frosted windows. One can see the tracks left by footprints walking upon the frozen window panes leading to where new snow lays on top of existing snow, where they land in an unusual atmosphere and make them a delightful and enchanting experience with an outstanding sense of tranquility.

The precipitating winter with its ‘biting’ and whining’ wind has had all the land mantled with snow. The hard dull bitterness of ‘Chilla Kalan’ that gets one's hair stand on end and makes teeth to chatter, is now on to destroy the frolic architecture of the corn snow. The softness of the snow gets frozen into the hardness of marble as ‘Kot-kosh’ freezes the damp moisture to produce icicles, the tapering formation by freezing the successive drops that trickle from point of attachment. Frosty wind makes moan, earth stands hard as iron and slippery as eel and water like a stone. Walking and driving in suchlike conditions is deadly; you lurch, lose footing and break a bone or two. As if the cold is so intense that words freeze as soon as they’re uttered, and after some time then thaw and become audible, so that words spoken in winter go unheard until the next summer. Taps burst and water pipes that blast freeze in the congealing temperatures force men, women and children to tumble out in droves to fetch a pail or two of drinking water. He who’s kind of tinker plays with the water pipes using every possible trick to melt the frozen insides of the pipes. Pipes burst but the stubborn ice never melts. Geysers, septic tanks and flush systems go phut (rather go for six) and the ‘naked ape’ switches over to cave man’s way of fecal disposal. ‘Chilla Kalan’ is an ensemble of phobias whether it is the hodophobia (travel), kopophobia (fatigue), scotophobia (darkness), claustrophobia (enclosed places), thaasophobia (being idle), phobophobia (fear) or panophobia (everything). As the great Sun keeps turning its face away, the earth goes down into a vale of grief, and fasts and weeps and shrouds her in sables. 

On the darkest, coldest nights called the "Chilla Kalan", many Kashmiris fear the 'ape men' or 'ape hunters' who live in caves, which resemble the blackened jaws of a wolf. Within those howling wildernesses where darkness creates despair and hopelessness, people can find comfort curled up in darkened corners of their caves, surrounded by many empty ghoulish eyes staring at the spectre of the cast shadows against the walls and ceiling of their cave dwellings. They are nestled among the dazzling glistening icicles hanging from the walls, wrapped in the linen blanket of a loner that many wear like a pelt or fur, and have only the company of one another for warmth and comfort. From a distance, the multi-storied buildings across from the cave dwellings are lifeless, lifeless, and void of human presence. The only thing that gives any indication that a human being occupies those spaces are the faint glows of candles/lanterns burning in the shadows and the faint illumination of the fires burning in the fireplaces inside the multi-storey building.

Chilla Kalan: Survival, Scarcity, and Black Markets:

For many in the Kashmir Valley, winter means not only snow but also extreme cold; the Ghatshahli or downpour of snow on the Jammu-Srinagar highway usually causes the road to be completely closed for days at a time. When one wants to reach the Valley during the winter months, their first reaction is to stock up on all sorts of food and supplies, especially chicken, mutton, eggs, cooking gas, kerosene and petrol, before making that trip; one cannot simply buy any of these from the stores at that time of year, as there is no way to get to them. To those engaged in black market operations, the "chilla kalan" months are like Christmas; for the entire winter, demand is high, and prices are inflated to the point of making huge profits. As a result of millions of dollars worth of profit, there have been untold numbers of deaths, illness and funerals caused by "chilla kalan" conditions. Still, the human spirit continues to be proven time and again through the coming of spring. After winter dies and the snow melts, new birth arrives in the Valley. Life returns to the earth as the lush green of spring returns with beautiful flowers blooming upon the scraggly, dry trees. Birds begin to sing again, and all who suffered the trials and tribulations of "chilla kalan" can find peace in spring, summer and fall, while winter serves as a constant reminder of the reality of the human condition. Without winter, the spring wouldn't be nearly as pleasurable. If we didn't endure adversity from time to time, then our experience of prosperity would not be so warmly welcomed. The cold and darkened days of winter cover the earth, only to give rise to a season full of hope and growth.

(Writer: Vivek Koul, Owner of this blogger site)