Revisiting 2011

I don’t have a 2011 diary to chronicle the major occurrences of my life in the year that’s bidding us adieu. But certainly, I have the most complex creations of nature to refer to – my brain!

 

Well, to begin with, let me add as a prelude, or should I say disclaimer of sorts, lest I miss out on any fortuity, that what I’m going to state here is only pertaining to my interests, or things that have caught my attention and this, in no way is an exhaustive list.

 

The morning dawned with the fact that the previous night was brilliantly spent at The Green Court Club, clubbing with one of my best friends and naturally, the head was throbbing! But that didn’t dispirit my day, contrary to the cliché that morning shows the day and more so if it is the first day of the year, it shows the year!

 

The much awaited Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani trip with hubby dearest happened in the first month itself. So, that, sort of proved that travel-wise, the year is going to be quite fine. But I guess, more than the superstition, the tickets which we already had in hand proved as a guarantor. February brought in the second year of marriage, another milestone! March was spent under considerable work pressure, but nevertheless, passed by.

 

The new FY wasn’t phenomenal but the CY was. Which means, professionally, except for cracking few big corporate accounts, the year was pretty conventional. June saw me take a trip to the magical Thailand. More than for touring, the vacation was a much needed fourth honeymoon for spending some quality time with hubby. That reminds me, 2011 was spent singly post marriage as whole of 2011 I have been in Bombay – the city of dreams!

 

Unceremonious events like Delhi visits, Durga puja and Kolkata trips happened in due course, but what made it stand apart was that I met a couple of intriguing and very intellectually stimulating people who have left an imprint on my otherwise delible mind. That proved Hanore’ De Balzac’s famous saying, “Reading brings us unknown friends” because, I have been reading a lot, quite a lot. Fiction overruled non-fiction this year, and Fantasy Fiction ruled the fiction category. That would sort of justify one of my New Year resolutions.

 

Well, financially and economically, the country saw 13 rate hikes to tame inflation, literally it was a 375 bps hike over the last 20 months, which, none of the stalwarts of the Indian Economy can even claim that has had any visible effect on the inflation figures. We are barely a couple of days away from the year end, and even now the LAF figures are scary, CRR rate cut is being expected only by bankers and the FinMin is roaring from the rooftops that the projected growth rate is coming down by the day. In essence, no ownership of any blames is resulting in what we Indians can perceive to be another massive step towards a major downfall. India among the BRIC nations used to be the most stable economy but now is one of the most threatened by the US and the Euro economic crisis.

 

Politically, Anna Hazare has swept corruption out of the country to a large extent and is still continuously trying. West Bengal has seen a major downfall of the Leftist Empire and despite that, even after 6 months of the same, West Bengal continues to be in a state of constant uncertainty.

 

Now before my audience categorizes this essay as a PEST (stands for "Political, Economic, Social, and Technological") analysis of the year bygone, in Strategic Management terminology, let me quickly shift the paradigm into a much cocooned topic for ethereal conversation – well, ethereal it’s going to be – TV serials, movies, music, literary events, etc.!

 

I was never into TV soaps but my solitude probably did the trick. Well, I won’t say I’m addicted, but definitely am almost there! Movies were as usual a part of life but not life itself - infact, none to be etched in memory for a lifetime. Concludingly, the Crossword Book Award program and the Literary Carnival (LitCarn) were rather interesting. That would remain in memory for quite some time. My chance meeting with Sourav Ganguly at the LitCarn was the most prized possession of the memory of any of these literary events.

 

This essay wouldn’t be complete if I don’t draw upon the losses this world has faced in the year 2011. The losses range from world’s greatest entertainers, to the political sodality, to the sports champions, the art fanatics, brilliant illustrators, the respected members of the music fraternity, self-defined writers, and even generational photographers. If I start quoting the names here, restricting the essay to few pages, would be a herculean task. May their soul rest in peace. In this context, as natural calamity has taken the world head-on, another in the queue is global warming. Anyway, global warming is planning to convert the longest night of the year to a permanent night for this world – as the scientists say, the world is going to end on 22nd December 2012, which is incidentally the longest night of every year. What’s questionable here in this context is that if it happens, should this be treated as a retribution of the celestial pulls and tidal effects or should this merely be imputed to superstitious prowess, that this is going to be the end of Kaliyuga before the cyclical journey of Satyayuga begins!

 

Well, now since, this is stretching a bit too long, let me draw it to a closure by penning down the resolutions that I expect to cohere to in the coming days –

1. Focus more on self-development so much so that the unconscious competence takes over my being completely.
2. Create a world of my own, a sort of a kingdom where trespassing is severely barred due to high security standards.
3. Read more of non-fictions in order to gain more knowledge and not just feel ecstatic about adding fictions to my bookshelf collection.
4. Pen down my thoughts more often, in a much more orchestrated way.
5. Be more resolute in life.

I thank you for revisiting 2011 with me. Wish you a marvelous year ahead.

Tangible need versus intangible wish

When we talk of introspection, we often mean we are questioning our own mind, to elicit certain answers, which in turn would justify our own actions. But to quote the lexicon verbatim, it is realization of one’s thoughts or feelings, which is not possible without getting the heart involved. Introspection, though the simplest path to the final stage of Maslow’s hierarchy, often results in a tug of war between the heart and the mind.

To put it poetically,

My heart says “I wish love surrounds me!”
But my mind says “Oh! Let it be…
…be sensitive, not a sentimental fool;
this world someday, the mind will rule!”

But in real life, do we really listen to our mind? If that was so, why would a child touch a hot plate even after being warned by the mother? Or why would we do anything wrong? Our mind knows what is right or wrong. Then why are we unable to determine what’s right for us and what’s not? This gives rise to a debatable question – What’s better to be applied - the ‘MIND’ or the ‘HEART’?

If I say, thinking is better than feeling, would the possibility be nullified that there would be no wars? I say so because the human mind, from the time of the Mahabharata, has been the sole cause of destruction. But, at the same time, saying that feeling is better than thinking doesn’t guarantee that peace will prevail. Because, the heart has reasons that reasons do not know of. Which means, if feelings are hurt, it can easily spur up anger, which in turn might result in thinking (of revenge), ultimately resulting in a war-like situation.

You must be thinking, whether, peace or war is all-encompassing. Well, it is not. There is definitely more to thinking and feeling – feeling at times, retards thinking. If I feel I love a man, it would make me believe that I really do, even if I don’t. For all you know, it could be a mere infatuation or a crush. It might still affect my thinking so much that I might just start thinking that this is true love and in the bargain fall in love in reality. Just because I’m feeling, I’ll cease to think what repercussion the feeling might have on my life and continue in my quest for the virtual love.

Though my intonation might have been slightly weighed down on thinking, sans feeling, this world would not survive. All I mean is a strong emotional and practical balance is needed in order to resurrect us out of the daily mechanical grind of our lives. Else, survival could become a challenge for this highly stressed species.

Let’s not think what tangibles we need in life. Let’s try to feel the need to wish for the intangibles in life.

Think (or feel) about it.