Adieu 2016; Welcome 2017!

Time’s wheel has rolled by. It always does. In a jiffy the year has galloped off. And as 2016 exits the door and 2017 announces its arrival, the weariness of the old gives way to fresh hope and excitement of the new.  Once again planet earth turns into a world-theatre to echo with the drum beats of ‘New Year’ celebrations.

Looking back, 2016 was a mixed bag of joys and sorrows, hope and despair. But if you ask me, the world tilted more towards the latter than the former during the year. Terrorism – mainly ISIS brand - spread its wings and fangs far and wide. Syria - turned into an ugly arena of big-power rivalry - continued to bleed to death.  Mass exodus of suffering humanity to safer pastures continued unabated: from Syria, Afghanistan and other war- and violence-torn countries. While almost all European countries remained callous to this gross human tragedy, Germany was the sole noble exception- thanks to its humane CEO Angela Markel. The grim and gory tragedy of Aleppo, a vibrant, “full of life, “secular” Syrian city of 5.5 million people turned into ruins now, sent shivers down the spine of conscientious people all over the world. But neither did the media give it much coverage, nor did the powers that be take steps to stop or thwart it. In fact, the present world scene with raging violence and wars, and with Trump now talking about increasing the USA’s nuclear arsenal made one wonder if another world war is round the corner. “A world in which Trump and Putin hold special power is a dire prospect,” writes my anthropologist friend from Europe. And with ‘The Dragon’ gnashing its teeth in the South China Sea, the prospect looks even more ominous, I would add.

Back home, India continued to suffer at the hands of terror strikes while tensions at the LoC reached a peak. And Kashmir, the little paradise on this earth, showed little signs of regaining its old charm, peace and splendour. The country’s political leadership let the country down by excelling in shouting and slanging matches in the parliament and the assemblies instead of participating in reasoned debates over demonetisation or other vital issues. Our own HP assembly was no exception. The just-concluded short winter session at Tapovan (Dharamsala) was yet another मैं मैं तू तू  match rather than a purposeful meet of political minds to address state’s pressing issues.

However, the Paris pact on climate change brought cheers to the sad and sullen faces of environmentalists in spite of the fact that it still left a lot to be desired. And the Pope Francis of Vatican stood out as the ambassador of environment protection and world peace trying his best to calm high tempers and temperatures and  spreading the word of love, harmony and inclusiveness.

Well, Homo sapiens are a funny species: infinitely capable to self-destruct and at the same time smart enough to survive against all odds. Resilience, creativity and innovation run in their veins. Therefore one can only hope that we will transcend the current existential/climate change crises and come out triumphant; and will learn to follow the holistic path of Gandhi and the Pope.

Here’s wishing you all A Happy, Clean and Green New Year full of peace and love... ‘unconditional love’, I insist!

                                                             

                                                       

                                                         

This Palampurwalla wishes his blog readers a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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