The New Year Welcome

Ring out, Old Bells by Alfred Tennyson

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring happy bells across the snow:

The year is going; let him go;

Ring out the false; ring in the true.

Though the poem from 1850 is an elegy for his best friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, the poet wants to erase his grief of the year. Many consider the above as New Year’s poem about starting anew.

My experience with every ‘New Year’ has been different. I do not remember any welcome for the ‘ New Year’ in my younger days. All the years were the same except for the number change. Only the number sequences such as 03/03/03 or 04/04/04, or 12/12/12 fascinated me. The randomness intrigued me. A few surprises and a few setbacks, a few fits and a few misses were always there every year. I looked forward to every year with the hope that the year would bring more happiness and joy, and I never understood the meaning of these two words. On the morning of the ‘New Year’, it was a ‘Tenzing Norgay’ moment for me when I ran around and wished my friends and glanced at them to see if they were experiencing the same enthusiasm. The stray dogs and cats near my house did not know what was happening. As the day ended, the truth had set in that the day was identical to yet another day. The realisation that the entire universe worked like a clock, whether it was a ‘New Year’s or not, came very late to me.

During my university days, I went to movies with my friends on the last day of the year. I recall a few great movies like Towering Inferno, Chitti Chiitt Bang Bang, and Reincarnation of Peter Proud, to name a few. We ended up in a restaurant and had a sumptuous dinner before heading to our hostel. I moved from room to room in my hostel and wished all my friends before I went to bed.

After my marriage, all the family members woke up till midnight, celebrated their arrival with sweets and went to bed. I remember a couple of years ago when I had a shower at the stroke of midnight and sat meditating for an hour. The business was, as usual, the next day.

There was the ritual of sending new year cards to the near and dear. The cards were expensive, and I also sent postcards for some years. I now thank technology that I need not buy greeting cards or postcards. All I need to do is to check the What’s up notices on the first morning and start forwarding. On many occasions, these ‘forwards’ came back to me like boomerangs after touching several ‘inboxes’. The forwarder never found time to read the text before forwarding it.

In the last two years, I have become a skilled professional in using Zoom. I realise now that I must unlearn my ‘zoom’ skills for a sensible discussion. Currently, I have a challenge if I need to meet a person and have a conversation physically.

2022 was a year of transition for me. I looked forward to post-pandemic life and wished to leave the past behind me. While I could not travel, I spent time learning new skills. I ‘looked inward’ with suggestions from a few friends with no positive outcome.

Will 2023 be better? Everyone’s guess is my guess. I do not want to waste my energy and time creating short-term and long-term goal lists or resolutions.

I decided to take one day at a time and learn to work on a daily ‘syllabus’.

I wish all my readers a fantastic year-end and a prosperous 2023.