Frost

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Frost Season in India

***** Location: India
***** Season: Frost
***** Category: Season

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Explanation

In India, according to the Ritusamharam by Kalidasa FROST is a season by itself, comprising the months of November and December.
I hope here we can introduce some special topics of the Indian Frost season.

In the traditional Japanese saijiki and in the World Kigo Database: FROST (shimo) is a kigo for All Winter.


November and December in India comprise kigo
for early and mid winter in Japan, check it here:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/japanese/haiku/saijiki/4wi.html



Photo © Gabi Greve

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The Season of Frost – called Hemant – occurs in the months of Margshishya-Pousha
-approximately in November and December.

The nip in the morning air . . . the biting cold in the nights . . . time for Kashmir shawls and woollen sweaters to make an appearance . . . an increased demand for skin creams and messages!
Fresh fruits like the famous- Kulu apples from Kashmir, vegetables like peas and many other varieties of carrots etc – would be seen in abundance in the markets.

The season of frost is the time in India – when art flourishes. From North to South - East to West – concerts and sammelans abound in India during this time Chennai is renowned for their December music season. When hundreds of associations called sabha, hold concerts throughout the day running through the whole month and more.

Kala Ramesh

The season of frost includes many words that are also Japanese kigo for winter, as we have seen.
Kala Ramesh has prepared a list with words that are typical for the FROST season in India. We can add more to this list.

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dryness

thistle

forest fires

noon heat

dry heat


noon heat . . .
cow emerges with thistle
on his horns

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music concerts

sammelans

utsavs

mehfils

poetry reading


sangeet mehfil
deep into the raga, her shawl
slips and slips


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frost

chill

coldness

iciness

chillness


morning frost . . .
her warm smile
freezes

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peas

kulu apples

cherries

roses

withered lotus


biting an apple
her round cheeks
red

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silk kurta

silk sarees

sweaters

shawls

mufflers

headgear

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late dawn

early sunset

darkening sky

short days

long nights


late-morning moon
a silent witness
to city traffic

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blocked noses

allergy

sneezes

colds and coughs

dry skin

less thirst


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Worldwide use

. World Kigo Database: Frost (shimo)

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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

morning frost-walk
wrapped in sweaters and headgear
no one knows the other

In India at least in Pune - we continue our early morning walks. The air is biting chill but people are rooted in routine and 'all the king's horses and all the king's men' cannot drag them away from their morning walk!!!

Kala Ramesh

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first frost -
so many feet
without shoes



morning frost -
the houseboats shrouded
in thick mist

... ...

frosty morning -
she does the dishes
while I shiver



© Photo and Haiku by Gabi Greve, Kashmir, Dal Lake, December 1980

Look at some photos of Dal Lake
by Chad Heeter
http://flickr.com/photos/72005234@N00/sets/549186/

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R.K.SINGH about the FROST season 2005

Chilly wind slaps
the window panes closed to keep
cross-legged couple warm

Icy bed:
moving the pillow
closer to hers

December morning--
the first roses in the lawn:
fragrance in passing

Travelling
on the wings of winter
ill news

Mist surrounds:
the steel statue watches
few visitors

Morning fog:
her face invisible
even the sun

Bronchial breathing--
the only sound audible
in the soulless space

(So many suffer from allergies in Hemant ritu these days.)

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Related words

***** Frost (shimo, Japan) , First Frost, Late Frost

***** Ritusamharam


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