Important Questions

Dated – January, 2014

In the time space continuum, celebrating the end of a year and beginning of another is quite silly. Actually, it is a tad daunting. Whether you like it or not, you tend to look back and take stock. And no year is ordinary. Extraordinary happiness followed by moments of despair. The most boring, unbelievably mundane days followed by days when you wish time came to a standstill. That’s how 2013 was and pretty much every other year will be.

So, did you do a random act of kindness? Did you smile till your eyes shone and others couldn’t help grinning along? Did you laugh till your sides ached and people frowned at you? Did you dance like no one’s watching? The aapdi pode style or the kite flying stance..which one did you prefer? Did you tell someone how truly you loved, even though you knew they’d walk away? Did you forgive or did you choose to remember? Did you travel to new places and were you the one who was so overjoyed in that moment, that a tear escaped while you drank to the good times? Because you couldn’t hold on to that moment. Did you sing, at the top of your voice, with no rhythm or rhyme and thought it was the best rendition ever? Were you a good friend this year? Did you listen when your friends complained with their silence or did you not understand their silence? Did you make choices where there was no going back? Then, did you regret, for one small moment? Did you run and allow the music to drown out the noise? Did you learn something new; something that made you like yourself a shade better? Did you see the sun rise and set beautifully in so many different places? Did you remember the setting sun or the company you had then? Did you hug someone in a way that chases away all things blue? Did you pray? Did parents teach you yet again what unconditional love is? Were you happy this year? Did you truly live this year?

In an age of social networking and gadgets, we have forgotten how to truly live. To feel the sand under our feet. To smell the whiff of monsoon in the air. To look into people’s eyes and talk. Maybe these new year’s eves are just a way of remembering the things that really matter. The letters don’t come any more. The cards have been replaced by walls and posts. Smiles were long taken over by smileys. Words have become abbreviations. And me and you, well we connected over whatsapp, facebook and google plus. We connected, but the smell of ink on paper wasn’t there. Your stories weren’t there; neither was my excitement.

So, here’s wishing that this year is more human than the previous one. More loved. More time spent with family and friends. More of everything that you really wish for. 🙂 Cheers to a good one!