By Nihal Parashar:
And here, we enter the New Year with new hopes. And as we enter, my friends have started asking if there is another resolution I have taken this year. To make things clear, I have quite an experience in making and breaking “New Year resolutions” like any other average urban young chap. Based on the varied experiences in the past here is something you will like to ponder upon.
Who is that one person who stops you from completing your New Year resolution? You and only you! After all it was you who decided what you want to achieve and then it was you who realized it was difficult to travel to 345 cities or run 5 miles every morning. Setting unrealistic targets are certainly what we must avoid this year.
Here are 6 resolutions you may like to commit to achieve. I do not expect you to commit all the 6 (though I’ll love that!), but even one will be great.
1. I will visit an unconventional village in the month of June: Visiting Goa, Manali or Nainital is good. I am neither against these places nor have any aversion to them. But visiting a village, which is not sexy enough to be a “tourist spot” has its own charm. Believe me- every village in this country has something for you which you cannot imagine. Plan a trip to any Himalayan village, and that may turn out to be the trip of your life. The Kumaon region of Uttarakhand may have something pleasant for you to discover. Come on, bring out the hidden Columbus in you! Set the month of June (or any other random month!) and go out on the hunt.
2. I will start a Photo blog: Every human on this planet has a vision. It is not only the professional photographers with extremely expensive DSLR camera who have the right to be called a ‘photographer’. Anybody who has a vision to capture the beautiful moments of life can be called a photographer. If you have a mobile camera, go out and shoot. Start a photo blog. It is one of the ways you are expressing yourself. Forget about all the rules of photography. The only rule to be a good photographer is to take photographs. There is a community of photo lovers who will appreciate your art. And who knows, maybe you are the next big photographer this country is waiting for!
3. I will make sure to discover my city, once a month: Your city is unique, like all other cities. Be ready to become the master of your city. You have no idea of all the unique activities taking place in your city! There may be an underground poetry club or a café only for creative people. These are things to be discovered by you. Dedicate one day in a month for this- any Sunday. Take help of Facebook events and pages. You will be surprised to know what all is happening around you. Be a part of the silent revolution and change the way you have been for a while!
4. I will become a film critic: Not a bad idea! It will only be fun if you start watching films more critically. This does not mean that you will have to watch the first day first show of every new release. Take help of torrent and lazy friends. Borrow films. Watch whenever time permits and blog it! Share your views with others. This will not only educate you more about films, society and art but will help you see things more critically and analytically. And may be one of the reasons why we can get another wonderful film critic to guide us in the future!
5. I will do the thing I am most afraid of in the month of February: You have exactly a little more than a month left to do what you are afraid of! This is important. Challenge yourself. Do what you have been waiting for all this while. Consider this the voice of your soul, and set forth! You will be your own hero. Why February? So that you get time to prepare yourself. You can choose any random month or day- maybe right now!
6. I will spend 4 individual weeks (out of 52!) without buying anything: This will be fun! Mark annual calendar with 4 weeks in random months where you promise yourself not to buy anything- by anything I mean nothing at all. Go back to the primitive era. Rediscover yourself. Live in such a way that you won’t require anything. You are free to set your own rules here. This may be a way to reach out to the inner you.
It will be great if you write back to me if you take anything up. Will be great to know if you were also able to achieve it.