Lights. Camera. RCNM.

In a metro like Mumbai, winter experiences are rare ones, because of no signs of a cool weather for most parts of the year, and two, time constraints make the idea of enjoying winter trivial.         So last year, I decided to spend my Christmas holidays at my Aunt's in Macleodgunj, Himachal! And woah! THAT was a real winter experience; with snowfall and hailstorms being a common phenomenon at this recluse hideaway hill station. Surprisingly, Macleodgunj was a lively town. With a considerable Catholic population, Christmas celebrations were roaring! So on a Sunday evening, while my Aunt was busy entertaining other guests, I went to a local club with some guys in the neighbourhood. Till about midnight, we played pool and devoured a plethora of Christmas sweets. The other lads decided to stay over. But I had to get back. The club was just 10 minutes away from my Aunt's apartment. But what worried me was the shivering cold and the blinding expanse of darkne...

Till I was about nine years old, snow was one of the only extreme weather conditions I hadn’t experienced. They say you need to work hard to make your dreams come true…well in my case I pestered God till I got what I wanted! My father picked the Christmas vacations to book tickets to Manali in Himachal Pradesh. Ooo my excitement knew no bounds! I was born as a hyperactive child and dreaming of making snowmen infuriated my mother a little more than usual, that she had to shut me up by “blackmailing’ me! Then the important day arrived. I could only imagine what Manali would be like: powerful snowstorms, glistening mountains, people greeting us with warmth, kindness, warm and delicious food and wonderfully fresh air. We had actually made plans to drive from Chandigarh to Manali, so all the snow and the snow-clad mountains did not pop out of nowhere. We were slowly getting used to it. When I held my first ever snowball, I was so frozen that I would have literally heard Idina Menz...