The Year That Was

A year is a long span of time in our lives, but for a city that is centuries old, a year is just blip on the historical timeline. Time always seems to pass so slowly when we are going through the moment. But once the year is done with, when we look back, we always feel that the year came to an end quickly, time flew by without our noticing it. So here we are at the very end of the year that was, 2012, the time when we look back, reminisce, and we look forward to a year full of possibilities, full of hope, that 2013 will be what 2012 could not be.

As we stand on the verge of the beginning of the New Year, we should first of all consider ourselves lucky, that we are all alive to see this day. Those Mayans prophecies were finally proved false. Well some would rather the world had met and end but it is not so. We have to live on Sir; carry on the fight, a new year is round the corner. So this brings us to the big question; what to expect from 2013? A question whose answer we all want to know. Actually, if you really want the answer to this then read all the horoscope sections in the newspapers on 1^st January!

Will the country be a safer place in the New Year? Will we as a society gear up to fight out these anti-social elements and ideas that are deep routed in the current society? Will the sacrifice of Damini/Nirbhaya/India’s girl go in vain or will the government stand up, speak up, take responsibility of the lawless land that India has become, act, enact new, harsher laws? Or will the status quo maintain itself? These are the questions that need to be answered. This anger that we are seeing in the common man will not fizzle out, it will not ebb; it will manifest itself in other forms, in other places. The flame that has been lit will not burn out.

The year 2012 was particularly harsh on Mumbai. It took away from us few known, loved faces. Bollywood stalwarts Yash Chopra and Rajesh Khanna passed away leaving the industry in grief. Their contribution to industry will always be remembered, cherished. We also saw the passing away of ‘The Tiger’, perhaps the most powerful man in Mumbai. He leaves behind a fractured party, a son and a nephew fighting for the heart, mind and the vote of the Marathi manoos. What will happen to the two Senas? Which of the brothers will reign supreme? What implications will their feud have on the city? The story will unfold itself in the year 2013, and this one is sure to be a blockbuster!

2012 was also the year that Mumbai’s cosmopolitan life came under threat, and this time it was not the moral police, it was the Police itself. Mr. Dhoble did what the moral police could not, armed with the powers of his uniform, position and a hockey stick, we think the stick was the most potent of the three; he brought the city’s nightlife to its knees. No one was spared, as he extracted sadistic pleasure by enforcing archaic laws. Luckily he did not last too long. After a lot of protests on many a fronts, the new police chief finally pulled the plug on Mr. Dhoble. At last we could breathe freely in the night; dance and drink without fear, the nightlife was won back, the city was alive again! We hope 2013 will not spring up any such surprises, please!

And then there are those regular questions. Will those lingering infrastructure projects be completed on time? Currently the city is awaiting the completion of four major infra projects, the metro, the monorail, Santacruz – Chembur link road and the eastern freeway corridor. We can just wait and watch! And how can we forget our beloved BMC, will it get its act together and fill up the potholes this year? Will we have a cleaner and greener city? What happened to the dream of becoming Shanghai? Have we given it up?

We thought about this one for a long time, in the end we had to include it here. Sachin announced his retirement from One Day Cricket. It is a massive loss, as the city’s favourite son has said goodbye to the game. Cricket at Wankhede will not be the same anymore. Sachin will be missed. Will the city again produce the next big cricketer? We hope it does! This city lives, breathes and eats cricket and it deserves a cricketing star to call its own.

As humans we have a tendency to hope for the better. It is a trait that has been enforced by the countless movies that we watch. Like they say in our movies, there is always a happy ending. And so on the last day of the year we all will look back, and then look ahead with hope. But hey, there is still time for the year to end, so if there is something you said you would do in 2012 and haven’t done, then now is the time! It’s best to leave the baggage of the last year behind and start the New Year afresh. So Mumbai party hard, 2013 is here! Let’s welcome it with a bang!

What are you looking forward to in 2013? Share your wishes, what you would like to see happen in this city in 2013.

You can leave your comments below or you can also reach out to 'The Wandering Mumbaikar' at discoveringmumbai@gmail.com

- The Wandering Mumbaikar