My New Year Resolution- Explore, Observe and Express

Alarm clock is crying full throttle like a nagging wife bumbling and babbling in her coarse voice. Chilling wind is knocking the at the window-pane with the rage of an angry employee just out of a rough session with his yelling and hostile boss. Infuriating clocks are the necessary evil that continuously reminds us of the celerity at which lively present becomes a dead past that can only be relished or mourned.

I started my first day of the new Gregorian calendar 2012 with a rebel lion against the tiny clock that was trying to dictate my free soul .After muffling the voice of the tiny machine, I closed my eyes and silently wished if I could defy the erratic demands(at the most inopportune time) of the ‘Big machines’* (*Big machines are the progressive and smart souls who have shed their ‘Humane characteristics’ voluntarily, to transform themselves into machines with the inherent intelligence- This is known as ‘Evolution with a Difference’ ).

Shrouded in the layers of a blanket, having nothing else to do I started my search for an ideal ‘New Year Resolution’. My thoughts strayed and crossed the boundary of the enticing present to enter into the den of the mysterious past –suddenly, depressing and comforting events of the yesteryear started to flash before my eyes like the video projected on the well lit up giant screen hung on the rocky roof of the den .Images of the free flowing cocktails and the lively urban population shaking their legs on the crowded dance floor to welcome New Year was telling the story of shining India ,in a moment I was enjoying the sight of Tunisian people voting to democratically elect their rulers , pleasing sight did not last long- it got punctuated with the horrible images of the blood bath on the streets of Libya, I could feel the pain on the forlorn faces of the people of Greece appearing on the imaginary screen, and then there was the defining image that brought me back to the real world of rapidly changing fortune–proud Barrack Hussein Obama was announcing the death of their old friend and new enemy Osama Bin Laden from the sprawling and shimmering White House .

My abstract journey through the corridors of the past in search of the ‘New Year Resolution’ left me enervated though enlightened with the facts of the conveniently ignored past. I am not sure if, I can ever see the hazy roadmap of the future in the rear view mirror of the past. Perhaps, the sensible realization that sneaked into the guarded zone of my grey cells silently and surreptiously on the chilling winter morning during my rendezvous with the past is to explore and observe the world around with the keenness of a child and share the stories of triumphs and tribulations with the passion of a revolutionary poet.

This gave birth to my ‘New Year Resolution for the year 2012’-Explore, Observe and Express.

Having discovered the elusive ‘New Year resolution’ boosted my confidence and energy to quit the comfort of the bed room and start my day on a spirited note by documenting the reflections of the vivid images of the preceding night. Though I am skeptical about my ability to sustain the sudden surge in the spirit for scripting my experiences and silent observations but I would try even if I fail believing in the famous saying “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.”

New Year Party

How are you planning to celebrate the New Year? .One of my relatively new friends asked casually while stirring the coffee delicately and dexterously. As always I did not have a fascinating answer of this baffling and boring question. I tried to explain my views and my reasons of reluctance to join the high octane New Year’s Eve parties with simple examples and at times with some complex raison d'être. I argued passionately and assertively, evenly punctuated by the small pauses of coffee sips.
Alas- these gentlemen refused to understand and appreciate the power of reasoning on a coffee table discussion. They obliterated my cogent arguments that supported the idea of introspection and rejected the celebration as a waste of time and money. After numerous failed attempts to convince them, I thought to join their planned party as a fellow traveler to understand their perspective that ‘life is not necessarily a statement of profit and loss account measured against the pre defined benchmark, it is indeed about living the life'.
Maneuvering the traffic in the rainy evening ,we reached the happening discotheque of the city that seemed to have been recently renovated and extended to accommodate the pouring young crowd in this unkind weather. We settled in a corner, chatting and observing the incessant flow of liquor of all varieties to keep the folks warm and wild. The music got louder as the night grew darker , dance floor was bursting with the energy and finally the countdown began, crackers exploded, champagne oozed out of the bottle and the people roared at the top of their voice - Here comes the new year 2012.
It was interesting to realize the power of these spirited and thrilling moments that make you enjoy the present and forget the woes of the past and worries of the future. I recalled the beautiful poetry of famous urdu poet ‘Noon Meem Rashid’ that aptly describes my thought of the moment.

“Ai merii ham_raqs mujh ko thaam le
zindagii se bhaag kar aayaa huu.N mai.n
Dar se larazaa.N huu.N kahii.n aisaa na ho
raqs_gaah ke chor daravaaze se aakar zindagii
Dhuu.NDh le mujh ko nishaa.N paa le meraa
aur jurm-e-aish karate dekh les

ai merii ham_raqs mujh ko thaam le
ai merii ham_raqs mujh ko thaam le”

(Noon Meem Rashid)

Party reached its logical conclusion and we parted our ways .It was irony to see the people lying on the ground and some lucky one being pulled like a baggage by their companions.
It was indeed an exciting and enlightening experience that helped me to understand the perspective that I always ignored - Introspection and celebration are not the mutually exclusive activities, you can choose your own way of celebration- ‘Dull and decent’ or ‘Loud and pompous’