3. Welcome 2021!

11:59:57, 2019- “3…2…1!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!”

We welcomed 2020 wholeheartedly. It was supposed to be the year of magic, the year of revolution as desired by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Chetan Bhagat, the year I was to gear up for the most dreaded chapter in a student’s life- my 12^th boards, the year I was going to turn 18 and blossom into an adult!

Everyone had pinned a lot of hopes on the new decade. Astrologers swamped news channels with their predictions on how good the year is going to be for businessmen, students and our economy. Youngsters partied hard that night. Elders too were excited to embrace the year of change.

Little did we know that our excitement about that year was going to be short lived. Maybe just Wuhan had a cue.

I still so vividly remember the chilly winter day of January when after attempting the most clueless pre-board, my friends and I were joking with each other about a possibility of that weird Wuhan disease becoming a nationwide pandemic so that our boards get cancelled.

And as they say, angels around you grant whatever you ask for! Indeed, in the months to come, we did witness a global pandemic and our business studies board exam too was postponed. I still remember how mixed up our emotions were the week before our last exam, which was supposed to be conducted on the 24^th of March. There was excitement, anxiety and fear. My best friend Abhi had thought of cool plans of me coming to his house directly in my uniform for his birthday and luckily all permissions were granted from my supreme court- my mom. But, surprise! The exam itself was postponed, and consequently cancelled after waiting patiently for it for 3.5 months. That moment of serendipity sent waves of pleasure and relief inside me as the theory subject was what I had dreaded the most. As they say, there’s something good even amidst everything bad.

My dad those days was having a tough time at work- tough boss, tough deadlines, tough, tough… On March 14, he sighed, “I wish we never go to office. I don’t want to see my boss’s face ever!”

And boom! The angel granted another of our wishes! Ever since march 15, my dad’s been sitting at home, working in his comfy style.

2020 was the year of granting all wishes! Alas! Only if I had realized it then, I would’ve asked for a lot more for myself and my planet! But we just asked for comfort, laziness and attracted more severe problems.

Q2 and Q3 of 2020 were some of the worst times encountered by the daily wage laborers, migrants and small businessmen who were turned out of business and incurred losses due to the shutdown. Many lost their jobs. Worse, many of us were martyred in this war against the invisible.

For me, the lockdown was a period of immense learning. This is one thing I can thank the virus for. It taught me how to be self-reliant. It taught me how important it was to spend time with your loved ones. I made some of the best memories of my life helping dad with sweeping and mopping the floor and teasing mom for making never-tried-before lip smacking delicacies for a month and then turning to desi dal chawal and Pongal after being fed up. Those carrom matches, Ludo tournaments and 12 am movie nights with my little brother are the moments I would cherish for a lifetime. My parents drifted to their childhood when we sat together to watch the Ramayana and Mahabharata on Doordarshan. 

In the race to fulfil our ambitions, the most valuable family time is what remains the least valued. I’m happy that at least I could get the most out of it!  Turns out, that it’s not just me, but nature too made the most of the lockdown, healing and repairing itself.

But I do have my complaints with Covid. I almost lost my grandmother to the deadly virus, if not for the blessings and grace showered upon her by the wish-granting angels. My nani is a true fighter. Shuffling between ICU and normal ward for more than a month, she was a witness to so many covid deaths in the hospital each day. Still, she maintained her calmness and stood up to fight the challenge all alone, boldly. We could only support her through our phone calls and sincere prayers. The doctors told us that it was no less than a miracle. But miracles happen only when we give our best 100% effort. So, here I would express all the gratitude I can towards the doctors, nurses and hospital staff who’ve put so much effort in treating their patients, especially my grandma, working extra hours, selflessly.

2020 was a year of a roller coaster ride. Everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong. We saw the worst of nature in 2020. There was a pandemic that tied the hands of governments, there were bushfires, forest fires, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, locust attacks, cyclones amidst the non-exhaustive list of untoward events. It made me wonder if nature was revenging us on all the atrocities that we committed on it?

2020 truly was the year of change- the change in mindset. The change in our attitude towards life. People who just valued money and fame now know about the 2H's concept my dad taught me when I was 5. "Health and Happiness come first, my child! You can enjoy money, power, fame and success only if you’re healthy and happy."

 It’s hard to trust a new year after all that has happened. But life still runs on trust. With a new year, we all have some new hopes. We hope to see a new world, ridden of disease. We hope to meet our friends without barriers of masks and sanitizers. We hope to see our ailing planet smiling. Umeed se duniya kayam hai. The world sustains on hope.

11:59:57, 2020- “3…2…1!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!”

Welcome savior! Welcome 2021! You are 1 day old today. But you can truly change everything. You can bring our normal life back. You can bring the vaccine and save lives. Don’t wait for your next birthday. Start working today my dear friend, 2021!