Kashmir’s ‘Chillai Kalan’ begins, bringing on chill and memories

SRINAGAR - Tuesday marked the beginning of “Chillai Kalan”, the traditional 40-day period considered the coldest in the Kashmir Valley that ignited fond memories of the winters of yore and saw temperatures plunge to their lowest in some parts.

“As expected, the minimum temperature fell to minus 6.2 degrees in Srinagar Tuesday, which is the lowest so far this season,” Mubeen Ahmad Malik, scientific assistant at the local weather office.

“The minimum temperature fell to minus 17 degrees in Leh town and to minus 11.6 in Kargil town of Ladakh region today. In the tourist hill station of Pahalgam, it was minus 7 and in Gulmarg it was minus 5.5 degrees Celsius.”

Malik also said the present weather system is likely to continue for two to three days more and the temperatures could fall further.

“We expect the cold dry weather to continue for two to three days more which could further bring down the temperatures here,” Malik said.

Locals call the 40-day long period from Dec 21 to the end of January “Chillai Kalan”, which means the coldest period of winter.

“In my childhood, life would literally come to a halt in the Valley during this period. There were very few means of transport those days and the road connectivity was also not this good,” Master Habibullah, 65, a retired school teacher, who lives in Chanduna village of north Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

“It would snow very heavily during this period in the Valley and I vividly remember the long icicles that would hang from the thatch roofs in our village.

“People were, however, always prepared in advance to face the Chillai Kalan. My mother would store dried tomatoes, brinjals and pumpkins which would be cooked during the winter months as fresh vegetables would not be available in the market. Pulses would also be stored in sufficient quantities,” said Master Habibullah.

He also said sheep, poultry and milk always remained available during the harsh winters when villages remained cut off from district headquarters and main markets in his childhood.

“Every household had its own small flock of sheep, poultry and at least one milch cow.

“Nowadays, we have become totally dependent on the markets as most of the villagers do not breed milch cattle, poultry or sheep anymore. Life might have become comfortable because of modern development and better living standards, but our complete dependence on other states for food grains, milk, poultry, sheep makes me sad,” Habibullah said.