Happy New Year

I drifted into this new year somewhere in the middle of a sleepy-wakeful state. Cosy under warm sheets with a woollen set of pjs listening to the echo of fireworks and aerial firing - which the news informed the other day had killed and injured many. The rest of the January was spent in the same stupor. Living in wool, and spending as much time as possible under the blanket with a warm cup in my hand.

I decided to join the group of people who believe that January shouldn’t be the fresh start it is advertised to be and I have been a happy camper ever since. January transformed from a cold treacherous mountain to a warm and cosy cabin where I spent my time gently unwrapping this new year. The longevity of the month (that others kept complaining about) gave me more time to stay in this transitory space. I scheduled my appraisal meeting on the 29th of the month, to slowly wake myself up, like they say after a meditation or yoga session to slowly move your fingers and toes. Hosted a dinner for friends on the 31st, I didn’t plan it that way but the meditative state automatically synced the rhythms of the body and mind.

February 1st then felt like a complete transition into the new year. So here I am in the middle of February to wish you a Happy New Year! To be fair I would have done it last week but I was too sick and persistently nauseous.

With this new year I’ve been making some changes. For example I am going for the colour blue more, and I’ve decided pandering to authority is not attractive anymore, I have given another chance to lip gloss (tint sorry), and my daily journaling is more about the daily and mundane stuff - I’ve been inspired by Stanley Tucci*. I’ve gotten myself out of some authoritarian projects at work and decided to strike out on my own (more on it in the coming weeks). In January, I read Elif Shafak’s ‘There are Rivers in the Sky’- its cover is blue as well and I got blue gel nails today. Ha! Sorry. The book had me fall back in love with the Shafak’s writing and the way she portrays the Eastern - especially the Turkish - world. I watched the Roshan’s (twice)- pure nostalgia and a reminder that half of me is made of Bollywood, minus that and I will disintegrate. Other half? I will have to think about it. I also read a piece in Substack by a Pakistani writer about how chai would be a significant part of psychotherapy with all its interpretations, had it been created in South Asia**. Not only did it make me chuckle, it inspired me to come back to this space and change the tone I had been stuck in for the past year. I was tired of my writing myself, so I stopped but let’s try again. While we’re at it, Substack has made some changes too- like we have blue as an option for the thumbnails. Ok I will stop my blue references. You will also notice my new website logo. I almost don’t want to tell you, but the wizarding world cast me as Hufflepuff and not Ravenclaw. I am appalled, ashamed, in disbelief. Eesa however to his absolute delight came out as Ravenclaw and hasn’t stopped rubbing it in my face since. We’ll pretend I never told you this.

The weather is warming up now, and Ramzan with its change of pace is less than a month away. I am always scared before it begins but then I slowly begin enjoying it; by that time it’s time to adjust back to the old routine. Eesa is experimenting with animation and Skillshare- we accidentally paid for a year of it and now I am forcing him to use it. I might dabble too, maybe during Ramzan. He’s also using grown up words like ‘doomscrolling’ and conversations are becoming more stimulating.

The rest of the world is having a meltdown over Trump and Elon. His internal policies seem to make sense to me so I can’t say I agree with them (I am not ready for any arguments so spare me 🙏 ), however the recent Netanyahu visit and the comments about the “Middle Eastern Riviera” are disgusting (and scary honestly). Irrespective I am happy for the respite the Palestinian people have for the time being and the return of their many. It is a short sweet victory in the grand scheme of things. Looking forward to Bill Gates’ biography***. I just ordered it. Expensive. I can sense a change in his attitude and body language for the past few months. Visible changes since the US election- not entirely convinced though that the two are strongly connected as some are suggesting. But interesting. Would love to ask him one day. Meanwhile looking forward to the tone of his writing in it.

I am due to speak at a local conference this month and at another session in the university. Not saying I am looking forward to either, but I have accepted these as necessary evils of the job. Or maybe like turbulence in an airplane- so I brace myself for impact till they pass.

*What I ate in a year [and related thoughts] by Stanley Tucci.

** this is the Substack I had mentioned- only fair to tag it.

If psychotherapy was created in South Asia, chai would be a part of it.

***Source Code: My Beginnings by Bill Gates