Revel in the yellow mustard fields of rural Punjab

A visit to Punjab for me is never complete without stopping by fields. Blame it on Yash Raj for romanticising the sārasōna dē khētara (mustard fields) with peppy yellow flowers and billowy winds. So, when a winter visit was being planned, rural Punjab was definitely on the itinerary. At the risk of sounding clichéd, village visits for weary city dwellers can be an uplifting experience. Our stay in a traditional Punjabi kothi (an ancestral red-bricked home with an open courtyard), in the heart of Nawanpind Sardaran, in Gurdaspur district, proved to be just that — in the midst of lush pastoral landscapes, the chirping of birds of various hues, and the strains of percussion instruments in the air. Gurdaspur is the northernmost district of Punjab, flanked by the Beas and Ravi rivers. Nawanpind Sardaran is about 10 kilometres from Gurdaspur tehsil . We were a family of eight who spent our time taking long leisurely walks across mustard fields, waving at tractors rumbling by, and crunching sugarcane. Rural Punjab is a gastronomic delight. At the kothi , we were treated to simple yet delicious home-cooked meals, including the famed sarson ka saag and makki ki roti, the butter oozing from them. Eat, sleep, walk, followed by more eat, sleep, walk. And then sip hot chai on the charpoy. This is what we did in the two days we spent there. The adults also managed to find time to read, while the children ran around with complete abandon. The weather was cold and all of us were layered from top to toe. In winter, temperatures can plunge to below zero, but that is precisely what we sun-battered ‘Madrasis’ were craving. Imagine being huddled together in a tractor at sundown. As the temperature dipped and the tractor meandered through canals and fields, our spirits soared. Finally, we rushed into the kothi for some much-needed warmth by the fire.