We are 16 going on 17
We are 16 going on 17
Times of India: 1 Jan 2017
The weather is perfect; the sky is
that intense shade of blue that makes Vizag’s spectacular scenery look even
more romantic. The light at dusk is a
warm gold colour, what photographers and cinematographers call the golden hour.
You begin to notice that we look better in that light. Everybody loves the winter months. It is
quite extraordinary how our spirits lift during this part of the year. Folks
dress better, smile more often and generally more upbeat than any other part of
the year.
The contraction and expansion of time
Last week many of us celebrated
Christmas and last night we bid good bye to 2016 and welcomed a brand new 2017.
There are different reactions to the New Year. Senior citizens exclaim with
trepidation “last year went past so quickly!” They feel that the years roll
away and new ones roll in in rapid succession, there is a perception that time has
inexorably speeded up. They try hard to slow down their lives, spend more time
with friends, family and grandchildren. The youth on the other hand, recovering
from last night’s merriment, look forward in anticipation to a momentous year
of opportunities ahead. New friends, new travel plans, new adventures, a new
job, an exciting new romance or a new mobile phone, awaits them this year. They
can’t wait for 2017 to get going.
What we learnt in 2016
For some it has
been a year of learning new things. Many of us rejoiced in making groups in
WhatsApp and then exiting the group promptly when it got inundated with a
thousand “good mornings” messages every day. Last year we were bombarded with
hoax messages through WhatsApp. Messages like pesticides in popular soft drinks;
send messages to just two groups and your phone battery will magically
recharge, Karthik will get money for eye surgery if you forward this message to
10 people, Delhi police warns not to drink Frooti for two months because a
disgruntled employee dropped HIV tainted blood into the juice at the factory.
There was much dodgy medical advice like how to avoid Ebola by bathing in cold
water and drinking hot water. Ironically there were also many hoaxes about
WhatsApp itself. The only message that is not a hoax is “transfer Rs. 500 to
the author of this article and he will put in a good word for you with God”. OK
- just kidding.
Where’s my money honey?
With the
unprecedented inconvenience caused by demonetisation we learnt how to manage
with less cash. A few of us discovered the convenience of using smart phone Apps
to summon an Uber or Ola cab to our doorstep in less than ten minutes. We
started using “Paytm” and “bookmyshow” to pay for almost anything from cab
rides to movie tickets to dosas from the food trucks that made their presence
felt in Vizag in East Point Colony and near the Waltair Club last year. Slowly we
adjusted our lives to manage with the perpetual shortage of currency in our
wallets.
Eventful 2016 for Vizag
Last year will
probably go down as the year of events. Vizag saw wave after wave of events. We
were assailed with wailing sirens carrying VIPs and disrupting traffic
everywhere. The year started with a forgettable Visakha Utsav, then the hugely
memorable IFR which caught the imagination of all Vizagites. Several parts of
the city reaped the benefit of improved roads and a general facelift. Then
there was the CII Partnership Summit, the International Sea Food Show, the
BRICS conference, the AU Alumni meet and several marathons. There was something
special for the general public too – for example The Australian Chi Udaka show
and the Wind Music Festival. However despite free entry some of these wonderful
shows went empty. Though they were conceived for the general public the white
sofas nearest the stage were all reserved for a few VIPs who never turned up. Entertainers
who get their energy from the cheering audience in the front rows couldn’t hear
or see their audience who were miles away at the back. The MC kept asking for a
“loud applause” the audience tried their best but they were just too far away. It
looks like “public events” in Vizag are really not for the public. But that’s another story waiting to be told.
Some notable positives
Our
administration had some notable successes last year. For the first time
immersion of idols between RK beach and Park Hotel was banned. The
proliferation of pandals choking our city, messing our roads and inflicting
their DJ music upon us was finally controlled. Secondly the Municipal
Corporation has managed to keep the “showcase” parts of our city looking clean.
We came in 5th among 75 cities in the Swachh Bharat Survekshan
assessment. Visitors noticed this and exclaimed “Oh, Vizag is so clean!”
swelling our hearts with pride. In a mature civic minded act our corporation
got ramps put on our beach road pavements making it one of the longest
wheelchair friendly pavements anywhere in India. It was also the year of “ODF”
meaning “Open Defecation Free”. Squatting in the open has been Vizag’s favourite
past time from time immemorial. So when the administration announced in October
2016 that Vizag was ODF – well almost – Vizagites were indeed proud. Hopefully
we will never look back – I mean never look at behinds – oops! We must also
acknowledge that APEPDCL our electricity utility company gave us good quality
power with very few interruptions. One
great God given positive was that we were spared the cyclones last year.
Think global
Come to think of
it quite a bit has happened on a planetary scale since last year same time. For
one, planet earth has travelled 947 million kilometres around the sun, there
were 40 billion tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere and the average global
temperature in April 2016 was 1.10°C above the 20th century average of
13.7°C the highest temperature departure for April
since global records began in 1880. The human population of the earth
rose by 83 million to an unprecedented 7.43 billion people. Happily the tiger population went up by around 800 last
year – probably due to improved census methods - but many magnificent creatures
like the rhino lost their numbers as they fell to poacher’s bullets. Our planet
lost 130,000 square kilometres of forests last year and this shows no signs of
slowing down. But these figures, however significant for the future of our
planet and humanity do not really find resonance with many as we cope with
things that impact us daily. It is the first of the month, time to pay the
domestic help, to shop for monthly provisions and for the upcoming Sankaranthi
festival. A hundred bills waiting to be paid.
A helpful greeting
Today you will be
inundated with greetings, if you want to wish someone back the best New Year
wish you can give anyone is “Happy New
Year – may you always find a working ATM, with no lines and
dispensing copious quantities of crisp Rs. 100 notes on demand”.
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