Nadia, Dec. 15: With the gradual drop in the mercury level people across the South Bengal began to feel the season’s first spell of chill. During the past two days, the minimum temperature decreased at least by 1 degree which coupled with dry weather and clear sky set to make the weekend a pleasant one. However, the foodies eager to taste the winter delicacies with items like Nolen Gurer Sandesh or Joynagarer Moya would require patience for a further dip in the temperate to enjoy the fascinating aroma that makes the items unique.
The cold spell was first felt last week marked by a fall in the temperature level that compelled people to pull out winter garments from wardrobes. The major fall was experienced on December 10, when mercury was recorded quite below the normal.
The Met Office in Kolkata predicts that the chill will continue to be felt with no major changes in the weather. But there is expected a fresh drop in the mercury level on Saturday.
While in Kolkata, the minimum temperature has remained around 14℃ during the past few days, several towns in the South Bengal region have been experiencing a gradual fall in the mercury during the same time.
On Friday Berhampur and Bankura recorded the lowest minimum temperature so far with 10.5℃, which is 3℃ below the normal. Among the other South Bengal towns that recorded a fall in the minimum temperature include Ratua (10.7℃) and Sriniketan (10. 8℃), followed by Burdwan and Coochbehar both with 11℃. Krishnanagar, however, recorded close to the Calcutta with 14℃.
“We expect that a stronger feeling of chill will be felt from next week. Usually in December, the mercury began to drop from the first week. But a depression caused early this month made a change. However, there is no fresh possibility of rain across the state and no major change is so far predicted in the coming days. So chill will be felt more from the beginning of the next week with dry weather and clear sky”, said an official of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore, Kolkata.
Meanwhile, the dip in the mercury level has brought smiles to the faces of date palm jaggery makers in the nolun gur hubs like Nadia’s Majhdia, Murshidabad, Joynagar, Diamond Harbour of South 24 Parganas and Bankura.
The Jaggery makers said that the early morning sap of the date palm trees during winter has an exquisite aroma that makes the jaggery unique in its delicacy. However, the farmers who extract the palm juice claimed that the best quality juice would only be available after a further drop in the temperature. Gopal Biswas, a farmer from Nadia’s Santipur who also makes Nolen Gur said, “The gross volume of sap being received is very low now. The volume would increase once the chill feel become stronger…at least by the end of next week”.
“People who usually wait eagerly during this time every year have to wait further to taste the best quality of nolen gur and the delicacies made of it like Sandesh and Moya”, he further added. (Picture by Babu Ghosh).