For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
and…
– Elvis Presley (My Way)

As the year 2019 comes to an end, a middle-aged Indian, like others across the globe, is all set to welcome the 20th year of the 21st Century. 2019 was not a very good year for the man, as he has experienced seemingly more than his share of a lot of negative things in the last 12 months of the 40-odd summers that were seen by him! He lost his job, his fiancée, a stable life, and that, too, in quick succession… and still, has managed to survive, somehow. Some of his near and dear ones have assured him that the outgoing year has made him strong… and the New Year, by the grace of the Almighty, would certainly bring Good Luck for him. However, they have failed to convince him, as he is more of an atheist than an agnostic…

According to his belief, the contemporary Socio-Economic condition of India (and the world) is more than partly responsible for his pain, apart from some mistakes he had made unknowingly (by acting like an emotional fool, according to some)! An emotional person can be strong, although he has to face many difficulties (compared to others) in order to keep himself stand by his principles. Unfortunately, few would understand his struggle with his inner self. This Indian is no exception to this! He is not a person who is wasting his valuable life with indifference and killing his feelings because of extraordinary ambition, hemmed with jealousy. Even after being burnt in the getting scorched by the heat of the turmoil partly created by himself, he does not forget to live. Of course, he planned to commit suicide, prepared a note… and his fiancée, before leaving him forever, had mentioned that he did not possess that gut, and had also advised him not to disrespect those in possession of that (gut). The man does admit that it was his fault, and not her. He had miserably failed to gain her trust…

The person still remembers Shakespeare’s infallible quote: “Life is but a walking shadow..!” Yes, life is just like a book. Life is temporary, while death is the inevitable truth. Still, the man begins to feel himself a helpless mass, having practically no meaning left in life. Once, he asked his renounced, reclined and recluse self to have a glance at this beautiful (!) world! He, at that time, had found out that the world was drenched in moonlight. He also discovered that mankind was going from an era to another through the peculiar path of civilisation… all the creatures were vibrating in the bliss of life, their smiles, music, colours, scents, love… in a nutshell, he had a vision of everything! However, he failed to find the meaning of life!

Perhaps, the man killed his senses long ago, while searching for love. For him, this world – ridden with ambition and jealousy – is no more a beautiful place to live. Even in the fields of Art and Literature, more than thousands of similar stories would be unearthed. These true incidents would be stranger than fiction, as usual… but, the depression and ensuing frustration, it may be seen, are ubiquitous. Perhaps, nothing could change this heartless world in 2020, 2021, 2022…

Happy New Year!

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das