Hi all, My name is Lavanya from India. I am so happy to be joining in this contest, Weather and Our Life organised by Urdu Community.

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This concept is very close to our lives, and that's why I loved it a lot.

How does weather affect our lives and play an important role? What kind of weather do you like and why do you like it?

Weather plays a big role in each one's life. Based on the climate, we decide our journey, clothes, and even plans too. According to it, we decide whether we go outside or not.

In India, the government also announces sudden holidays due to bad weather and also gives an announcement to fishermen too regarding weather conditions so they can decide whether they may go fishing or not. We make a lot of decisions based on weather conditions before taking a decision.

In agriculture, they always follow weather situations before starting new cultivation or harvesting or many other situations too.

In India, we generally have three seasons: rainy, summer, and winter, and a little bit of autumn.

I love cloudy weather only. No hot, no cold, I need stable weather. Such as those we usually get in the winter.

During this season, I mostly prepare spicy and crispy dishes like Mirchi Bhajiis, Vada Pav, Pav Bhajii, and more related ones. All together, we enjoyed those days.

In the remaining days, I don't get the mood to prepare, so mostly I love the winter season a lot. I strongly believe the weather also decides our mood. When we have a hot summer, my mood is very disturbed, so I get angry at very small things and shout at my kids most of the time.

I am in a pleasant mood in the rainy and winter months, so we enjoy ourselves all together a lot. We also spend more time with my family, mainly with our kids.

What region do you live in? And what are the seasons in your region?

At present, I am living in Chennai city, which is located in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. That's why here we have very hot days most of the year.

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_{My Present Location In India Map}

Chennai mostly has a wet and dry climate. It is located in a coastal area, so most of the time, the weather is hot and humid.

But here we also get the main 3 types of weather conditions.

From November to February, we have very pleasant weather.

From March to June, we have very hot weather.

Then from July to September, we get heavy rainfall.

That's why I mostly love the November to February season.

What is your favourite season and why do you like it?

In before also I inform you. I love pleasant weather. No hot, no cool, the weather is cloudy with light sunshine. This season I loved a lot.

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_{Pleasant Weather I love Most}

During this time, my body and mind will be very active compared to other seasons. I also enjoy preparing different dishes for my family members. We are all enjoying ourselves a lot during this season. That's why I loved it a lot.

Depending on the season in your region, country, or city, which rituals are more celebrated?

Based on rituals, we have many celebrations.Like Onum in Kerala, Mysore Dasara in Karnataka, Hampi Utsav in Hampi, Karnataka, Karaga in Karnataka, Thrissur Pooram in Kerala, Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh, and other ritual celebrations are held across India.

In Tamil Nadu, we celebrate Pongal, Diwali, Ugadi, Mahamaham Festival, and Chithrai Thiruvizha mostly.

In my family, we eagerly wait for Pongal and Diwali. Because on those days we buy new clothes, gold, and prepare different sweets, also invite our relatives. So, all in all, we have a great time,those occasions, we conduct different games and other cultural activities too.

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_{Pongal Festival}

That's why we are waiting for Pongal and Diwali to arrive. The Pongal festival usually occurs at the end of the winter season and the beginning of the summer season. The date is changed according to the seasons. So there is no fixed date for this festival.( Mostly Mid January to Mid February).

This year we celebrate on the 14th of January.

How do you dress and eat according to the season (cultural reflection)?

In my region, around 80% of the time we have hot weather, so I prefer mostly cotton-related dresses. These would be sarees, chudidhars, skirts, or anything made of cotton is a good choice.

For winter needs, choose wool sweaters mostly.

Coming to food, here we eat mostly rice items like Idli with Sambar, Pulliyodarai, Parrupu Payasam, Pollachi Nandu Fry, Rasam, Filtered kaapi and more.

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_{Veg Thali}

In winter I prepare spicy foods like Bhajji, Vada pav, Crispy Masala Dosa, Idli & Sambar, Poori with Chenna Masal, Sola Poori, Pongal, Sambar rice and many more.

In summer, I prepare dishes which give coolness to our bodies, like coconut water, watermelon, curd rice, cucumber raita, ridge gourd & moong dal combination Pappu, like those I prefer most.

I choose dishes based on weather conditions. From this, I will manage my body temperature and mood mostly.

Which season's fruit do you like and why?

I love mango, water melon, blueberries, and crusted apples mostly. However, enjoy all of the available seasonal fruits such as papaya, guava, black grapes, Musk Melon, Dakota, Jack fruit, and plum.

Water Melon is one of my favourite fruits , it available mostly in Summer Season, because it is a juicy fruit.

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_{Water Melon}

From this, we get low calories and are completely free of fat. In the summer season, it is a good choice. It helps a lot in reducing body heat.

Apart from you, which season do the people of your area prefer?

In my area, most of them prefer the winter season. Because at that time, we go shopping mostly. Those days we get deals and cashback rewards mostly.Not only this Most of the festivals arrive during those days, so we get good deals from shopping malls and super markets. So we grab those opportunities based on our needs. That's why all of them are mostly waiting for the winter season.

In which season does your area face more difficulties, and what are those difficulties?

In the rainy season, we get a lot of difficulties here. Due to heavy rain, roads get damaged. A huge amount of traffic occurs due to it.

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_{Difficulties In Rainy Season}

In some areas, power down issues are also encountered. Due to rain with strom, trees fall on power lines, so we get a lot of power-related issues during those days.

Sometimes we get flooded also, so water will blow into our homes.

Like those issues, we need to face them in the rainy season.

What is the special ritual associated with a particular season that people in your area have been waiting for all year?

In my area, most of them are waiting for the Pongal Festival to arrive at the end of winter. It is a four-day festival. The official government announces 4 to 5 days of holidays during the Pongal festival. This festival is also known as the Harvest Festival.

We worship cattle and hold the Jallikattu event on the third day. This event is very popular in my region. Participants need courage and talent to participate. It's a very dangerous event too.

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_Jallikattu

So all family members and relatives gathered to enjoy this festival. On those days, we conduct devotional events near the temple.

Also, go on a tour of nearby areas with family members and friends. That's why all my area people are waiting for this ritual celebration.

Conclusion:

Weather plays a big role in determining our daily activities and also determines our mood too. Based on seasons, we choose our dressing senses and our food menu too.

In my area, we have a lot of ritual celebrations. So we all wait for that day throughout the year.

Thanks for Reading.