There is a lake which is just 5 minutes walk from my home. To one side of it is residential area, and to the other side is an expanse of paddy fields. There is a small bridge on a narrow stretch of the lake which is used by bullock carts, people, cows, buffalos and dogs alike. Buffalos, not often. While everyone else uses the brdige, the buffalos sometime decide that they need to prove their links with the Hippopotamus. As the herders watch, they dip into the water instead of taking the bridge. But they know they still have the pressure from the herders. They don't stop in the water to enjoy a swim, but quickly walk past to the other side instead. It is a sight fun to watch, as the buffalos dip into the water indifferently and come out of it equally indifferently. Here are some images.
Once in a year, resolutions become cliche. And I am writing about it so I shall contribute to keep a cliche a cliche!
So what resolutions did I make? Nothing really. When you are vacationing, you hardly remember the days, so I did not realize the new year passing by. When some one knocked on my shoulders and asked me the inevitable question, and there I was, wondering what to answer. I still haven't got the answer, but that's okay.
Let me try to figure out... What is it that I want to do? I am quite unfortunate about not being obese. I don't smoke either, which makes things worse. It is difficult to find a resolution to make if you don't have such problems. And what is the point having a new year if I can't even make a resolution? And then I have taken up the responsibility to keep the cliche a cliche!!
Well, one of the things that I love is to travel and do some photography. But I am already doing so much of it that I hardly do anything else these days, so no point trying to say "this year I am going to travel more..". And then what about other things that I want, need etc? I am a generally happy person and haven't been more happier ever, so can't really ask for much. May be I would rather go without a resolution. And then I went on to think, if I do make one, I shall rather keep it a secret. Secret because, imagine the situation - I make two hundred resolution and 'tom tom' that to the whole world and feel really good about making so many resolutions and improving the person that I am blah blah...
But there are some evil people around you who sometime go jobless. They come to you around March or April and pretend to be making friendly conversation. Pretend because they never know how to be 'actually friendly'! Here they go:
"...and hey, I remember you telling about those new year resolutions. I think you had made some 200 or so na? How is it going?"
You know how it goes when two hundred resolutions were made. You had made a conscious effort to forget them and had successfully removed them from your brain. And there they are, back to haunt you! Even worse, think about a situation like this:
A: Hey what was that new year resolution you had made this time..?
B: umm...(trying to remember, and also trying to escape from the scene) ..what was that? Can't recall now...
A: I think... was that something about improving your memory?
Its better not to make a resolution instead of getting into such situations. And people who know me also know about my notorious memory. They know it so well, they remind me about the money I owe them - which I had never really borrowed and manage to make a decent profit! I get depressed thinking about my poor memory. But think about the good side - I forget my depression very soon!!
I think I am digressing from resolutions to the topic of my memory, so let me stop here. Anyway forget about new year resolutions, my today's resolution was to eat the head of anyone who walks into this blog. So there you are! But don't worry, I won't do it again. I won't do because one of my new year resolution was not to speak lies!
Getting a little serious about it, I wonder where in the world did people start the idea of new year resolutions. It must be a country of optimists who thought they can really do something by thinking about their nagging problems just by thinking of it in the beginning of the new year. Or may be it was just a trend started by some 'celebrity' in drunken stupor in the middle of a New Year bash!! :)
So the year 2005 saw less accidents than 2004 in Bangalore. And the traffic police have moved quickly to take credit for that without failing, saying that the new one ways and good enforcement have reduced the accidents.
I beg to differ. I have seen people getting more and more aggressive and paying little respect to the rules more than even in 2005. If we had less accidents, its probably because vehicles always get stuck in traffic jams or move real slow and hardly get any chance to gather speed. When you have no room to drive fast and if all the roads are always jammed, its only natural to have less accidents. What do you think?
Here is Wishing a very Happy New Year for all the readers of surplus musings. May the new year be a sunshine year, and bring you unlimited happiness and prosperity.
