“We’re going to the zoo!” Nay, we couldn’t say it this winter... or the previous one because of the “gift” the pandemic has given us — enochlophobia or a fear of crowds. Sure, animals belong in their natural habitats and not the zoo, but the fact remains, everything that brings us happiness is going through the motions of a financial mess — ticket counters at the zoo to those at movie theatres — Mathures Paul

For someone who can live life eating desserts for breakfast, lunch and dinner, winter brings in a variety to make the soul happy. One of my favourites is the Joynagarer moa. However, I only love having it from a particular seller who comes all the way from Joynagar to our house every winter. I have been seeing Joynagar kaka (the name I gave him as a child) since I was very young. But because of the pandemic he has stopped visiting us. Maintaining the ritual, I have not popped a single moa that was brought home in these two years, hoping Joynagar kaka will come with his boxes any day and ring our doorbell again. Maybe next winter— Priyanka A. Roy

I have been missing my otherwise packed-with-weddings winter itinerary. A couple I was invited to had to be sacrificed at the altar of the pandemic paranoia. I really miss dressing up without the killjoy of profuse sweat and tucking into piping hot radhaballavi and kosha mangsho under a shamiana with the wintry chill all around me. The open-air set-ups definitely scored brownie points. Ah, the pleasure of slurping on ice cream even as you went brrrrrrr…… It’s been years since I have had ice cream (story for another time) and as for winter weddings, they too are probably hibernating. Let’s not talk about a little bit of flirting that’s such a better proposition at a winter wedding! We are humming Yeh haseen vadiyaan

Saionee Chakraborty

Every winter, my then fiance and now husband, and I had a late-night drive ritual post 11pm. We’d go near PG Hospital for chai and sit there for an hour talking about random things. With new time restrictions in place, I miss doing this simple activity that would bring so much joy to my winter nights — Zeba Akhtar Ali

Spending New Year’s with my school friends, no matter where we are since we were 18, has been a norm. Even while covering parties for t2, they would either give me company at the club I was at or I would go join them after my assignment, even if it was for a short while. Spending New Year’s Eve without seeing my girls used to be unthinkable — until the last two years. We did catch up over video calls, but that’s just not the same

Anannya Sarkar

There are many things typical of Calcutta winters and each family has its own little fun rituals that this season bring out. For my family — and by that, I mean my big, fat extended family — it’s the annual picnic. You can call it an annual get-together or a picnic, and it ranges from a two-night trip to a weekend getaway to a day trip somewhere nearby, but it’s essentially an occasion that sees a bus full of my enthusiastic family members — at least 20 of them aged eight to 80 — head out for a super fun time. That’s probably one of the things that I have missed the most in the past two years. Don’t know when we would get to do that next, all we have for now are the pictures popping up as ‘memories’ on Facebook — Smita Roy Chowdhury

Having grown up in Salt Lake, we have always been blessed with an expanse of space that allowed a lot of physical activities. The best part of winter for us used to be the makeshift badminton court that would be built overnight with floodlights et al in front of my house. People of all age groups would come and play there at different times of the day and nothing felt more like a community event than this. This is the third winter we have not had a badminton court and that’s the part I miss the most — Shrestha Saha

Talk about a barbecue for one — it’s boring. I’ve been missing having home barbecues and potluck parties where family and friends would come together for an early Christmas celebration. It used to be fun, nostalgia and great food. Now it’s just another isolated winter. — Hannah Nicole D’souza

I genuinely miss taking my nephews and nieces out for a picnic, where we would play badminton, lay on the lush green lawn, cook in the open, and see them listening to their grandparents reading out stories under a tree. But since the last two years, the joy of the whole experience has stalled. I wish things turn around soon and the children find their freedom in the open, just like old times!

Pramita Ghosh

I miss going for the annual Christmas concerts in Allen Park on Park Street. Live bands from different parts of the city would take centre stage and perform some Christmas-y songs and the decor would be wonderful. Crowds gathered to take a look at the Christmas tree that is always at the Park Street-Camac Street crossing. All of it put together brought out a very feel-good vibe along with the nip in the air — Urvashi Bhattacharya

We had formed a film club many years ago, and we would engage in film debates and discussions at a friend’s place during December and January. The sessions were constructed around the screening and analysis of films. We would storyboard sequences, figure out edit patterns, spend hours obsessing over camera angles and movements, watch films without sound and finally play them with audio commentary to understand them better. The film appreciation session is a thing of the past now. The club no longer exists. Hopefully, 2023 will inspire a fresh start — Arindam Chatterjee

Anyone who knows me even a little knows how much I love shoes. My pre-winter ritual, over the last many years, has been to take out my boots — I own about 25 pairs, give or take a few — and air and sun them, all prepped for winter. Working from home for the last two years and hardly going out even otherwise, has ensured I have got around to wearing just a pair or two. But that hasn’t stopped me from buying two new pairs this winter. We all live in hope, don’t we?— Priyanka Roy

It was a ritual for my friends and I, along with our families, to drive to Azad Hind Dhaba on the Kona Expressway on a cold January morning. The ride used to be fun with at least one tea break at any solitary tea stall that we could spot. We would reach the dhaba, play badminton in the lawn and then have lunch. While returning, we would make another stop for tea. The pandemic made us let go of this for the last two years. I pray to God that we get the chance this year... maybe in February — Santanu Mullick