Talking Shop: Caught in the ephemeral

"Your present (situation

and) circumstances

don’t determine where

you can go. They only

decide where you start."

—Nido Qubein

Each year at this time, we look back at the 365 days gone by and reminisce au rapture—about what could have been, what had been and transpired, and what the world will be like through the coming New Year. This year is no different, except in this writeup, where we will talk about the first two issues, but concertedly leave out the third, since there are others far better equipped to gaze into a crystal ball and come out with tall claims and prophecies. Me, I have no clue what the next 365 days hold and only hope that they are healthier, calmer and peaceful, happier and joyful, more prosperous but not at the cost of your emotional and mental sanctity (hell, the last bit reads like a Diwali Greeting Card, or one sent as an elegy at a requiem). Anyway, God be with you. Here we go, and do remember that this is not a definitive round-up—it cannot be, for too much has happened.

Let’s speak of the last 12 months and the latest headline, which propounds that things are ephemeral, with the transient becoming the new permanent and a flammable world moving towards the tinderbox. That damned Corona-something virus is back—and despite its slow capture of our lives the first time around, we can only hope that it doesn’t sport a sprinting ability now, a dreaded memory point that someone names ‘COVID-24’ some years down the line. The new variant, christened ‘JN.1’ (and today is Christmas day), has been spreading across geographies and its proliferation is increasing fast. The World Health Organization has classified JN.1 as a ‘variant of interest’ and is deep-diving into all possible outcomes, none of which are deadly, praise the Lord. The new variant is vaccine-proof, but that is a non-sequitur, since vaccines were always as suspect as their clearly-accepted short lifespan.

Neither here, nor there

Let’s revisit the 2023 events that could have been but weren’t, like the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup win for India. We played like superstar tigers till it really mattered, in the coveted finals. The Men in Blue turned yellow and fell like ninepins before a team donning that same colour. The 10 straight wins that traversed India into the finals thus came to naught, except perhaps in tomorrow’s history books, and our tigers-turned-cubs returned to the dressing room a dejected lot, many of them in tears.

Fast forward a few days and some prestige and elan was regained in South Africa, with India tying the 20:20 series and besting the Proteas in the One-Day format. All eyes are now trained on the Test Matches and reports claim run-machine Kohli is already sending jitters down SA spines by just appearing at the nets for practice. Remember—it is this Virat man who made the self-righteous International Olympics Committee take notice of his fan following and got the game of cricket included in the schedule for the Olympics in 2028, 128 years after it was first and last played at the world’s biggest sporting event.

Speaking of big events, let’s look at the biggest of them all, the General Elections. The trailer of the assembly polls in five states has been watched and reviewed, trends have been set, surprising many beyond comprehension. But it is game on for political bigwigs, who are already displaying unusually mighty muscle for this final, one that will decide the fate of the nation for another five years, with a new Parliament at the helm.

Politics and other big stuff

While on Parliament, we have had history created over the last few days, with 146 MPs suspended for creating a nuisance. In their absence, the Indian Penal Code died. Long live the three new criminal law bills—The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita 2023, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita 2023 and The Bharatiya Sakshhya (Second) Bill 2023, which repeal The Indian Penal Code 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act 1872.

This is a time for change, with the outgoing houses also debating the Draft Telecommunications Bill 2023, which has serious ramifications. In its new avatar, the Bill allows the Government to take over, manage or suspend the use of telecom services or networks for national security reasons, creating the ground for administrative allocation of telecom spectrum, bypassing auctions. The Bill replaces a 138-year-old law—The Indian Telegraph Act 1885, which governs the telecom sector—and could turn out to be another storm that spectrum allocations have triggered in India.

How can one say ‘2023’ and not mention ‘Manipur’, which has seen fiery clashes for months? The authorities have been unable or unwilling to stem ethnic violence and foster peace among the warring Meitei majority and the Kuki-Zo, one of tribal groups that make up 16 per cent of the population. Tension has been boiling over since the Kukis protested the Meiteis’ demand to be accorded official tribal status, which would “strengthen their influence on Government and society, allow them to buy land or settle in predominantly Kuki areas”. Meanwhile, the killings continue…

In other big stuff, we have had train derailments and bridge collapses, a second attack on Parliament on the anniversary of the first, wrestling champion Sakshi Malik hanging up her boots, pollution in Delhi-NCR and northern India hitting its worst levels, ever, and wars in other parts of the world—Russia-Ukraine and Hamas-Israel—that refuse to end. Indian soldiers, meanwhile, continue to die at our borders, though most claim skirmishes are a thing of the past.

The small and sundry

Today is Christmas, tomorrow Boxing Day, and soon we shall have New Year's Eve—but will there be something new in the coming year, except for new plans, new hopes and resolutions that fail to get off the ground? One can but crystal-ball-gaze, but that isn’t for me, as I said upfront.

Soliloquy: In the automobile sector, there’s a never-before boom, with sales topping historical records. There’s a bust too, at top carmaker Maruti Suzuki and the most-awaited Indian SUV launch in decades, that of the Suzuki Jimny, which has turned out to be quite a lemon. Suzuki hoped to sell 5,000 Jimnys per month in India itself, but that has been a no-go since the competition has set some tough benchmarks of expectations with the off-roading community. Pricing has played a spoilsport too, and Suzuki’s oft-cavalier sales force is denting the strategy, sometimes making it clear they don’t want to sell. For those who disagree, explain to me a salesman telling a ‘done-deal’ customer on WhatsApp: “I am terribly unwell, on leave and will revert tomorrow.” All the while, the customer is standing right next to him in the showroom and staring at his phone and the salesman’s face—such is the stuff that hilarious, dreamy anecdotes and daytime nightmares are made up of, all rolled into one.

On that cantankerous note, let’s now enjoy a Merry Christmas and wait for the looming New Year that arrives this weekend. Make sure you remember what our very own Robin Sharma said: “Don’t live the same year 75 times over and call it a life.” Make the change.

The writer is a veteran journalist and communications specialist. He can be reached on narayanrajeev2006@gmail.com. Views expressed are personal