Well, I know the fact that the "New Year Eve" has always been an important event for all of us every year. What actually matters me now is the change that my life has witnessed in how we celebrate it. This change, though, might not have affected me much, but definitely the present generation for sure. It has been influenced with the showers of the changing society, their attitude, their view towards life and their inclination towards the western culture :)....Are you one of them who are a participant in the last one I said?....No doubt, the western culture has captivated most of us all through these years. Though it has been a slow gradation but now the results are prominent. I don’t know why I get into that all the time...Probably; this New Year eve was also a testimony for it.
I stay next to the East Coast Road (ECR) which runs along the Bay of Bengal and indeed, invites many long drive lovers. This 31st Dec was something different. I was on my way back home in the office cab and my wrist watch displayed 10:20. Of course a "PM" beyond doubt. The road was absolutely jam-packed and all vehicles would have lost a race with a snail if they ever planned to do so on that evening. Now, this was not usual at all. When I looked around, my mind applied its trivial intelligence to convey that it was a big crowd of youth heading towards the various destinations along ECR...for a lavish New Year Blast!!! One of the SWIFTS had four guys who were playing some HARD Rocks...hard enough to toggle your heart beats...A few bikes had triples on board..I am sure they had reserved a share for the traffic cops as well so that they don’t spoil this exciting night which would in turn open the gateway for the New Year 2011...
Oh, amidst all this, I think I forgot to introduce myself. I am Sabrish and I work as a S/W professional in one of the leading TOP TIER IT companies ... :) At least they say so; though not really helping me to make my pockets heavy. Well, I don’t wanna blame anybody for this...coz "Money Management" is definitely an art which ought to be practiced religiously to see its results gradually influencing your life. People, who don’t do this, always keep complaining...just like me :).
Finally I reached home by 10:50 and wished an advanced Happy New Year to a few of my roommates who were all set to celebrate this moment. Guess what, they had ordered Pizzas and Coke from Pizza Hut. Now, as I am a Pure Veg, except when it comes to cakes, they had ordered a pepe paneer pizza for me. It finally hit 12:00 and this indeed, marked a fresh moment coming in. The one which was bestowed the superpower to change the very YEAR of existence...from 2010 to 2011.Its really crazy to say this, but, I entered my room in 2010 and slept in 2011.Lol....that’s too much to talk about.
My mind just stopped by on seeing an old photograph which snapped me and my mom hugging each other. It suddenly swept my thoughts to those old "NEW YEAR EVES" which meant spending more time at home with our loved ones. Those were the years when I stayed at North India in the city of Kanpur. My dad was employed there and hence I became a part of that minority who had migrated from South to North India to make a better living.31st Decembers are usually the ones which register the lowest levels of mercury and it’s chilled all around. All schools used to be closed as part of winter vacations and our moms would be too busy handling us at home all the time. I still remember those evenings when we made it a point to make something special to pamper our taste buds. It seemed as if it was an annual delight for them on account of serving us diligently to realize all the GOOD tastes during the last year :).
Television played a very important role in entertaining us all through the night. Special events, concerts, songs and movies ...all of that to invite the new year with a BIG BANG...One of those which I could remember now was "remembering Raj Kapoor ---the Show Man". All the golden hits of this great legend were performed by King Khan who enacted Raj Kapoor. I still remember the big stars of the Kapoor family coming out after the show. The doors displayed Wembley Arena in scarlet red lights. These letters had somewhere registered in my mind and I could later find this is a huge arena in London. My dream place to visit :).
Another one which stands fresh in my memories is Eternal Asha- Kal Aaj Hamesha , the concert dedicated to Asha Bhonsle. It was hosted by SONY Entertainment Television and was indeed conceived by her son. She nearly sang an era of songs which had the power to graph the very journey of music in Indian Cinema which we now call "BOLLYWOOD". Watching these programmes and munching peanuts with my family has always been a treasured nostalgia in my life. I doubt if my kids would be fortunate enough to enjoy such moments which, though small and unimportant, play a vital role in creating that bond with our loved ones. Loads of balloons, crackers, sweets and snacks...this is all we had to welcome the New Year moment wherein all the families in our colony would assemble and wish each other. Now, what’s actually missing these days in the simplicity and gratification which was witnessed during those times...
Maha Ganapathim Manasa Smaraami...my mobile jerked with this cute fusion ringtone thus conveying that my MOM was calling me. I took her call pressing that green button and heard her wishing me a Happy New Year. I had a chuckle on my face which asserted my pleasure to hear that and wish her the same. After ending that call, I truly felt that all moments that we come across, are actually meant to pass by. They just can’t stagnate at all. But what lingers on is the respect towards those who made these moments look so special for us. With that happy note in my mind, I went off to a deep slumber expecting a lovely DAWN....the first one for 2011!!!
