YEAR END MUSING

The year 2023 is about to close. In many ways, it had been a critical year of the century for the Planet so far. 

By late 2019, Wuhan reported an extraordinary respiratory illness akin to SARS and China went about on a war footing to address it but without telling the world.  Spread it did, and took every nation unaware, as we watched how the governments combated it. It came to be legally known as Covid 19 (short form of Corona Virus Disease 2019) & the pandemic did have ‘thandav’ across the planet.  

As per World Health Organisation (WHO), as of date, globally, there have been 77,28,38,745 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 69,88,679 deaths. As I write this,  a total of 13,59,57,21,080 vaccine doses have been administered on the people. This had been one hell of an anti-pandemic endeavour for the world. The way vaccines got formulated underwent sea change, to the extent that the scientists who developed the Covid vaccine unconventionally, are declared as the Nobel Prize winners for the year 2023. 

As I write this, in this part of the world, another variant of Covid, JN.1, is now playing tricks. How far & how destructive this be, will be known only by the beginning quarter of the new year. 

Yes, the year 2020 & 2021 fully belonged to the Pandemic. The year 2022 went this way, that way and only by 2023 that the world relaxed. The new normals of life slowly started receding back but with abundant caution, and now, hybrid life is a gift of Covid 19 to mankind.

Personally, the year 2023 was a year of transition for me. It is when I decided to end my deep association with the  professional and social bodies that I was actively part of. Thus, my TiE Kerala, KMA & Rotary activities fully came to a standstill. What is now left is ISTD where again, my intense involvement had well reduced. Being in the thick of it all for more than a quarter century, I was afraid that I would display ‘withdrawal’ tendencies but the impact wasn’t as heavy and today one is very comfortable with the current state of affairs. My routine acts like teaching at CUSAT, keynote deliveries, mentoring, blogging etc. continued without any hitch in 2023. 

I may want to concentrate on two main things for me for the future; travel and writing. In the year 2023, my reading got doubled and so did my travelling; Hong Kong, Andamans Island, Kolkotta, Jaipur travels figured in the year. The disappointment was not visiting Chola/Pandya edifices in Tamil Nadu, though it was very well in the plans for 2023. One hopes, it should fructify in the year 2024.  

I am also hopeful to finish 2 books during the coming year, first one in English is 99 percent ready and the other already well formed in the mind. Procrastination being what it is, still keeping the fingers crossed 😌

I would like to hear from you about the year that was for you and your plans for the year in the anvil. 

Here is wishing you the very best of the season! You take care.