First day of the new year and I again have that sense of deja vu. Exactly one year back, mails were flowing in and out, messages of well being were being exchanged as everyone was getting ready to welcome 2011. Similar is the mood right now as we invite 2012 to enter our lives.
So I have decided to scratch my head and collate those moments and happenings that distinguished 2011 from 2010 or other years.
I asked the wall in front of me , "Has 2011 really been different ?" , and pat came the
reply"ofcourse yes". It is actually true because the number of events that took place this year
and their magnitude itself speak a lot about 2011.
It began with everyone flowing in the fashionable tide of making 'new year resolutions'. Few days into 2011 and we realized that this year also we will not be able to change our habits. Into
Feb, there started this buzz about the Cricket World Cup being held in India and the importance
it had for Sachin Tendulkar. Though we all know what happened on 02nd April, 2011 at Wankhade Stadium, it did no reputation loss to MSD too. On one side, World Cup Victory brought in more moolah for Cricketers , the gloomy condition of Indian Hockey remained the same even after India won the innaugral 'Asian Champions Trophy'.
While all this was going on, there were two things that kept on increasing consistantly. One was
the inflation and the other was interest rate hikes by Mr Subbarao. Though opposition parties
were protesting in the same old fashion against both these consistent ' Non Performing Assets',
India also saw a new way and wave of protests. ' Jan Lokpal movemement' was launched on a massive scale in which we all saw the rise of a new leader in the form of Anna Hazare. But if you think that it was only India which was affected by these rising prices and growing public rage, then you might be mistaken. While it was Jantar Mantar in India, places like Tahir Square in Egypt & Tripoli in Libya were also put on the world's map. 2011 saw the downfall of many dictators like Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi and 2011 also ensured that fears of 2008 like recession would haunt the world again through Euro zone crisis. PIGS ( Portugal, Itly, Greece & Spain ) were forced to take austerity measures while investors throughout the world seeked safe heaven in US Dollars. Markets kept bleeding and INR saw a record low level.
The year saw the birth of earth's 7th billion child, a $15 billion currency swap deal between
India & Japan , F1 racing coming to India , a massive and destructive earthquake hitting Japan,
double whammy by Sehwag in ODIs , USA taking the revenge of 9/11 by killing Osama, three
Pakistani cricketers being jailed for ' Spot Fixing', Ratan Tata handing over the baton to Cyrus
Mistry and among all those expensive Tablets being launched , 'Aakash ' also making its way in.
Another strange thing to have happened in 2011 was the number of celebrities that the world lost. We lost ghazal king 'Jagjit Singh', the very energetic 'Shammi Kapoor', Father of innovation
'Steve Jobs' , Mr evergreen 'Dev Anand' , the very talented UK pop star ' Amy Winehouse', the
powerful Korean 'Kim Jong II, Indy Car Driver 'Dan Whledon' ( car crash during a race ) ,
renowned cricket writer 'Peter Roebuck' (committed suicide ) , legendary singer ' Bhupen
Hazarika' and few more.
So 2011 was an year of eventful journeys. Some left good taste and some made world more strong through the challenges they posed. 2012 is now being wlecomed with expectations that the year will only bring good luck for the world and we will not be bogged down by any economic crisis or the fear of world walking on the edge. The positvity of achieveing something will keep us all going and as the new punch line of Coca Cola suggests, ' We will believe in a happier tomorrow'.
