KAMLESH TRIPATHI

Just an addition of a number makes it ‘2015’ and the world goes into a tizzy; that explains the mystical streak and splendorous grandeur of the lowest cardinal number 1, as we get into making tall announcements about our New Year’s resolve.

I’ll give up smoking, I’ll give up drinking, I’ll go vegetarian, I’ll go jogging for fitness, I’ll be on a diet for weight loss, I’ll get married, I’ll change my job, I’ll go abroad, so on and so forth. And, so the power of ‘one’ wriggles you into doing things hitherto you have been appropriately postponing.

I often wonder as to how and why 1^st of January from the Gregorian calendar has become an international day for celebrations across the world, even when many sects and religions don’t follow this calendar in the very spiritualistic of spirits and have their own calendar to live by. Reason is simple because it is now housed in the most powerful calendars of the world, now followed by the most rich and influential, including many Governments and Corporations.

In England, January 1 was celebrated as the New Year day and most western European countries changed the start of the year to January 1 even before they adopted the Gregorian calendar.

But to me 1^st January is 1^st January; as I’ve been doing 1^st January for the last 50 odd years, because, it hell cheers me. And, because of our pursuant persuasion to celebrate this short, dark, ugly and one of the coldest days of the year as a new year’s day, we now also declare it as a public holiday. In fact, one of the reasons why 1^st January has become so acceptable and popular across the world is because it has no religious connotation and gives you a break from the monotonic cocktail of life; and not forgetting some of your daily achievements and travails are also counted onwards of 1^st January.

Also, it might not be a holy day, yet a day of commonality, mounting on celebrations that brings you hope and drops those idiotic wherefores that you have been dragging all along the year. But, why resolves each year on the 1^st? Let the day and year stream out with no resolves and just decide to do what comes our way in the best manner possible.

And so I have decided my new year’s day is not going to have any resolves for self aggrandizement, rather will have some noble intentions to help others. Because, 1^st of January like any other 1^st ,only preaches you to be first; and that you need to decide from where you want to be 1st.