The capriciousness of our weather is proverbial, and it is one of the three 'W's that wise men say cannot be relied upon in Kashmir. This week we had an early snowstorm which was unusually accompanied by continuous thunderclaps. I have never experienced such a combination and it was actually quite disconcerting.

My younger son, who has the sibling's effortless knack of saying things that make his brother uncomfortable, remarked that it sounded like the rumbling of a volcano. A few days earlier I had regaled them with old tales from my childhood, including the legend that the Takht-e-Suleman, also known as Shankracharya Hill, is actually a dormant volcano.

These pictures taken from my living room window over three consecutive days provide an example of the vagaries of Kashmir's weather:

13 November 2008
Max : 20°C Min: 12°C

14 November 2008
Max : 1°C Min: 0°C

15 November 2008
Max : 8°C Min: 1°C