It is all about putting up a strong veneer, invincible, impregnable, strong, standing against the storms.

It is what Anu decided to do as she set herself against the year, the new year, you see!

Swinging her butt to the new and old of hindi film songs and romancing the handsomest in her fantasies, Anu sashayed her way into the new year, all made up and up todate.

Saris procured from the flea markets in New Delhi with gota patti, laces and more, with bell sleeves and sleevelessness, back-full or back less, a young spirit in a life style that is a copy of Sabyasachi she made her mind to show it to them, this year.

New year resolutions, my foot! ‘I am gonna live my life, dammit’, she declared loud and clear, and we laughed at the feisty woman pretending to be flimsy.

‘This too is me’, she explained for my sake and I pretended not to hear.

Cheers to your new year, happy and happening!!!

Dance or no dance, love or no love, just live life every moment with the veneer in place. That be the goal.

‘2019, don’t miss your chance to unload the gifts!’

‘No Sanskrit, mom’, said a young girl to her mom. ‘Are you crazy?’

‘Learn something like French or still better German, but Sanskrit why?? Who does that???’

My friend shared with me the agony of her daughter when she announced her preparation for retirement.

‘You see’, said my friend, ‘I would like to be knowledgeable in the real sense. I mean my grand father was a well-known Sanskrit scholar. I want to continue his legacy. Moreover I have always been fascinated by the language and literature of the past.’

She smiled confidently looking into her future and perhaps picturing herself narrating Sanskrit stories and proudly holding the beacon of knowledge in her hand.

I nodded enthusiastically in support of her statement, as it struck a chord in me, this vision for sustainable sixties, ohk, may be not the vibhuthi and all, just some literature, a few poems, some shlokas and great company, yes, with everything else as well, if you know what I mean!

I don’t intend to go for a ‘vanavas’ as yet, not in another 30 years, i.e. if the battery lasts that long!

Sanskrit has always fascinated me. I enjoy reciting the shlokas by Sankaracharya for its innate rhyme and rhythm. My mother is learning to recite Sanskrit shlokas herself. When my daughter had a choice of going for Sanskrit, German or French in her 5th standard, she had picked Sanskrit much to my amusement.

When queried,she pontificated, ‘first learn your culture and language, no, before you go on to learn others!’…hmm heavy stuff for a little girl to utter but made sense somehow.

Retirement or not, there are enough reasons to pick up something new to learn, after all, it is said to keep you young.

I have a few new things lined up this coming year, like learning to speak Kannada, learn a few more shlokas in Sanskrit or join a dance class or re-start Yoga big time and well, the list is rather long….

But what are you picking up new this coming year?

Baking maybe or cycling or writing? Do share.