That was the year that was

Some three years ago when I started writing my columns and blogs, I promised my readers that I would write at least twice a week. I am glad to announce that I have kept true to my word and in the year that was I wrote 104 columns. Like you I was curious about the subjects I had covered and written about during the past turbulent year..

A large number of thoughts were centered on relationships. I wrote about brothers and sisters, a wry advice column on marriage, on the seven stages of fatherhood, on daughters who will break your hearts, on friendship and on dharma and love.

Another favourite topic was the political situation both in the US and India. The disasters in Pakistan were a constant concern as was the despairing turn into savagery and incivility in public discourse around the world. The breakdown of the conservative party into a rag tag of racist rants was another cause for concern.

As usual technology was a welcome respite from the daily ugliness of political life. I wrote about the innovators under 35, about the new types of think tanks, and how technology was up ending the old traditional publishing houses and how the future of books would be different. I wrote about technology and its power to change poverty stricken lands.

The problems of aging and how to cope with these changes were the subject of a few columns on facing life and death, on loosing a loved one, on various rituals of death, the pleasures of retirement and loneliness.

There were a few columns on faith, uncertainty, leadership in the 21^st century, the power of unreason, and the power of failures. I looked for a new paradigm of medicines and how its modern day practitioners were deviating from their Hippocratic oaths. I searched for a receipe of happiness.

And to close I looked for inspiration from unlikely sources- a speech by Andre Agassi and an address by Steve Jobs. Obama was his usual eloquent self in two speeches – one delivered at the start of the year after the shooting in Arizona and the other laying down his personal beliefs in Osawatomie.

You can read all these and more in my blogs for the year.

And a Happy New year to all my readers. I hope to keep up this pace in the new year as well and hope to hear from you.