2017 Round Up

Taking a breather from my hectic Aadhar linking schedule, finally I found time to give a quick summary of the year that is just gone by:

Apps up
2017 New Year started with the hangover of waiting in front of ATMs. The queues grew longer and the ATMs ran dry well into the first half of the year. With the introduction of higher denomination notes the tussle for getting change from vendors hit a new high.
Mobile payment options became the norm and Paytm and similar mobile wallets registered record downloads. It was indeed strange when the delivery guy from the neighbourhood mutton shop showed up with the card swiping machine!

Tipplers Toppled
Tipplers had a tough time when the sweeping ban of bars and TASMAC outlets purportedly within 500 metres of national highways kicked in. While smaller outlets had no qualms in closing shop and shifting to 501 metres away, it was curtains for high end five star properties. With popular watering holes closed, weekend trips down the East Coast road to Pondicherry became meaningless. There was a collective sigh of relief when the order was modified and the revellers finally said cheers.

GST
GST finally became a reality. Eating out and going out to the movies became expensive. The convoluted calculations had even the seasoned accounting minds reaching out for the calculators. After several iterations by end of the year, the Govt. allowed few concessions, but it was too little too late.

Aadhar or die
2017 became the year of Aadhar linking.  From bank accounts to mobile phones, aadhar card had to be linked to everything. The voices opposing the violation of privacy grew feeble as people rushed to meet the deadlines to link their aadhar cards.  Amidst this mad rush, some wags made out a case for linking marriage certificate with aadhar card failing which the marriage will be annulled! Wistful thinking indeed!

Virushka
In a Nation obsessed with cricket and cinema, the Virushka (Virat Kohli and Anushka) wedding grabbed headlines. Kohli dominated on the cricket field and completely submitted to his love off it. The fans of course lapped up all the entertainment and the glamour.

Bahubali 2
The Nation finally knew the answer to the vexed question of why Kattappa killed Bahubali. The Bahubali juggernaut rolled on unstoppable and smashed all records and exceeded all expectations. In contrast, some of the bigger star movies in our own Kollywood bombed. Finally, thalapthy’s Merasal broke the trend and brought joy to myriad Vijay’s fans. The other Vijay – Sethupathy continued his meteoric rise and carved a niche for himself in 2017 with some stellar performances and is all set to repeat his feat in 2018 as well.

Starry Politics
The last day of 2017 also witnessed the much anticipated plunge of Super Star into Politics. After dilly-dallying for over a decade, Rajnikanth announced his political ambitions. Even though Kamal announced his political intentions earlier, the fans are clear that it will be Rajni’s charisma that will count when it matters. Only the assembly polls will show what the mystic “spiritual politics” is all about.

Crazy boys of TN Politics
Meanwhile, the political circus in Tamil Nadu, popped up surprises by the minute.  The people of Tamil Nadu became frustrated as there was no sign of sanity let alone governance. The surprise RK nagar by poll outcome proved that anything is possible in this political conundrum. Hope 2018 will usher in some sense and sensibility in the State.  

Taking the Bull by its horn 
Jallikattu - This apparently traditional sport of Tamil Valour occupied centre stage and captured the imagination of Tamil nadu youth in the first few months of 2017. Rallies, road rokos and campaigns reached a feverish pitch and fizzled out before too long. But, with the “sport” still being conducted flouting all rules, the travails of the fighting bulls and the fatalities are only set to rise…

Scams? What scams?
2G and assorted scams eventually ran out of scam and everyone was acquitted. Though the affected parties celebrated it as a moral victory, for the common man it is a sense of déjà vu. After all the hype, it was an anti-climax. In this backdrop, any new scams in 2018 is not going to make any difference.
Here is wishing you all a Happy, Peaceful New Year 2018!

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