New year, what new year?

Apparently, the year has changed.  2016 has sadly passed away, and 2017 has just taken birth.

Revellers heralded the 'new year' by crying themselves hoarse shouting 'happy new year!!!', drank gazillions of intoxicants, harassed hapless lasses who made the mistake of being in their midst during their raucousness, and inflicted their 'precious' pictures of celebration on social media addicts.  

Not to mention, as 12 O'Clock swept across the world from east to west, every country tried to outdo its neighbour by lighting up billions of bulbs and blowing up tons of fireworks to welcome the 'new year'.  

(Yet, curiously it is only the Diwali fireworks that contribute to pollution every year).

So to summarise, the 'new year' party is done and dusted, and we are officially in the 'new year'.

Really?  Sorry to burst the party bubble, but I don't feel anything different about the 'new year'.  

Why, you ask?  Here's why...

Because the whole concept of 'new year' is flawed, that's why.  

Because we here in India, are blindly towing the West's line, and following the legacy of our land-occupiers, the British.

Because we are following somebody's idea of the 'year of the Lord', when we have lords of our own, and calendars of our own, i.e. panchanga and lunar calendars.

Because there are, at the last Wikipedia count, close to eighty different calendars across the world, each laying claim to its own 'new year day'.

Because as per the Gregorian calendar, the 'new year' starts seven days after the birthday of the founder of Christianity, which has no relevance to us. 

Because the date of Christmas itself is a hotly contested and contentious issue across the world, with different cultures observing Christmas on different days of the year.  

Because the date, 25th December was arrived at by the scholars of the past after much deliberation.

Because the earth's revolution cannot be exactly divided into units of time to accurately measure the onset of the 'new year'.

Because the world continues to be beset with problems as before, and we are no better or worse than we were last year, or for that matter five decades ago...

Therefore, I stopped making a fool out of myself 'at the stroke of the midnight hour', several years ago. 

 

So let me repeat that.  New year, what new year?  

Get on with your lives now...



Image source: https://images.indianexpress.com/2016/12/happy-new-year-2017-7591.jpg