Happy New Year

Noticed how no one wishes a simple "Happy New Year" any longer?

The first New Year’s sms popped into my inbox early morning on the 31st. Among other things, it thanked me for "contributing substantially" to the sender's life over the last year and helping him have "enriching experiences." This came from a person whom I haven't seen in about six months. I received the same sms from a train friend (people commuting by local trains in Mumbai have this category of friends too — basically the people with whom you commute everyday) that evening. I never knew that I can have such an impact on people's lives with just five minutes of daily conversation (Post the five minutes I open a book or go to sleep. . . often both).

Just past midnight, barely a few minutes into the New Year, a friend sent this:

Bond Best

in

Bond Year

WELCOME. . .

2000...............007

HAPPY NEW YEAR

A little while later, another invoked God and a bit of schmaltzy philosophy to say:

Always ask GOD 2 give u what u 'deserve'. . .,
not what u 'desire'.
bcoz ur desires may be few, but u deserve
- a 'LOT' . . .! Wish u n ur family a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

An ex-colleague (a professor of literature) sent me this:

A RELAXED mind,
a PEACEFUL soul,
a JOYFUL spirit,
a HEALTHY body,
& a heart FULL of
LOVE. That
is my wish for you for
the year 2007.

But this one, I felt was the best of the lot:

Na ZUBAN SE,
Na nigaho se,
Na dimagh se,
Na Mithai se,
Na greeting se,
Na gifts se,
"happy new year"
direct
*dil se*
2 u:

Whatever happened to plain, simple greetings?

An office friend did receive a simple new year's greeting. It read like this:

Wish you a prosporous new year.
(Italics mine)

What to say? I guess I should be happy with the ones I received.

Happy new year to you all.

Update: A colleague had this New Year greeting to share:

We
Wish
You
A

Fantastic
January

Lovable
February

Marvelous
March

Foolish
April

Enjoyable
May

Successful
June

Wonderful
July

Independent
August

Tastiest
October

Beautiful
November

Happiest
December

HAVE
A
VICTORIOUS YEAR. . .
(2007).
AND HAPPY NEW YEAR
WISHES.

I don't know what happened to September.