A passage through India

Take a month or two off from work, get you car serviced. Then get into the driver’s seat and do a pan-Indian road trip. And don’t bother yourself about where you’re going — it’s the journey that matters, not the destination. Eventually, you will wind your way through every corner of the country. As for practical concerns, driving is no longer the pain that it used be in the past. The Golden Quadrilateral is a dream to cruise on, and the back roads are getting there too. Roadside fuel can’t get any cleaner, and there’s no dearth of good restaurants or motels along the highway to eat or spend a night in. So drop that usual Goa trip you might have planned for the Pujas and do something few can claim to have done before you. The highways beckon.

Bedtime tales

Haven’t been reading much of late? Do yourself a favour. Get hold of three of the fattest tomes ever written — War and Peace, Ulysses and The Mahabharata, if you want modest suggestions — and read them on the trot. It’ll take you half the year, we know. And certainly, you must have tried to read through them many times before but failed miserably (yet we also know that hasn’t stopped you from referring to them at sundry addas!). But this is the year to really take on the awesome threesome, page by page. If you succeed, chances are there won’t be another person in your part of the city to have achieved such a feat. Now won’t that make you feel special, especially at another get-together, when it comes down to quoting from those books once again?

Shoot to thrill

We know it travels with you every time you go on vacation. But that Handycam your sister — or husband, or grandson — presented you on your17th — or 43rd, or 81st — birthday can really be put to better use than recording holiday footage in Darjeeling, you see. So think of something you really feel about, and make a short documentary on it.

As for the theme of your film, you are spoilt for choice. Dogs on the street, Calcutta’s trams, life on Park Street — anything goes. So put on your director’s cap and get rolling. And on next New Year’s Eve, invite your friends over for a special screening.

Is that really you?

Go in for an image makeover. No one hands out gift hampers in this world for trying to look like you do on your driving licence, so now’s the time to change it. The possibilities are endless — grow your hair, change your five-year-old glasses, overhaul your wardrobe, maybe even get a teeny tattoo, if you’re in an adventurous mood. Then pick up all the compliments that come your way and watch your neighbours turn green with envy.

Be the good citizen

Get out of the cocoon of indifference we’ve all snugly lodged ourselves in. Do something for others, in your own way. The idea is to stand up for a cause. Make a donation to an orphanage, sign up for voluntary service at a nearby charity home. Or if you’re in the mood, join the masses on a social or political rally, without bothering about pending deadlines or the possibility of being washed away by water cannons. The very thought of doing these things might make you want to cringe but research shows that you begin to enjoy them the moment you start on them. So what are you waiting for?

Scout for talent

Okay, so you’ve spent half your life and savings to become the hot-shot technology geek that you are. But that doesn’t mean you have learnt and achieved all that life has to offer. So how about picking up some additional skills along the way, just to add a new dimension to your personality? It may not earn you any money in the long run but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not worth pursuing. On the other hand, it could definitely put you a notch above your colleagues who can’t identify themselves as anything but, well, tech geeks. Train in classical music, join a salsa or tango class, learn how to cook a new variety of cuisine — a crash course in basic mountaineering, perhaps? Suit yourself. And the next time you walk in with your co-workers to a party and introduce yourself to a looker, don’t forget to throw that extra bit in. It’s known to work miracles!

Kick butt

It’s a New Year resolution that’s as banal as it’s broken. But 2008 is really the year you should stop smoking, even if it’s just to test your will power. You really can do without that stick in between your fingers, you know. It’s all in the mind. Just get over it.

Who dares win

Take a risk. It’s fun. And as has been often said, if you don’t risk anything, you don’t gain anything either. So stop playing by the book, and give your life an unexpected twist. We’re not making any suggestions here so as not to cloud your imagination. But remember, “risk” and “irresponsibility” have different meanings in the dictionary. Don’t confuse one with the other.

Obla-di, Obla-da

Never made sense, that, did it? Well, that’s exactly the idea. Make 2008 special by playing the fool. Be at your weirdest, wackiest, nonsensical best through the year. Wave excitedly at other motorists at red lights like they’re long-lost friends, mutter “Hail Mary” hysterically while going up or down the elevator, shout “fire!” when you’re served sizzlers at restaurants. And then respond to the quizzical looks with a curt “Merry Christmas.”

And finally…

If you can’t manage to do anything substantial this year, don’t fret. There will always be another year. A bit beyond the corner, after all, is 2009.