punjab notes: Winter as absence of summer.

According to Punjabi calendar four months constitute winter: Magghar, Poh, Maagh and Phaggan (mid-November to mid-march). In the near past we had onset of winter by end of September and it would usually peak in December/January wrapping everything in frost and mist. Subsequently one would see indoor activities increased. Secondly, it would bring human beings closer. Human warmth would be a shield against the biting cold. It would help create intimacy among couples and lovers.

Look how Baba Farid (1173-1265) describes some months of the year: 'In (the month of) Katak the cranes, in (the month of) Chet the fire (riot of colours), in (the month of) Sawan the lightning! And in winter one's arms around the beloved's neck are a sight worth seeing.' The scene stands in marked contrast to what we see in summer. In summer we keep some distance from each other as heat, dust, sweat and perspiration make it necessary for us to not make others suffer our smell.

Punjab has been an agrarian society for thousands of years which has made it acutely aware of seasonal changes because they have direct bearing on the production process that is exposed to the vagaries of the weather. The farmers have to be aware of when to sow and what to sow.

Waris Shah in his Heer describes what has been part of folk-wisdom born of collective memory. He refers to seasons and months in the context of activities of agricultural society thus: 'The rain in Jayth is bad, so is the wind in the winter, and dust storms are forbidden in the months of Katak and Maangh (Jayth meenh, siyal nu va mandi, Katak Maangh vich manaa anehrian ne).' Jayth (mid-May to mid-June) is the month when wheat crop is thrashed in the fields. The rain can destroy the harvest. Siyal (winter) with its wind can cause the seedlings to shrivel and wither in its icy grip. Duststorms in Katak and Maangh (mid-October to mid-November, and mid-January to mid-February) can destroy the crops.

Describing his heroine's agony in separation Waris Shah says: 'My body shivers in the month of Poh / alone I sleep in my bedchamber (Poh Maah vich kanbdi jaan meri / mein ikallri saej te sauwani haan).'

But now if you look around, you shall find that things have changed quite a lot. Traditional landscape has simply evaporated in the wake of strengthened anthropocentric attitudes and increased activities. We think everything we have on our planet is meant for us; we can grab it and use it least concerned about the consequences. In...