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Happy New Year - Elaine Rati Kochar Pune based Elaine Rati Kochar successfully blends her traditional values and social responsiblities with a streak for knowledge, creativity, social service and exploration. Elaine is fond of travelling and sight seeing apart from horse riding, dancing (Bharat Natyam), painting and newly introduced to scrapbooking.

The Himalayas in my sights!

Dear readers,

Happy New Year! 2007 whizzed by with the speed of an action photo: you know the ones with a marathon runner frozen in a running pose while the background streaked by? Before I knew it a bold new 2008 was breathing down my neck with a ruined cheque, (signed in the wrong year!). As I grow older, time accelerates just like some of the new cars in the market- from 0 to 100 in 6 seconds! The last three years have run away with me, my goals haven’t caught up and my New Year resolutions were left forgotten by the wayside on the first Monday of Jan, with me plunging into all the old bad habits with not a trace of conscience!

This year, the 2nd of Jan brought me up short. Enough of taking the bit between the teeth and bolting! 2008 was not going to buck me off and leave me in a heap. I was into “New Beginnings” just like the theme my artist trading card group had chosen for the month of Jan. The little 2” by 3” cards had kept my craft alive in 2007, though with coughs and splutters from bouts of travel and laziness. I have wallowed in the wonderful luxury of laziness; after all, stress isn’t good for the body. I was listening to my body, (another favourite excuse!) I realize I have been listening too intently to that slyly misleading body. Result: rusting of the brain, stiffness of muscles, and a gentle meandering of purpose!

I have travelled much and not turned the jottings into articles, I have several unfinished paintings lying about leaning against walls; generous helpings of pasta and chocolate lounging about in my cells and gleefully sliming out from working into muscle, everything is going to rack and ruin! In general, a pretty comfy year! Now time to gird up my loins, pull up my socks and pull out the stops!

All you hard working women must be wondering what laziness I am waffling on about! It’s the little things that don’t make money and yet result in happiness that I have let go. It’s the early morning ride that has been calling and I have rolled over in bed to ignore, the 6 o’clock yoga on the lawns and the evening swim or walk which has passed me by from one day to the next. There have been concert recitals for free, sound and light shows on festive days at the fort, picnics of the old Air force group at the NDA, quiet mornings of prayer on feast days, clay modeling workshops and amateur play performances that have peppered the last year with joy and variety which have drifted away past me into the mists of time.

The cup of coffee at an old friend’s house which can always be had another day, the hurt stray that I could have rung the Blue Cross about, the phone call to a lonely aunt which would have cheered her day and given her something to talk about, and the hour spent practicing a dusty guitar….. these are the things I need to do in the New Year.

This year I hope we don’t let unimportant things pass us by, things that give us and others around us happiness and cheer. So important in the busy, moneymaking 365 days of work and TV watching. The little somethings that make good memories of a year gone by.

Till we connect again...

Elaine's editoral is great! congrats and best wishes. I don't have better words to appriciate it with as they are totally rusted with years of dust on them. may be i will get inspired by her and Anita.

Neha Gill, 5 Feb 2008