Ushering in a New Year

The future starts today, not tomorrow – Pope John Paul Il

Hello friends, I greet you all in the very first post of the very fresh new year. Hope you all have celebrated the holidays with your loved ones. We all are again staring at the onset of the third wave in India, but as predicted, the infection are widespread yet the symptoms are luckily milder. It now looks more than inevitable that we must learn to coexist along side the virus. God willing, it will loose it’s virulent sting eventually.

On the eve of New Year, we arranged a small get together with our neighbors and had a great adda (chatting) session over homemade food. We wished each other a Happy New Year when the clock struck exactly midnight.

The first day of the New Year happens to be the birthday of my daughter. But we celebrate it on the 2nd of January (I will tell the reason behind it some other time). The new year began with an auspicious visit to a temple in our locality and worshipping Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali to seek their blessings. At this juncture we all are dearly in need of God’s intervention to end the vicious circle of the pandemic, entrapping the entire world in its unholy grip.

As a birthday celebration, a movie in a multiplex and eating out was planned. Luckily, it was the day preceding the containment measures were announced in West Bengal. Guess the name of the movie? Well of course, the latest superhero movie ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’.

When we were kids, the prospect of watching a movie in a large screen used to create butterflies in our stomach. Believe me I felt same kind of exhilaration, after such a long time. Being deprived of it for the last two years had made viewing cinema in a movie hall that too with amazing VFX , much more special!

My children had already watched the movie with their friends, so it was their second time over with us. With special 3D glasses and surround screen it was a real treat to the eye, I felt like a kid again. The added bonus was the appearance of my favorite Spider-Man, Toby Mcguire!

The festive decorations and artworks at the mall

At the break, my kids went to buy popcorn and coffee. My daughter was supposed to pay but due to some glitch, my son paid it instead from his account. He is still a student of 2nd year engineering and earns some pocket money through his internship assignments. So the popcorn felt all the more tastier! These are the times which give a pure sense of satisfaction to parents.

Friends, let us learn to be happy at the smaller things in life and celebrate life as a priceless gift bestowed to us by the Almighty. We must take care of our physical as well as mental well being. Extend the hand of empathy and care to each other as each one of us no matter which corner of the world we belong to, is more or less feeling beleaguered by the precarious situation prevailing all around.

As they say all the days are not always the same. We can hope and pray that good old days of normalcy would be restored to us and we can breathe again without any fear or apprehension and for that matter without the ubiquitous mask. Till then we have to cautiously and patiently hang on.

I pray for happiness, health and safety for all. Take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Adieu for now.

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