"It's 12 degrees here."

I am on a holiday. I am in my home town right now. When I was packing my bags, my father called me to suggest we get some winter clothing (jackets, sweater, etc). He said it was cold here. He said, "It's 12 degree here." Hyderabad (where I work) was pretty warm then.

When I landed here, reality struck. I was freezing. Coming from Hyderabad where winter was looking more like summer, this was a shock. Then my father smiled and said, "I told you it was 12 degrees here."

It is getting cooler by the day. Today's newspaper reads, "Yesterday was the coldest day in the last 28 years. It was 10 degrees yesterday."

When I was in Hyderabad I could not make much sense of what 12 degrees meant. I could not visualise. Was 12 degree too cold or just nice cold?

Well, the problem is, numbers are dry and do not make much of a sense on their own. It is like saying the GDP of India is $1.85 Trillion or the per capita income of India is $1219. What do I do with that? I cannot take any action based on this figure because I do not fully understand it.

The next time you need to tell your dear ones it's very cold, resist the temptation to say "It's 12 degrees here." Better say, "It's freezing down here and we have not seen such cold weather in the last decade." People will act more upon the latter than the former.

Whatever be the weather in your city, continue to have fun. Have a happy and fun filled new year.