The year 2005. Victoria Beckham apparently wore six million pounds of jewellery around her neck on the occasion of Elton John's wedding. Global natural disasters and terrorism. We hear that polar bears (and the Indian tiger) are likely to become extinct in the coming years. What do these seemingly random pieces of information have in common, you might ask?
Well, for one, six million pounds would go a long, long way in alleviating the misery of thousands who shiver in freezing temperatures in temporary shelter from the earthquake and its continuing tremors.
But it's a funny old world, where the rich always exercise privilege and the poor remain - well, poor. Perhaps even in the Stone Age, some cavemen had better caves than the others.
We point to insurmountable global, national and local issues and intransigent governments. "The problem's too big to change," we shrug, and much and most of the time it appears to be and is.
But with the Arctic caps melting, and the world's natural resources depleting, will 2005 be remembered as the wake-up call? The year that the alarm clock rang to stay in "snooze" mode?
Let's face it, we can't change the ways of the world or its inequalities. Class or crass, there may always be someone wearing six million pounds of baubles. If the time before the start of a new year is traditionally a time for reflection and renewal, then it's time to take a good look around us: what happens to the polar bear affects each one of us and the future of the planet.
{{/usCountry}}Let's face it, we can't change the ways of the world or its inequalities. Class or crass, there may always be someone wearing six million pounds of baubles. If the time before the start of a new year is traditionally a time for reflection and renewal, then it's time to take a good look around us: what happens to the polar bear affects each one of us and the future of the planet.
{{/usCountry}}A time for peace, goodwill and love? Well, we can only love the neighbour when we accept him for what he is. We can't change him (and he may continue to play loud music and slam doors) or for that matter, any member of humankind, but there's something we can do. We can change ourselves.
2005. One year, one message, one change.
(Saumya Balsari is the author of the comic novel 'The Cambridge Curry Club', and wrote a play for Kali Theatre Company's Futures last year. She has worked as a freelance journalist in London, and is currently writing a second novel.)