to do item #1 - face reality

it’s a fortnight into new year.

i know.

because i remember to fill ‘07 in the date column. and i’ve made my many resolutions (none of which i’ve adhered to, but i figure i will. since the year is long and the mind, foolishly optimistic). the taxmen have come a-knocking and i’ve spent the past few weeks reading at least, at least a couple hundred “best movies/best books/best albums/best newsmakers/ best such like” columns in every blog/magazine/website with a readership of over 2 people (these columns, apart from letting you know that the year is very definitely over, also let you know, in the nicest way possible that you’re a badly informed, somewhat ignorant amalgamation of atoms, who really doesn’t have their finger on the pulse).

despite these harsh realities and slaps in the face, from snotty list compilers it doesn’t seem like 2007 to me.

firstly, i can’t believe the year’s over. maybe because, years are supposed to end with ceremony. and in my relatively quiet living room, i didn’t feel it come to it’s customary abrupt end. maybe it’s because, i moved cities, and i’ve been so busy just acclimatising myself, i didn’t feel the sweep of the year carrying me by.

none the less, the first item in the to-do list of my very average (read dull as dishwater) workday, i’ve decided to add the excitement of accepting the reality of a new year.

now i know that’s not easy. but if i could only just pack up the essence of what 2006 (which in my head is still the “present”) was like for me, maybe i could store it in my reservoir of fast fading memories (which reminds me, a pensieve would make for a great new year gift), and move on into the new year.

aside - i read in a washington post article about a recently deceased writer who said that our idea of "the present'' is, at most, about six minutes long. we dwell in this little moving bubble, whose diameter is 360 seconds or so. it is all we can take in, all we can grasp, and the far end of it is always being lost, vaporing away into an irrecoverable past.

so hard though, it might be, this was 2006 for me. (aah, that rhymes.)

1. sports
a) zidane’s headbutt- in equal parts, cringing with embarrassment, agape with shock and stricken to see a glorious career end with a headbutt and headlines around the world. (have to admit, it was a CRYING shame)
b) alonso’s triumph or raikkonen dashing my hopes and dreams – great season, with two fantastic racers going head-to-head for the title. Though tried really hard to change the outcome of the race with the help ancient hindu practices, which basically involved me willing desperately for mclaren to miraculously come with a car that raced as good as it looked (mind over matter and all that). But na-dah.
c) beer fest or what others call the world cup – spent one whole month, one whole long smashed month, watching every game, in a sport I have very passive interest in. can’t believe I had so much fun though. Maybe, having beer run in your veins instead of blood makes everything seem like fun.

2. holidays / flyaway visits–
a) jaipur or two days of drink and debauchery– the polo festival. behaving badly. very badly. getting drunk. swimming with cellphones in your pocket. great company. every year, should have a holiday like this one.
b) kerala or why never to take a family holiday – beautiful, beautiful kerala, specially against the backdrop of a family drama. i lived my own little soap opera there, early in the year.
c) benaras – flyaway visit. only whetted my appetite for more.
d) KL – made up of 50% malays, 20% chinese, 20% indians and 10% sweepers. seriously kl must have one sweeper to every 10 people. needless to say, it’s spotlessly clean and slightly unreal. like a magnificent lego city, perfectly planned, beautifully executed and devoid of soul.

3. big city, bright lights – my move to bombay is a post in it’s own right. but area’s of note have been -
a) dilli-wallahs – trust me, bombay wouldn’t be bombay with the hundreds of dilli-wallahs that have flocked here. the bombay vs delhi war apart, it’s like you can’t really be from bombay, unless you’re from delhi.
b) zenzi – my replacement to tc. and nothing like tc. except it’s a great place to catch a drink. high ceilings, friendly waiters, people always ready for a chat. and some good concerts. zenzi has got feel.
c) toto’s – cheap beer. music i recognize. no frills. perfect for that after work drink.
d) salt water grill – sand under your feet. stars over your head. filet mignon on your plate. this place is my favourite getaway from bombay.
e) traffic – horrendous. if i could magnify “totally crap” to the nth degree, i could probably come close to describing the traffic scenario in bombay.
f) prithvi theatre – i don’t know the complex mechanisms that keep prithvi running, despite the odds, but god, i’m so grateful to them.
g) winter – this year, when people go to the elections, i’ll be voting for winter to come to bombay.
h) shiny happy people – i still haven’t made up my mind if the overwhelming friendliness of the people here is totally refreshing and wonderful or totally full of shit. i guess, this year will tell.
i) pao – if the city offers you anything, it offers it you in a pao. it’s amazing how anything can go into a pao. vada, keema, bhurji. anything.
j) anoops house – see previous post

high drama
divorces, break-ups, one night stands, true love, the usual stuff of epics. 2006 was exceptionally full of relationship woes. amongst friends. amongst celebs. amongst presidents and countries. which is to say, never a dull day, if you're the type who lives vicariously through other peoples lives.

gosh, it wasn’t such a short year, after all. and i seem to be putting the afore mentioned list makers to shame. so, more later. in 2007.