Happy Eid And Happy New Year!

So it's here at last- a sparkling, promising, brand new year! 2007, you beauty! What a fortunate people we are to witness the dawn of yet another path-breaking set of 12 months! Alright, I think I'm done with the sarcasm here. Frankly, I've never really understood the feverish hoopla that surrounds the start of every new year. I mean, what does New Year's really stand for other than being a perfectly silly reason to party? So it's the beginning of another Gregorian year, big deal! Do we ever realize how little December 31 and January 1 would have meant to us if we hadn't been following the calendar that we do? Its not like we celebrate the dawn of a path-breaking era every year either - it's just another set of 12 months, which more likely than not is going to bring fresh bouts of misery and misfortune to the underprivileged. And all that hogwash about a new year bringing hope and promise and potential that every self-respecting socialite faithfully recites every time someone asks him the significance of New Year's is just that - hogwash.

On a less cynical note, the past year was a mixed sort of year - there were some good times, and some not so. India's nuclear deal has been a revolutionary step of sorts, though it's benefits or otherwise can only be known after a bit. George w. Bush's spectacularly dim-witted strategies were given a resounding disapproval by the American public, to the extent that he's now a lame duck in the US Congress. Hopefully, Dick Cheney won't take the term 'duck' too literally and even more hopefully, Bush will have the good sense not to go hunting with Mr. Cheney, or the next thing we know we'll have a President assassinated by accident. Saddam Hussein's execution just before the end of the year was, of course, some consolation for the despondent President. North Korea, inevitably, tested a nuclear weapon, and the reactions to the test were predictably pathetic. Thankfully, no major terrorist attacks this year. Here, I'm talking, of course, about the world other than the perennially violence-torn region of the Middle East. Iraq burned with a passion, while the trigger-happy Israel couldn't keep their weapons unused for too long. The year also witnessed intense debates about the acceptability of the Muslim veil, and some very injudicious remarks by the Pope, both of which angered Muslims all over the world, and rightly so, don't you think?

Back home in India, reservations were in vogue, and for all of the Rang De Basanti-style spirited protests by concerned citizens, the government went right ahead and enforced the Reservation Bill, sending waves of despair among the indignant victims - students. The judiciary had a relatively good year, with a host of celebrity killers being convicted for their famous crimes. Then there were the regular political scandals and high-tension dramas. Boring. The year was a good one for movies - Rang De Basanti, Don and Lage Raho Munnabahai were decidedly classy, and even the ludicrous Dhoom 2, the lamentable Fanaa and the somewhat stylish Krrish made big bucks. Hollywood, of course, came out with its steady supply of mass-oriented action flicks, and hey, no one's complaining. X Men 3 was fantastic, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was hilarious, and everyone was happy.

The year 2006 was a big one for sports, of course, what with the Football World Cup and all. Much to my disappointment, Italy emerged winners, and Zidane had an end which could be either deplorable or glorious, depending upon your point of view. Roger Federer had another ridiculously successful year, and Tiger Woods had an emotionally successful one. Michael Schumacher, Andre Agassi, Ian Thorpe (a bit of a surprise, this one), Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were the other greats to retire, and the last two may well be on their way to giving a heart-broken England their worst defeat in 85 years. Oh well, England and their unbelievably arrogant fans (you'd have thought sixteen years of Ashes sorrow would've taught them to be a little more restrained in celebration) needed to be brought down a peg or two.

Harry Potter fans had nothing much to cheer about, with no movie release this year, and J K Rowling, with her obstinate refusal to hand her fans more than a few crumbs consisting of the title of book 7 and a few mysterious one-liners that could have about a hundred different interpretations made it all the more disheartening. So in the final analysis, a mixed year. Now should I be happy about that? I think, well, maybe. One of my all-time favorite quotes goes something like, "No one really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy". How piercingly true. So happy it is for me.

Eid today was quite a pleasant affair, and to tell the truth, all the work that Eid, specially Bakri Eid brings along with it is quite a lot of fun. Of course, the biryani and the sheerkhurma and the khichda have a way of turning fun into ecstasy. Anyway, I think I've written a little too much YET again, so I'll end here before it gets too bad. Happy Eid and a Happy New Year to everyone once again! (I really don't have a problem with just the greeting, you see - it's only the mad frenzy that I detest....)