As a year draws to a close, one is always tempted to look back at it with clinical detachment.
Towards the
end of 2019 with 2020 on the horizon, I saw the approaching period perhaps as
our time which has come. I have always been partial to a number composed of 0s
and 2s – 2020 was simply perfect in its composition. 2020 with its rhyming and symmetrical
look somehow assured me of a better time ahead.
2019 was a mixed bag of personal losses and successes. Many events in the first few months
of the year reaffirmed my hunch that good times are indeed ahead – the bounce
in my gait was visible. And towards the end of March what hit us like a tsunami was unprecedented in its global impact and unbelievable - now even after 9 months of being
thrown under it. But the most amazing thing is that we have survived
underwater.
That is a victory of human survival instinct
and resilience. I must thank my clients and colleagues and friends who stood by us.
If there
were occurrences of unexpected deaths of close relatives rattling us at the
core for a moment, the calm composure of their nearer ones in accepting the
inevitable was inspiring; giving us the message that life has to go on and the
story of life is made of such episodes.
All our
masking, sanitizing, bunkering in our own silos, distancing from everyone to escape the dreaded virus came to naught when my whole family along with most of my
colleagues were found positive in a gap of a few days – almost collapsing our
organization structure.
The source of infection is still a mystery but
our spirit and ability to fight together and win was the new discovery.
We could sail
through the period with many friends who stood by us like a rock helping us
with our treatment and supplying us things as basic as meals three times a day, forging a lifetime bond. That period also made us see the worst of some friends; their insensitivity and
callousness helped us to finally take a call to pull the plug on them.
Removing toxic elements from life is like doing
periodic maintenance of your car if you want it to last longer.
If there
were voids created by the departure of few close ones, few like Lalatendu Jena, Biranchi Panda, and Manoj Behera breezed into my life giving it a completely new meaning and
direction. The road ahead and the journey with them looks so promising and
exciting.
Before I realized, they had occupied their
space in my heart with their goodness and had almost become family.
If the year before we lost Mikey, which we are still trying to come to terms with and get
over the grief; this year we had Simba, a Dachshund, and Kai, a Pitbull Terrier enter
our family making our house look like a joyous menagerie. What is a
torn sofa cover to our guests, seems like a hickey to us.
They still do not comprehend why a torn pair of socks
and a gnawed pair of sleepers make us smile?
God has an
amazing way of compensating our losses and to make us look forward and stay
hopeful in life. Today, on the last day of the year I am in deep gratitude when
I see my family unscathed, my business getting back on its feet, and for all the
new friends and lovely pets who have entered our life and have come to stay
with us.
God bless and wish you all a Happy New Year!
