The Decade that was

The 2010’s were surely a tumultuous and overwhelming decade for the common man. Our memories stretch longer than the queues that waited outside banks and ATMs in the bitter November of 2016. Demonetisation was a body blow from which some people have still not recovered. Before we could recover from the shock of our currency losing all its value overnight, further assaults were made to our democratic consciousness. As we close out this decade in a few days, we are forced to live with decisions that were brazenly thrust on unsuspecting citizens.

I shudder at the thought of how many of us would be scrambling to gather pieces of paper to prove our citizenship as the new decade dawns on us. Perhaps few sections of our community may no longer live in India as the next decade plays out in time.

Crimes against women was the highest this decade and made all of us hang our head in shame. The cry for instant justice is gaining momentum and vigilante justice is becoming the norm as people have lost all faith in our judiciary and our political leadership.  #MeToo movement made a feeble entry this decade only to fizzle out and die as the perpetuators roam around freely.  

Of course, there were some silver linings as well that shone through these  dark clouds and brought us some cheer. Dhoni's nonchalant sixer in the final over against Sri Lanka brought home the Cricket World Cup in 2011. P.V Sindhu fought with spirit to clinch the Silver medal in Badminton at the Rio Olympics in 2016. She followed it up with a towering victory over her Japanese opponent to clinch the Gold medal in 2019. Mary Kom punched far above her weight and shattered all gender stereo types by winning medals consistently at all levels. 

Closer home, in Chennai the ‘Lion’s Den’, the whistles rose sky high as CSK made a stunning come back in 2018. And the Super Star finally found his mojo with his star turn in Petta much to the delight of his multitude of fans.

In politics, Tamil Nadu lost two giants of regional politics – Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi in relatively quick succession, leaving the political novices scrambling to hold on to power by all means. It also gave the perfect excuse for some actors to take the plunge into politics. But it will take more than a few decades before either of them could make any mark let alone a ripple in Tamil Nadu Politics.

For me, if I were to pick one moment from this checkered decade it will be the Chennai floods of 2015. In one stroke, the floods exposed both the apathy and the overwhelming outpouring of humanity cutting across all differences. Strangers opened their homes and hearts to people who had lost everything overnight. The common man became a hero in saving lives of people and animals.  

At home, we sat in total darkness and watched the rain water slowly creep up on our door steps threatening to dissolve the several sand bags and enter our homes. My children were shivering in fear, hunger and the unusual Chennai cold. As the candles burnt out and the last crumbs of bread consumed, the day dawned afresh over the battered city. Never in the history of Chennai’s notorious weather there was so much cheer to welcome the harsh rays of sunlight.

Our missing cats Butterscotch and Caramel mysteriously reappeared and greeted us with a reassuring meow. At the first drop of rain, they had disappeared as if they knew all along that this rainfall is going to be the deluge of the century. Even our most sophisticated radars and satellites failed to predict what the cats knew by instinct.

As we get ready to face yet another New Year, let us hope we hone our cat instincts and rough out the next decade.