Saturday, December 31, 2016

Good bye 2016 and welcome 2017

Yet another year comes to a close! Time seems to be flying. It just seems as if 2016 started yesterday and all of a sudden it's time for next year.

Either the earth is rotating too fast around the sun, or we were so busy that we really didn't notice time fly by us. Just goes to show how fast our lives have become. Whatever it is, one more year bites the dust, and we must look back on what impact it has left in our lives.

For me, 2016 was eventful indeed. It started out quite low key but mid year saw some important changes in my life. I switched locations. June saw me relocate from Pune to Hyderabad, an important new chapter in my life. 2016 also saw my son step into uniform and go to school for the first time. An important chapter in his life started as well!

2016 has seen it's fair share of key events. Brexit was just the start. 2016 also marked the completion of two years of the BJP Government under Modi. 2016 saw the biggest global sporting event on the planet, the Olympics, hosted by the most dynamic and vibrant of Brazilian cities, Rio-DE-Janiero. Our contingent showed a lot of promise, but once again failed to live upto it's potential. When all hopes of a medal looked grim, Badminton Player PV Sindhu and Wrestler Sakshi Malik rescued a nation of 1 Billion from potential embarrassment by winning silver and bronze. Deepa Karmarkar also impressed with her gusty performance in Gymnastics even though she failed to win a medal. 

Things really heated up in the second half of the year, with the Surgical Strikes on POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) being the hot-topic of debate. And even after all the hullabaloo has died down, Indian soldiers still face the heat at the border, while we celebrate in the comfort of our homes and offices. I salute and applaud their spirit and bravery.

But November happened to be the most eventful month of the year. On November 8th, two events happened simultaneously which shook the World's Oldest Democracy (USA) and the World's largest Democracy (India).

In America, history was made as a rank outsider Donal Trump upset all equations and predictions to become the 45th president of the United States, upsetting the favorite Hillary Clinton.

And in India, NaMo did the biggest Diwali bang by announcing Demonetization. He banned the 500 and 1000 rupee notes in India in a bid to stop Black Money marketeers from thriving. The full impact of the move will be seen in a few months, but there is no doubt that it is a step in the right direction to curb black money and end corruption. Let' see what the great man does in 2017.


As the year draws to a close, I want to thank all my blog readers for taking out some of their precious time this year for reading my blogs. As I said earlier, do stop by my blog a enter a few lines of encouragement; just to show that you care. I hope the new year brings you and your loved ones great peace and prosperity.

Have a smashing new year!