What's in a New Year?

Days roll by, memories become obsolete, suffering still persists and there’s still an irking part of you that wishes for a change. Reckon, the guy who made the calendar was in his best mood when he decided to end a year on December 31 so that the morning gleams of the next day light up our eyes with new hopes & aspirations. For the billions the New Year promises a better tomorrow as old habits fade away with the dying echoes of the last chime of the midnight hour.

You drink away to glory on the penultimate day, savouring the milestones achieved, bragging about the shattered dreams, deepening your sorrow for the lost love and revelling in your sublime cocoon of friends. But all your troubles seem to fade away in the excitement and raucous cacophony of memories ringing in of your youth. The days that had gone were more to you than some drunken revelry. In the upturned faces, the momentous brilliance of these memories brings about a joyous glee. The day’s not for confirming your deepest fears of growing older and maybe even wiser. You have a good time and go home weary but with a smile on your face. All the while you assure yourself that you’re still young!

January 1, is perhaps best described as the day you wake up happy to be hung-over. A cock crows somewhere and a clock ticks somewhere. You look around to know if you were lucky for one last time the previous year. And the naked chick next to you still assures you that things aren’t bad after all. You shuffle to the bathroom, brushing past the cobwebs of an alcohol induced sleep. One hand on the door knob while the back of the other tries vainly to wipe away the aftertaste of vile concoctions of hard drinks and soft lips as your mind struggles to piece together what little fragments of memory you have of yesterday.

The realisation sinks in with the mirror. You’re cheekbones ache due to the constant banter it endured the previous night. Your hairline suddenly seems to be fading. The face gives away more lines than earlier. A few more greys, a few more bags and a few more pounds. But, a little less time. Your cravings are already skirting just beyond the peripheral vision and it’s only a matter of time before you give in. Your dreams start getting hazy & you wish not to prolong indecisions at least this year.

Then there’s your sudden realisation, a haunting memory of January 1, ever since you can recollect. It’s New Year, new day, new hopes, new aspirations, new memories, new dreams but the same old habits! Again you slip into your eminent monologue. Then you gather yourself the courage & throw away your destiny into the winds of chance for one more year. After all, you deserve it. What’s in the dates or numbers or calendars anyways? Reckon it’s all about survival. And you mate, have lived to see another year. Happy New Year!!!

Cheers!!!

P.S: Thanks to an old friend for that wonderful greeting card sent years back & said "New resolutions, new friends, new responsibilities, but same old habits!...Remain as you are forever!!!". Well, mate I haven't changed one bit! And my lady isn't complaining, reckon, the New Year just got happier!!!