Travel Diaries of the Amateur Winter Traveller:
There is a saying, you can tell how cold a mother is feeling by the number of layers her child is dressed in. Unfortunately in Mumbai’s equatorial climate anything more than shorts and singlets could result in second degree burns. Which sadly, deprives us Mumbai Mums of the additional joy of shopping for winter wear.
Of course, tempted by the aisles of winter fashion in Mumbai stores (talk about fashion paradox), we end up investing a mini-fortune for our children on the pretext of someday traveling to cooler climates. Clothes that they wear precisely once before outgrowing. And then there’s the other hurdle…packing for the vacation when, in fact, living in Mumbai, we mums are literally temperature challenged!
Which is a special kind of disability where, in our blistering humidity we find it hard to even imagine what temperatures below 28 degrees C feel like. So we lower our air conditioner temperature as far as it can go and then attempt to gauge how many woollens our children will need. Well, you can’t blame us for trying! But even then, nothing prepares us for what we finally experience when we travel to cold climates.
For us, packing for winter wonderlands therefore involves dedicating a month prior to the vacation towards intensive debate and discussions with fellow Mumbai Mums and obsessive list-making of the miscellaneous paraphernalia that we may need, that usually end up being enough to keep all of Europe warm.
So here are the complicated algorithms that determine what eventually finds their way into our bursting suitcases and explains why we almost always have to pay for excess baggage:
Layer 1: Thermal inners X (number of vacation days X number of children)
Layer 2: Full sleeved Ts X 2 per day X (number of vacation days X number of children)
Layer 3: Thermal leggings X (number of vacation days X number of children)
Layer 4:Track pants or jeans X (number of vacation days X number of children)
Layer 5: Socks X (number of vacation days X number of children)
Layer 6: Gloves X ( number of vacation days X number of children)
Layer 7: Scarves X ( number of vacation days X number of children)
Layer 8: Multiple hooded jackets (2 per week) X (number of children)
Layer 9: Sweaters (3 per week) X (number of children)
Layer 10: Puffer jacket X 2 X number of children
Layer 11: Earmuffs (optional) X number of children.
And last but not the least: Warmees (a fairly new discovery for me. These little bags of gel magically heat up after a few minutes of mere shaking and are capable of keeping you warm for upto 8 hours. No water or electricity required)
Warmees X (2 per person per day) X (number of days)+(additional 10)
And after all that precise plotting and planning, here’s what almost all of our holiday pictures reveal two children seen in full sleeved t-shirts (thankfully) and track pants and a harried looking mother unsuccessfully tugging along what amounts to the equivalent of one human being’s weight in jackets, puffers, scarves, socks and (miraculously shed!?) thermals. And an irate father lugging around a bag full of the same. Newsflash to us weather challenged mums: Children do not feel as cold as we think they should!! Especially when being out in the cold is a novelty. So while we mums end up hugging the Warmees and pleading with them to do the same, they would rather race on ahead, using their own cardio-induced body heat to keep warm…and will even demand ice cream for dessert. And we mums, finally give in only to realize that they will almost never catch a cold this way as opposed to the frequent pollution-induced ones that they contract back home.
So…in conclusion. “I made a mistake. Next time I’ll pack light,” is what I sheepishly promise my husband at the end of every vacation as he uses one of the twenty-seven leftover Warmees as a makeshift heat pad to relieve his sore back, while simultaneously lifting the heavy, overstuffed suitcase breaking its handle in the process. His helpless, frustrated, exasperated smile tells me we’ve been married long enough for him to know that I will spend the month before our next trip stressing over sufficient layers in exactly the same way, while monitoring the weather of our chosen destination on the weather app until my bags are bursting again..stuffing in one last jacket just in case!
(This post can also be found on Mycity4kids.com on my page The Occupational Mother)
Sunset Effect - Nitya Satyani 