2013- The year that was

Jan 2, 2014 | 7 comments

Well,
yes I do know it is a cliched post that pretty much everyone is doing! I
deliberated over it for a few days, started writing it on 30th Jan and then
abandoned it only to resume today. I want to share all that has happened
in the year that went by, both in my personal life and generally in our
country.. 🙂

Like
every other year, this year too began on a high note with great expectations
and dreams. Before I knew it, the days flew by and it was December.. There were
the days when I felt awesome, on top of the world and those where I was low and
down in the dumps!

Uttarakand
Floods–
There have been so many natural disasters our country has been through, but
this was quite a shocker this year. The entire region was plunged under water,
the land of the Shiva as it is referred to nearly submerged, houses broken,
roads washed away, people left homeless… How heart wrenching simply thinking
about it. A friend of mine was part of a team that went to this area and spent
a few days there, helping people and doing what best she could.

A girl who flared off some reaction- Nirbhaya aka Jyothi– Women travelling alone, women living alone, women out on the streets- are they safe was the only question in everyone’s mind. NO thanks to the gang that brutally raped a girl, tortured her and her friend, all of which led to her death. It is what made the people of the country stand up for women safety and enraged people all over. We also now have the mobile app VithU which promises to be a solution to help girls who are out alone and in danger!!

Arushi
Murder case-–
This is a case that took so many twists and turns that it left us all puzzled.
The teenage girl along with their housekeeper were brutally murdered, and
everyone under the roof was a suspect. After months of investigation, it was
finally declared that the parents are the culprits and they have been locked
away. I still ponder if this is true and if yes, what was their reason,
where they both involved, why and how could parents kill their own child.. RIP
Arushi…

Movie
industry underwent a small transformation- Both the Kollywood and Bollywood
movie makers paused for a bit and decided to make a few movies that were
offbeat. They deviated from the usual drunk, heart broken, masala genre and
made some interesting ones. Lunch Box, The Ship of Theseus, Neram, Soodhu
Kavvum to name a few. It goes to show that you dont need a big star cast or
elaborate plots to keep the audience engaged. This does not mean the Aarambham,
Endrendrum Punnagai and Ram leela are forgiven…

Tehelka
crash boom bang- Who
would have thought Tarun Tejpal would fall like this. Just reading about all
that he did and how things took a turn makes one want to spit in disgust. Why
cant men [like him] keep their hands in their pockets and their manners on
their shoulder. Yuck!!

Launch of Mangalyaan- Cruising at 32km per second, the Indian spacecraft to Mars is now in the sun’s orbit on its way towards the red planet after leaving earth’s gravity early Sunday, making India the first Asian country and fourth in the world to leap into interplanetary space. The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mangalyaan as it is called is a Mars orbiter launched into the Earth orbit on 5th November by ISRO. It is infact India’s 1st interplanetary mission and, if successful, ISRO would be the 4th space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space program, NASA, and European Space Agency.

Section 377 – Oh welll, so much for living in a free country!! On 11 December 2013, the Supreme Court of India ruled homosexuality to be a criminal offence setting aside the 2009 judgement given by the Delhi High Court… But what was surprising and good to see was that many actually came out of their closets post this verdict. A friend announced to the world of his homosexuality through a beautiful note on FB.. He speaks in length about his experiences, what he went through and some of the silly questions he was asked! I dont understand why the Govt should even be involved in matters such as these, which are personal preferences..

Aam Admi party– Literally translated to “Common Man Party”, it was a political party that was launched in Nov 2012. Born due to the major differences between Anna Hazare & Arvind Kejriwal, this party had me curious [I am someone who has zero interest in politics]. This was a party that was all set to make a difference in our country. Today’s news says they have won in Delhi… Here’s to a better India in 2014 [fingers & toes crossed]

Auto Meter in Chennai- After years of shelling out 100s and 200s, yielding to the demands of the auto drivers, we finally have a thing called “Meter” in our autos. Yes, there are a few who still demand, but 90% of the autos ply based on the meter. And I have come to say gazillion bucks thanks to this, no jokes! For the 1st 2kms it is Rs25 and others it is Rs12, which is still high but makes a world of difference to us who use the autos often!!

Pavement shops gone in Pondy Bazaar- I know it is not big news, but it is to us Chennaites. These small stores were strewn all through the pavement in Pondy bazaar, and now they are all gone. New tiles have been laid which makes it such a pleasure walking along these roads. Flower markets have been moved to a swanky concrete building and so have the other shops.. It is amusing to watch the empty store fronts, but it is a welcome change!

I wonder what else lies in store for us in the coming year.. I do hope things change for the better.. Let us strive to make it better for all us. Stop using Plastic bags, wear seat belts and helmets, don’t drink & drive, pay heed to others on the road when walking/driving…

Happy New year all… :-))

2013- The year that was

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