Two Thousand Sorrows And Eight Joys-Year in Review

2008 was a disaster for India.Annus Horriblis.All magazines,national or niche,are decreeing it on the covers.Not only internal affairs played spoilsport.A ruffle of feathers in Lehmann Brothers and other banks in USA triggered an economic earthquake here in India.Classic Chaos Theory.The global meltdown caused reputed banks in India to send reassuring SMSes to their customers("We are still alive.Your money is still safe").There were huge layoffs in the private sector(The most publicised being Jet Airways').Some companies declared 3 days a week as holidays.The captains-in-charge(Manmohan Singh,P.Chidambaram) struggle to steer the sinking ship safe.At the end of the year,PC was seen at the helm of the dangerous Home ministry.
Even Obama's historic win changing the colour of the till-now White House will have a negative impact on India.His mother may have worked in India.His idol may be Mahatma Gandhi.The point is that he HATES outsourcing US jobs to foreigners.Unlike Bush who had a pro-India policy,this senator from Illinois maintains a neutral stance.Bush may have been bad for the world(Ask the Iraqi journo who hit Bush with his shoes) but he was good for India.It is quite the opposite now!
At home,it was utter chaos.Parochial politics and rampant terrorist attacks were the top stories.Raj Thackeray wants to be Bal Thackeray II.His Maharashtra Navnirman Sena men attacked North Indians who had come to Mumbai to write exams for recruitment in railways."Maharashtra is for Marathas"-Reminiscent of his uncle's creed,this guy is dangerous for an India dreamed by the likes of Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam.
2008 was the year of the terrorist.This is not an overstatement.There were sporadic terrorist attacks all over the country(Delhi,Jaipur,Bangalore,Guwahati and the 26/11 attack on the Maximum City).Most of the terrorist attacks were carried out by home grown terrorists-a worrying phenomenon.The 26/11 attacks on the hotspots of Mumbai(Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus,Hotel Taj,Leopold's cafe,Oberoi and Trident hotel) killing scores of people was not targeted at any particular community.Rich and Poor-No one was spared.Gloomy days ahead for Bharat Matha with really bad intelligence gathering and sloppy bureaucracy.(Shivraj Patil resigned at last).Anyways,a personal salute to the likes of Hemant Karkare,Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan for sacrificing their billion-dollar lives to keep our nation safe.
Some great moments came this year for us in the form of Chandrayaan,Abhinav Bindra,MS Dhoni,Viswanathan Anand,TATA nano and the civilan nuclear deal between India and US.Such moments were few and far between.though.
Personally,2008 was a disaster.Relations were made and broken this year.I started making enemies out of persons who loved me a lot.Beautiful relations blossomed poetically and ended abruptly.2008 taught me a big lesson:If it is happiness,then it is temporary!
So bury the demons of the past and move on!Leopold Cafe is doing brisk business,Taj hotel has opened to tourists,North Indians are still found in Mumbai unmindful of the MNS stares,I have started forging new beautiful relationships....The Indian juggernaut rolls on..
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!HAVE A BLAST!(Pray that we do not have bomb blasts!!!)