BENGALURU: With 2023 racing towards the finish line, most of us will go through a sea of emotions. On the surface, it’s the last few working days of the year. Offices are relaxed, bosses pretend to be funny at office parties. Targets are quickly run through, and shifted to the invisible prospects of ‘next year’. But inside us, there is anxiety gnawing. The pandemic proved that years can whiz by us without much notice. The anxiety comes from constantly peeking into the future.
But spending years in academia gifts you something (apart from boredom and a lack of social life) – a perspective on history. I was watching a web series based in the ’80s and realised that we live in comparably better times. Imagine a decade with the economy crawling at 3 per cent growth, riots, insurgencies, natural and chemical disasters, and religious exodus – all crammed into a highlight package of a decade. Imagine a gangster being among the most famous people in a country. So, we certainly live in better (albeit more opinionated) times.
But if you are being eaten by year-end anxiety, you only need to step out to see all the joys capitalism offers us as the year ends. Malls and cinema halls are filled with festive cheer. Fake Santas with fake bellies ring bells and laugh outside children’s stores. And then, there are the Christmas movies! As a film critic, I watch gory, dark, funny, and absurd movies from across the world. But there is a special joy in watching a simple movie where good-hearted people strive to spend moments with their family at home. Of course, we have Deepavali and Sankranti releases in India, but we are yet to nail the concept of the ‘holiday movie’. As a film critic, the greatest gift Santa can send me is a well-made movie.
Since capitalism is responsible for much of our anxiety, it only makes sense to use it to cheer ourselves up. If the year-end anxiety is crippling you, you only need to look at your phone. Most countdowns run-up to Dec 31, but customise your countdown till Jan 2. You will magically have 48 more hours compared to everybody around you. Go to your favourite food-delivery app and check out how much money you saved (while ignoring the fact that you could have saved more if you cooked your own food).
If you feel broke, look at all the ‘coins’ you earned through various apps. If the next year looks bleak, just knock on the dicey doors of astrology – you will find that all of the world’s opportunities will come knocking within the first fortnight of the New Year. Go to your music app and find your most-listened to songs. Dust out all the notebooks and journals you bought and compliment yourself on all the promises you made to yourself through the year. If you’re a techie with existential doubt about where life is going, just call your parents. They will ask you to fix the WiFi password, or about a channel that is not coming on the TV anymore. You will realise that all your technological achievements cannot match up to a smile on their faces.
If nothing else works, remind yourself that time is a social construct. That it is simply the earth joyfully taking another revolution around the sun. Remember that life is not a weekend episode of Bigg Boss where you will be ‘nominated’ every week based on tasks. Life is an unending Krishi Darshan show on Doordarshan that has been running successfully since 1967! This year, as you did in 9th standard Chemistry - shall pass!
(The writer’s views are his own)