Happy New Year!

I decided to step out of the house for New Year celebrations on a chilly evening of 31st December. Although, I must admit that the pleasure of relaxing inside layers of warm blankets at home was an equally good option but we wanted to spend the evening differently.

Prateek suggested that we travel to Aerocity near the International Airport which offers a plethora of choices for restaurants. We basically wanted to have a quiet dinner and were not very keen to go for any high voltage new year dance celebrations.

When we reached the place, we thought of getting in one of the restaurants. We were very normally dressed, unlike the enthusiastic crowd especially the girls with knee-length dresses and skirts completely unaffected with the extreme cold and chill in the evening air. I was completely packed like an Eskimo with gloves and I could see from the corner of my eyes that a group of girls were giggling and talking to each other. I am not sure if I was a part of their joke but I became very conscious.

The person making the table reservations emphasised to us that the cost would be 10000 rupees for a couple. It’s not that we couldn’t afford it but it didn’t seem worth it. We finally zeroed on a Chinese restaurant next to it. Waiting time was only about 20 minutes and we enjoyed the food and the foot-tapping music very much.

We stepped out around 20 mins before the new year and as we were returning back home, we saw high-end hotels having guests celebrating the New Year’s Eve. Moving ahead, we spotted many of the security guards stationed outside in the cold December night just performing their duties as they do. We saw constructions workers near the airport area sitting in front of a mini bonfire to beat the biting cold. Then there were labourers who were busy doing their night shifts inside a construction site. All such people had no celebration in their minds. For them, the new year had no meaning. It was just like any other day.

When I thought more about this, I was pounded by the question as to why the hell are we celebrating on New Year’s Eve? Is it just an excuse to have a fun time or is it an excuse to wear over the top clothes or to celebrate a new day which in a real sense is no different from any other day of a year?. After a week into the new year and the custom of wishing a happy new year to everyone you meet is over, one forgets this whole saga of entering into a new year. We all get used to writing the new year on paper normally.

I had mixed feelings when I witnessed the construction workers, labourers and security guards on cold December night performing their duties. I felt sad that they could not have any time off and at the same time, I thought that like me many other people on this planet were also not having any kind of grand celebrations.

New Year is for everyone. Whether you celebrate the beginning or not, does not resonate with how the year treats you ultimately. Celebrations are of course good but having the same enthusiasm and positivity the whole year is even better.