2014 reflections

As is customary towards the end of every calendar year, one sits down to reflect and ponder over the year gone by. Walking down memory lane, we start thinking about the events which transpired in different arenas – personal and professional developments which impacted us during the year, the political developments happening all around us, and everything else which made news – sports, art, culture and so on ……and 2014 in that sense was indeed a happening year.

Personally for me, 2014 was indeed a milestone year. It was a dream come true to become a partner in one of the largest accounting firms and it was indeed a culmination for all the hard work and efforts that I have been putting in over so many years. Along with recognition, it also brings many more opportunities and challenges and I am looking forward to scaling newer boundaries in the days ahead.

From a more general perspective, one would guess that the most important development of 2014 was the anointment of NaMo as the prime minister  of India. It was a remarkable journey for the man who was derided by so many people for so many years to script a dream turnaround of fortunes, both for himself as well for his party. He walked into, rather stormed into, the parliament with a stupendous majority. Clearly, he has woven a lot of dreams for the masses and has generated a lot of positive hopes. The start has been good, but one would really need to wait and see whether and how  he is able to implement the visions that he has set out to achieve. One thing is for sure, whether he succeeds in his mission or not, but he has surely stirred up the nation towards a new era……

Talking of a new era brings us to an event which happened towards the fag end of the year. The sudden retirement of Dhoni (Mahi as he is fondly called) has been clearly unexpected and done in a dramatic manner. With his retirement, an era in Indian cricket ends and the new era begins with the likes of Kohlis and Rahanes taking centre stage. A new generation always promises change, and hopefully Indian cricket will scale greater heights in the days ahead.

In fact from the perspective of sports , the real story of the year lay elsewhere from cricket. The plethora of Premier leagues which took place during the year, in many senses sparked a revival of sorts in Indian sports. In the earlier part of the year we had the Badminton league, which was followed quite widely. The Kabaddi league was a stupendous success and it helped to bring a dying game back into the centre stage. And towards the end of the year, the Football league also was a reasonable success. Hope all these events signify a positive turnaround for sports in India.

The successful launch of Mangalyaan was a milestone event for India in demonstrating our technological prowess , particularly considering the fact that it was achieved with a very nominal budget.

2014 would also be remembered for some tragic incidents, especially in the Asian region. Clearly it was not a great year for the aviation and the shipping sectors, with several civilian flights going missing or being shot down and ships catching fire or sinking in some parts of the world. Even more tragic was the rise of terror events especially the barbaric killing of innocent school children in Peshawar. Humanity took a beating. It would take a lot of efforts on the part of all mankind to help in bringing back the spirits of hope and faith.

And yet, the optimist in me sees a lot of hope in the future. 

I feel hopeful that the new prime minister with his energised team will chart out newer paths for the country. If his visions of "Clean India" and "Make in India" indeed take roots, it could well be the proverbial catalyst for the Great India story.

I feel hopeful that the spirit of entrepreneurship in India will continue to rise and prosper. All around me, I see young turks trying to venture into unknown paths. They have their own vision of newer and improved services and products and it is this spirit and the determination that signifies a possible positive turnaround.

I feel hopeful that the young generation is hungry for change. And this applies to all spheres of activity. Students no longer think only of becoming doctors or engineers, but are rather seeking out newer streams in law, finance, journalism, media and so on. A budding sportperson no longer wants to only become a criketer - there are so many potential opportunities in other sports. And technology is ushering in changes in so many other activities - the way we carry our businesss, the way we do our shopping, the way we transact with government authorities and even the way we communicate with each other in our social groups.

Looking forward to a great and happenning 2015.