A sabbatical- and back!

Yes. This is long overdue. My apologies to this blog for not being faithful. It has been 3 months since I wrote over here. Something I deeply regret. But then, I have realised that not 'having time' is a lame excuse. You don't get time, you make the time to write. I hope to do so on a regular basis, if not frequently. I fear that my writing skills will rust; something I consider I am endowed with. So, I would like to hold onto that. Writing here is like talking to myself. Which also implies, I haven't done that for a while now. But, it's always good to be back home! 

Readers of my blog (if any) will know that I do write one blog at the end of the year.  Reminds me how long I have been into the fascinating world of blogging. Also, how time passes by. I don't want to break that small 'tradition' of mine; and so, here I am. Taking a rough mental stock of the year that passed by.

This year is special for a variety of reasons, on the personal front and in general. To start off on a personal note, this year marks my 'transplantation' from my State, Kerala, to another- Karnataka; from home to hostel. A remarkable change for me!

Thoroughly bred on home food, enjoying the comforts of being at home, and pushing my mom around, I am now in another State and another city- Mysore. Destiny and CAT has put me at the foothills of Chamundi. And so, here I am in SDM IMD. Finally, I have a record of this on my blog! A good journey so far; hope the best is yet to come. 

I was always a bit hesitant at the thought of being away from home; but having done that, it doesn't seem such a big deal. 

Sometimes, I wonder- have I outgrown my home? My town? Is that possible? 

Pretty late in the day, others would say; especially those who have done their under-graduation in hostels; or have been in residential schools all their life. But, everything has its time, and this year was for me to shift. After 13 years in Kerala, I have shifted base. Talking of which, the number 13 plays a VERY significant role in my life. Maybe more of that later.

And yes, yours truly is the Associate Editor of the SDM IMD quarterly student’s journal, Dimensions. Well, just telling you that, ‘cause that’s a first in my life; another interesting ‘dimension’ to me!

Another significant event- dad has finally come home to stay! After a 27-year long stay in Dubai, he has finally quit the place and come home for good. Given the fact that mom was alone (since we both are at Mysore), we thought it best to ask dad to come back. No point in a 'scattered' existence (if I may say so). So he's happily back to lazing around and enjoying day-long cricket matches! Most importantly, to where his heart is- at home.

Talking generally, the economic slowdown stands out as the singlemost prominent event. Greed never pays; the financial crisis, hopefully, has opened the eyes of many.  Move over Kareena's zero-size figure; the only figures people seemed to rant were the inflation rate, repo rate, reverse repo rate, CRR, SLR and so on and so forth! And not to forget, the blasts across time and space that have disrupted peace and flamed violence. Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Mumbai....pardon me if I can't recall all...there have been many in the past one year. And add to that communal and regional chauvinism (read: Orissa church attacks and Shiv Sena-Maharashtra imbroglio) and then you can surmise how the year was.

Silver lining? Hard to find...Abhinav Bindra's Olympic Gold Medal? Parvathy Omanakuttan's runner's up title? Sometimes, all this seems futile. I am in no way belittling their accomplishments. Yet, if we could all sleep well at night and not fear the unknown lurching in the dark, I would say, that was worth a million titles. These tragic incidents appear to my mind like incidents aimed at disrupting the social warp and weft of our country. Instead of being divided, it’s the time for Indians to be together and react as a unified nation; and not get bogged down by the nitty-gritty. No wonder it was a tough year for the Government. Crises to be handled, public to be pleased. The year 2009 is no doubt going to be a crucial year, as the elections are scheduled as well.

Well all is not lost. Life goes on, and so must we.

Hope you all have a fantastic year ahead. Let us hope and pray that this year gives a bunch of pleasant surprises and makes possible the impossible. Happy New Year !

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"Thought for the day: Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly."

- Lanston Hughes