the nutty resolve- welcome 2008

'I don't believe in dreams, I believe in goals declared' Junior Nut. He seems to be sleep walking constantly…. working till midnight he seems to have no grip or control over time and he ends up making such abrupt albeit powerful statements… when asked about his New year resolution…

The Nuts like many other families do many things together, due to constraints of time, they have decided to have dinner at least 4days in a week together and here's a sneak peek into their resolutions for 2008 :D

Mr. Nut: Heard that the real estate in and around Bidadi is developing, I must invest there. I will take my family on a mid year holiday. Marriages are pursued here based on the age of the individual, I wont let dotty be forced into being married as I believe she has to find a purpose and hold meaning to sharing her life with her soul mate. I will watch my weight and health and will try to make the family happy by dressing more sharply hereafter…

Mrs. Nut: God! Let this year be a momentous one, let dotty who has a decent job find a respectable match. I need to get the wall embossed to make the living room look more contemporary. I need to loose weight, but should learn to cook more continental; the kids like all sorts of food, food I can't even manage to pronounce properly. I need to ensure that my students win all the dance and music events this season, my track record has to be maintained, will have to sit with the choreographers and chalk events scheduled this year. I want to understand adventure sports better and will have to save more to contribute to the holiday fund this year, want to take the kids to an exotic locale…clothes, shopping, malls, movies…hmmmm, life never seems to change for a woman!

Junior Nut: I resolve to be the obedient son :p hope I don't jump any more signals n get caught by the cops, need to buy some more hardware, I will download as many new games as possible, will continue to watch AXN n WWE late into the night, have to additionally ensure that sis doesn't buy ny of those god forsaken skirts wch makes all those road romeo's glare at her [ she doesn't seem to care a damn!!!] I hope she falls in Love with some prince charming, it wud b easier to convince my folks when its my turn. I have to buy two more branded watches and ensure I am the top performer this quarter,[targeting institutions and NRIs would do the trcik!] this will ensure a sponsored holiday wch I cud use to send mom n da on a trip…Yipppeeee!!! 2008 I am ready to write my destiny!!!

Dotty Nut: I need to understand philosophy and psychology better this year. I want to be able to play songs on the guitar [ooooh! the guitar teacher's such a hunk!] I want to buy some blue leather, stoles are passé, should look at leggings n scarves n hats, need to buy bright shades this season, wanna b able to save up for regular spa therapy, secretly wish to become a masseuse one day :D:D I want to gain abt 5 kilos n want to make chocolate based pastries n cookies..yumm! hope I find a chef who will be willing to marry me…ooops, I don't knw what 2008 has to offer, Hope/Fun/Love? Or surprises like the death of Ms Bhutto whom I admired for her strength n fortitude…y do such things happen whn v r in such festive spirits?


Well! Hopes, dreams, aspirations all linked to our resolutions, but clearly evident is the fact that one man's resolve can be a complete contradiction to another's w.r.t same context, for ex dotty's wedding n Mr. n Mrs. Nut having two divergent resolves

Practicalities definitely influence the resolve, but don't they hinder/block spontaneity?

When we are impressionable in every transaction and are influenced on a regular basis, how would setting resolutions make a difference? Like all rules that we happily break- the resolutions also end up being broken JJ

The media has been a constant source of inspiration all through the year, reflecting bold and controversial subjects and sometimes spreading clear articulate messages. I thoroughly enjoyed the various mutual fund ads, ads by vodafone and airtel[the one with the kids surpassing borders n playing football together] n more recently the new avenger ad seems like a direct extension of my personality…

I am however, conscious of the regular debates on good vs bad :D I believe that the state that we seem to think we are in is consequential. Most often what we perceived as being in a soup or being on the bad side has helped us if we look back and it seems like things have fallen in place because of those perceived pitfalls, all that happens, happens in the natural course of life n hence there would always be a relative balance ensured…

I am upset by what I refer to as the "Collective manipulation of emotions", the way the reality shows are structured and presented…the means through which one contestant becomes a favorite as against another, not because of evident superiority in competence, but because of some reason or excuse which helps up their rating with the masses - be it regional background, a health condition, a monetary/economic state or a spiritual quotient, its simply insane or unreasonable. We as audiences allowing such deceptions to happen at a collective level is shocking n sometimes despairing…

Another instance where there seems to be collective manipulation by the free press is in hinting towards one's choices- by writing articles such as 'Bad is the new good' we are taking our impressionable youngsters to a questionable n confused state, with parents being hypocritical and not discussing the so called taboo subjects, youngsters choose paths that they are not quite sure off…

Personally, I am not against people loving chocolates or their idea of expressing their emotions and love towards a dear one through physical expression [read Times Life, Dec 30 edition]… but the press by painting it as symbolic of evil makes it seem tempting to the impressionable teen…my sisters n nieces r in town to celebrate New year n thy talk in whispers abt these things n thy r as young as being in the 6 th grade at school…papers such as TOI should maintain some restraint in publishing articles in a deceptive light, wch r usually misguiding n can be misconstrued [what is the correlation between having sex n exercising? N how cud one replace the other?]

I don't deny my need to love chocolates or my need to nurse a drink, but I am aware of the responsibility tat my soul expects of me [existentialism is in essence being comfortable with oneself without seeking acceptance from the entire stratosphere J ] and unless guided clearly the young of today wud become the cultural bane we would be embarrassed to address, but will have to live with…we cannot control choices, but in celebrating freedom of the spirit, we must be able to take responsibility for the choices we make… enjoying a smoke then returning home with mint / mouth fresheners stuffed in ones throat, hiding the fact tat one enjoyed a smoke isn't a state I want to see my children in, I wud prefer tat thy come n tell me tat thy experimented wit smoking n likd it n need more allowance to continue to smoke n I wud be happy to present my viewpoint on the same….in an exaggerated need to be good we r creating a society of cowards, hiding their guilt n regret in silence n willfully living a fake n pretentious existence …hmmmm…a long winding message this new year!!! Friends, if our parents cant talk lets resolve to take care, lets try to spread the message of responsible fun

As a parting shot, do remember that we are subatomic in existence in this multiverse, and it doesn't really matter as long as we try to make that miniscule existence meaningful!!!

Next mailer meet in 008 :D happy new year!!! May it be more revealing and inspiring