*Its a chilly winter morning, mercury hovering around 10 degrees at around 11 Am in morning. Sun has just started peeping out from a thick layer of fog. Facebook is abuzz with goodbye 2011 messages, mailbox flooded with new year wishes, phone buzzing every now and then with best wishes messages. It seems that everyone is out there to outpace each other in wishing. I wonder how many take out time and sit alone to remember how the year started and how it progressed. * * * *Welcoming new year with open hands, heart filled with hope of a better tomorrow, embracing change with a smile, we also need to pause and look back at the year. So much happened around us! For some, time stood still for a while, for some it flew at a breathtaking pace, some drifted through it, some just kept struggling thinking about tomorrow, forgetting that they are living today. Resolutions made, resolutions broken, promises made, promises broken, moments of joy, moments of sorrow... some take in stride and move on and some just stand still brooding over what happened. * * * *World saw a churn with events like Osama leaving humanity for good, Egypt and Libya saw new regimes taking over. People's revolution making a point from India's Anna, Occupy Wall Street in New York to Burma getting an elected government. In the neighborhood, Pakistan continues to remain a confused nation even after 64 years of independence. With its neighboring nation Afghanistan, Pakistan remained a laughing stock for the entire world, of how a nation should not be. To not let yourself be used and thrown away. With so many complexities, India still continues to amaze everyone around. Its a Herculean task to keep a nation like ours integrated! * * * *Moving from people's revolution to economic doom which still continues to make headlines. Headless chickens on Wall Street pushing the world in gloom for their incremental greed, to Europe's euphoria with themselves and finally asking China to bail them out! India somehow managing to grow although at huffing and puffing pace lead by a government which remains headless and directionless. The year of scams comes to an end with Lokpal going into deep freeze. FDI to stock markets all continue their southward journey, while interest rates continue moving northward. RBI on its own took the responsibility to bring some sanity in the economic chaos, but with no support from government, found it self too burdened. * * * *In this all gloom and sadness, cricket brought a moment of joy with World cup coming back to its rightful place after 28 years! Dhoni taught us how important it is to remain rooted and humble. A good leader may not be the most talented or the best orator, but a one who gives space to stars achieve their glory. On the other end, Sania Nehwal showed us that there are other sports too in this country and we are good at it. Formula 1 taking its first step in rusty and dusty backdrop of ever changing Delhi! * * * *Some great people left us, the ghazal king Jagjit Singh and Bhupendra Hazarika. The iMan, Steve Jobs, left us wondering how Apple would revolutionize our lives in future. India lost a Tiger, Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan "Pataudi", a man who taught his generation of cricketers to believe in themselves, a man who never gave up! * * * *Some life learning that this year brought to me is that we have limited time here, either one can rise to challenges and make the best of situations or get stuck. The biggest learning came suddenly while watching a video of Devdutt Patnaik's on difference of Hindu and Western idea of life. In western thought, life is a linear idea, you start and you end. So you have only one life and you should make the best of it. Not a bad thought, but till you realize that you are not stepping over others to achieve glory! You might reach but you would leave a trail of hurt people on your path. On the other hand, Hindu idea of life is a never ending one. It goes in circles, this is one of your innumerable births, you would finish and come back. To me this idea gives a lot of solace and peace inside. It makes me not hurry, makes me live a day, makes me take out time for good people around me. Yes, I do get hurt, I fall, I get angry but it does not control me... its not the end, because there is no end! Its just a journey, we are just travelers through it! * * * *A new year is just a new number on calendars and cell phones, life would continue unaware of these numbers, telling us that these numbers don't mean anything. Its just our way of recording events, our way of creating hope, looking forward! Lets embrace change, lets have hope, lets have faith in ourselves, lets resolve to be happy in any circumstances, lets remember that nothing is stagnant, change is inevitable, lets work hard but not strain ourselves, because there is as much one can do! Live each day, Live life See you all in 2012! * By, Ambuj Lal. Student @ Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Institute of Management 