That’s why (you don’t go away) 

Whoever said normal is boring surely hasn't experienced a frustrating Calcutta winter.

For the first time this December, the city of fleeting (and often fickle) winters was blessed by the weather gods with a minimum temperature that is "normal" for this time of the year.

The season's lowest temperature of 14.1 was cause for celebration as it came within 48 hours of the warmest pre-winter in years, belying official forecasts that had warned of a weary trudge towards chilly weather.

Winds from the north, the life force of winter in these parts, blew freely throughout the day and out came the mothballed woollens as Calcuttans finally found a reason to believe that their season of chill and cheer has begun.

The minimum temperature had been four to eight degrees above normal until December 15, thanks to the impact of multiple weather systems blocking the passage of the North Wind.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD)'s forecast, clouding and a brief interlude of rain in parts of the city could temporarily block the flow of the wind from the north-west that has brought the temperature down since Wednesday. Some localities of Calcutta received a faint drizzle on Thursday evening, the result of clouds building over the city.

The website of IMD Calcutta said the minimum temperature would rise to 18 degrees on Saturday before falling again. The forecast for Sunday morning is 13 degrees Celsius.

The temperature plunge on Thursday was felt the most by those who had stepped out early. "Today was when we felt that winter has finally arrived. It was quite cold and we were all in our pullovers at the Royal (Calcutta Golf Club). Nice and chilly. For a golfer, the chillier the better," said Gaurav Ghosh, council member of the Indian Golf Union.

Ophthalmologist Abhijit Sen, a Royal regular, called it a "wonderful feeling" to be out on the course with a cool breeze blowing.

"I loved the chilly feeling today. I started around 5.45am and it was really cold at the RCGC.... I was in my full sweater. And to think that it was so hot out there only last Sunday," he said.

The day's minimum temperature is recorded around 5.30am. Between 5am and 7am on Thursday, the North Wind was blowing at a speed of 2 to 7kmph, around the time Sen was on the course. This is why the wind chill would have made the temperature seem even colder than the Celsius indicated.

In schools that have yet to close for the winter vacation, children turned up in blazers and sweaters and didn't take them off as the day progressed, unlike on several occasions earlier this month.

"They usually wear blazers in the morning but take them off by afternoon. Today, almost all of them were in their blazers till school gave over," said Reeta Chatterjee, principal of the Apeejay schools.

A Lower KG student at Modern High School for Girls complained to her father about feeling cold despite being wrapped in a sweater and stockings. "I can feel the cold on my face," she told him at the school gate.

At Delhi Public School Newtown, most students preferred the comfort of the classroom with the doors and windows shut during the lunch break, a school official said.

The villain lurking around the corner is a cyclonic circulation. "A cyclonic circulation developed over Bangladesh on Thursday and has started drawing moisture into the air over large parts of south Bengal. Light rainfall is likely in Calcutta and its surrounding areas," a senior IMD official said.

The good news is that the circulation would dissipate within a day.