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Lessons from 2016


When you are on the wrong side of fifties you don’t learn anything anymore.  Whatever happens comes with a feeling of déjà vu.  Even PM Modi’s demonetisation did not excite me though I did gloat a little over the predicament it would bring to some of our political leaders and other traders who stashed away hoards of black money.  I knew it would serve little to curb the black money menace in India or corruption in the country’s politics.  We are by and large a dishonest people.  Expediency is our only solid guideline.  The aftermath of the demonetisation has shown that even the PM’s own party men were quick to amass the new 2000-rupee notes.  That’s how India is: incredible indeed!

There’s a lot of hardship that people are undergoing especially in the rural areas (where I now live) where cash is the only means of transactions.  Yet very few seem to be complaining because people seem to believe that their hardships are going to reap rich dividends soon.  That’s another joke that the year 2016 brought me.  People always put their hope and trust in some pie in the sky.  Illusions soothe us to a great extent. 

As a blogger I witnessed a sea change in blogging during 2016.  Many good bloggers left blogging.  Some of them took to writing books.  I don’t know what happened to the others.  Spurred by the copiousness of literary output by bloggers, I too gathered my short stories into a slim volume titled The Nomad Learns Morality.  Its abominable crash at the sales counter too failed to surprise me. 

I achieved something much more significant at the same time.  I built a house of my own.  I ceased to be a nomad.  Building the house was perhaps the only relatively new lesson that 2016 brought me: you can build anything within a short time provided you have money in your bank account.  Money is the only miracle worker in my country.  Even our godmen and sadhvis will fall prostrate before the god of wealth provided no devotee is watching.

2016 is ending on a good note for me.  I sit at home with a fractured foot which underwent a surgery.  I had a fall from my two-wheeler.  As soon as I fell a lot of people ran to help me.  I was rushed to hospital after being given the necessary first aid.  There is still a lot of goodness in the world.  But even that is not a new lesson.

We are supposed to be learners from cradle to grave.  If you are interested in astrophysics or some such thing, there will always be something new waiting for you every morning like the discovery of some planet many light years away.  If your interests are more mundane and plebeian, you will find the same old lessons repeating in new shapes and designs.  Human behaviour has undergone little change in the last many centuries.


PS. Written for Indispire Edition 147 #lessonslearnt
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Comments

  1. जितेन्द्र माथुरDecember 14, 2016 at 2:23 PM

    Right you are Sir. Hope, 2017 will be at least slightly better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalDecember 14, 2016 at 5:01 PM

      Every New Year comes with new promises. May the promises materialise.

      Delete
  2. Jyotirmoy SarkarDecember 14, 2016 at 8:20 PM

    Good to know about ur lessons in 2016, very nicely penned.its really very sad that some bloggers have left blogging, i miss some of them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. sunaina sharmaDecember 14, 2016 at 9:05 PM

    What sells well in the market makes me question sometimes.....The fact that your collection of stories is excellent in terms of literary merit is undeniable. But it definitely hurts to see that people don't understand the value of it.....It hurts me a lot when I see good stories getting comments like 'Lovely', Great'...etc. I get the sense that the story has not been read....and it disappoints me....And here I am not talking about my stories....I am learning and I know I am not that great...but there is some excellent stuff out there in the blogging world including yours, that does not get the attention it ought to....Please take good care of yourself....Hope your leg heals soon.....I thought you were busy....didn't know you got hurt.....My best wishes to you.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalDecember 14, 2016 at 9:24 PM

      Some people make much difference. Thanks for being one of them.

      The world has changed. Serious stuff is out of place. I understand.

      Delete
  4. NitinDecember 15, 2016 at 11:06 AM

    Get well soon sir. And loved your perspective from the other side of being fifty. And it goes without saying that learning never stops. Astrophysics or evolution. Have a great end to this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalDecember 15, 2016 at 11:12 AM

      Thanks for the wishes, Nitin. Yeah, look forward to the new year with a lot of optimism.

      Delete

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