Hopefully towards a Happy New Year

By Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI, DEC. 30. It is once again that time of the year when there is a spring in every step and hope of good tidings -- even in a city as a crowded and polluted as Delhi. Though experience shows that very little ever changes, optimism gets the better of rationale and even cynics begin hoping for the best in the New Year.

And it is not just the jelly-jointed party-hopping youngsters who are eagerly awaiting the turn of the year. The old and those in between seem equally optimistic. Though less inclined to don party caps and shake a leg into 2001 and somewhat taken aback by the scale of celebrations, few seem to grudge the youth their footloose and fancyfree ways.

``Only if the bon homie we see on New Year's Eve continues right through the year!" says the well-known litterateur Qurratulain Haider with some passion. ``And if only people keep those resolutions they make every New Year's Eve, the world would be a better place.''

Not one to party through the night, Qurratulain refuses to sit on moral judgment on the kind of celebrations Generation Next indulges in these days. ``If that is how the world wants to march on, then so be it. I just hope that when the celebrations are over, people will have more time to love and less to hate.''

Nor does she question the general mood of optimism and the itch to celebrate. ``This, after all, is a moment when the whole of humanity -- despite different time zones -- moves past a milestone in time together. All of humankind is bound by this feeling of optimism which could be a power in itself if the positive energy in full flow on December 31 is sustained.''

Though into their twilight years, consumer rights activist H. D. Shourie and the Grand Old Man of Delhi politics, Mr. Jag Parvesh Chandra, are equally hopeful of a better tomorrow. Insisting that there is an improvement, both lament the population explosion which is impeding every step towards development taken by the country.

While Mr. Shourie would prefer to see the country resolve to check population in 2001, Mr. Chandra is fearful of Delhi becoming more of a railway platform than it already is. ``The day is not far when Delhi could slip into a coma just because half the city is caught in a massive traffic jam." Still, both see some light at the end of what to many may seem an endless tunnel.

Hope, if the veteran dancer Swapna Sundari is to be believed, is not misplaced. Civilisations have flourished on hope and it is a catalyst for human endeavour. For her, New Year is a time for celebration accompanied by reflection. Only too aware that most people will drown themselves in a spirit of exhilaration, she has a prescription that involves introspection, caution against repeating mistakes, and eternal hope.

Insisting that there is no need to fear the future, she says the wonderful thing about the times ahead is the unpredictability of it all. ``Why presume the future will not be better than the past?''

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