Travelogue by Anuradha Bhattacharyya

Running After The Snowman

The snowman is a common feature in all the animation films that children watch. It can dance about, talk and even save lives. Naturally, a little girl of five would want to run after Frosty, the snowman just like all the kids she watches on television.

My daughter made it very clear to us that she wanted to make a snowman with a carrot for its nose and a muffler round its neck. She also wanted to go skiing. Her father and I seized it as a pretext to go to Shimla this year. It was imperative that we should reach there at a time when all our daughter’s dreams related to a snowy landscape can come true.

Despite severe cold and taxi strike to boot, we set off for the mountains in the last week of January. We were assured that after considerable snowfall at the beginning of the year, there would be snow clad regions surrounding Shimla if not exactly in the heart of the city.

To our greatest surprise, the roads of Shimla were covered with a thin film of snow which had fallen just the previous evening. On the porch of our guest house, my daughter could easily erect a snowman within half an hour. But to our horror, in doing so, she had drenched her leggings through.

After considerable arguments we managed to disengage her from her frolics and we immediately packed her in blankets and made her sit in front of a blower. That night and for the rest of the three days that we were there, it did not snow. The snow on the roads drained away and we rode off the next morning towards Kufri, a small hill facing the North where snow does not melt easily.

At Kufri, we rode ponies to climb up a steep stretch of hillside which led to a small arena for skiing and riding a sledge. Fresh snow had been brushed aside to leave the ground covered with hardened snow for skiing. The ponies left brown marks all over the snow as we climbed up. We wore rubber boots and nylon gloves, polyester jackets and Lycra pants. But we had forgotten to carry umbrellas, the muffler for the snowman and most unfortunately, the carrot.

After riding on a sledge where we screamed at the top of our voice, we decided that it was too much excitement for us. So we sat on stools with plates of Maggie noodles while our daughter alone went for skiing.

The young boy who helped her into the skis and held her by the waist while she held on to the two sticks for support must have really enjoyed with her since most of the other big boys and aunties were all clumsy and kept toppling down flat on the ground often and on. Some tourists could hardly move an inch! But the kids had a gala time. We were once again confirmed that kids are more agile and they learn more quickly.

After a long while we were obliged to ask her if she had had enough of skiing. Then we took to the task of building a large snowman. Once we started gathering the snow on the sides to roll it into a huge ball, we became truly aware of the enormity of the task. Our hands and feet warmed up with the effort. We kept patting on the snow for firmness. Roundness was a far cry! Exhausted with the effort, we quickly settled for a small big belly of the snowman-to-be. Then we patted some snow into a rough ball and stuck it on the big belly.

Then our daughter cried out for the muffler! No carrot! No coals! What could be done?

Looking around, we saw an empty Bislery bottle rolling on one side. Some insensible guy had squashed it right there! It had a blue cap.

There – we had a snowman with blue eyes, green buttons on its jacket and a small stick which took a long time to stay put on Frosty’s face for a nose! But still the muffler was missing. In a white landscape, a snow-white snowman cannot be distinguished without the muffler round its neck! Now we understood the funda behind Frosty asking to wear only a muffler! It was his mark of personality. Otherwise he would be lost to vision.

If you have noticed, the Bislery bottles also have a blue plastic strip round its middle part that can easily come off. We found one such strip and tucked it below Frosty’s round face. The snowman immediately came alive and like a magician began to attract everyone on the hill. Many tourists took out their cameras and posed next to Frosty as if it was they who had created it.

It was rather sad to leave Frosty alone as we climbed back on the ponies which trotted off towards where the car was parked. But it was a boon in disguise that we did not have to snatch back his muffler after all!