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USING THE FAN IN WINTERS


 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

11/XII/2024

 

It has just snowed in Himachal and the rippling effect can be felt here in the Blue City. Mornings are like Shimla, afternoons are hot but evenings are comfortable. The minimum temperature dips to 6  and falling.

 

I recall my days serving in the ‘desert sector’. A crust of ice used to get formed on our ‘canvas’ water buckets if left in the open. Mornings used to be calm but the wind used to pick up speed as the sun came up. The sand would hit your face like tiny needles pricking you.

 

The only comfy place used to be inside your BMP. Sometimes, while out of the cupola & looking for directions, a blast from its ‘exhaust’ would hit you in the face. Believe you me, there could be no better, comforting and warm feeling than that.

 

At the end of the day, you could be smelling of diesel. Your dress would get pock marked with black droplets which shot out of the exhaust. Don’t ask me how we did it in the summer. It was like being baked in an oven.

 

Be that it may. Have you guys ever used your fans in winters? I know, you would call me crazy if I say I did. But can you guess who uses it? It may be a cold and foggy morning but the fan would be switched on. I have got you guys thinking and many of you would have guessed it too.

 

Imagine you have just had your breakfast. With a hot cup of tea in your hand, you walked out to bask in the sun. A sweater and a jacket worn for warmth. The body is now warmed up to your liking. You move in but move out as fast as you came in because the fan switched on. It is December, mind you.

 

I remember while serving near ‘Pangong Tso’, Ladakh. Temperatures used to be well below zero. Add to it the ‘wind chill’ factor. Imagine the condition. Even with three layers of clothing, bones used to freeze.

 

Going for ‘number one’ was such a herculean task. Not the process, but finding ‘Nimo’ through the felt pants, woollen under pants and warm underwear, besides the ‘Coat Parka’ which had to be taken care of. Try it!

 

That is the feeling one gets, if you are in bed, getting out of the Rajai, ready to take a sneak peak of the outside world and someone by mistake or on purpose, instead of switching on the light switch, switches on the fan. Grrrrrr, band karo…. is the only thing you can say. Choices are, that you pull the quilt over you or rush out of the bedroom, because the fan will not be switched off.

 

This is another hint, who switched on the fan. Any guesses now?

 

Sometimes, it makes me question what ceiling fans are meant for. In summers, it is understandable, but of all the seasons in winters, that too at number 5, which is the fastest speed. You do a smart act and turn the knob to number one, but then this person will twist it to five first and then put it on.

 

You cannot say anything to this person except murmuring under your breath. A little frown and some disgust which this person knows is all that you can do, disregards it, and carries on. After all, why did you install the fan in the first place?

 

We did a smart thing by installing fans with a remote. This person is smart and has found a way to directly switch on the fans from the switch board itself without the remote. Amazing!

 

Well, this person is none other than our ‘Maid’. Pocha has to be completed with the fan on full blast giving you a feeling of taking a dip in the River Indus in winters. Your personal feelings don’t matter.

 

You ask her, why can’t Pocha be done without the fan. Her simple answer is ‘jaldi sookhta hai’, it dries up faster. Before you make footprints of the yeti over her Pocha with your chappals leaving an imprint, she wants the thing to dry up. Logic, I must say.

 

She switches on one more thing the moment she enters the kitchen.  What is it? You wonder!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND 

ŠŽNOEL ELLIS

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