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I don’t associate much with the idea of celebrating New Year’s Day, or for that matter, most other days. Festive holidays mean three things to me - food, TV and gaming! However, as I was travelling home from work yesterday, I realised the importance of festivals.Just step out from your home, and get into a busy market during the festive season. You can behold happy people - you can read it from their faces. Women busy cajoling husbands into buying them jewellery, expensive clothes and household articles; kids in multicolour dresses unable to hide their joy and enthusiasm; even the men, they too put up a smile. There is so much hope in the air. They talk about the tsunami, the devsatating rains, even the recent shootings at IISc, Bangalore Bengalooru, and expect that such sadness will not fill the next year.

The one thing that immediately comes to mind is Ayn Rand’s description of Hank Rearden at the beginning of Atlas Shrugged. She writes something like “He was so happy that he wanted to bless everyone he would see.” Very true, happiness and hope are contagious. That’s the reason why we need festivals - we see others who are happy, and that gives us joy.

Today, I visited the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, as is our wont every New Year’s Day. Tranquility is the one word I associate with this place. It is so calm, you can hear it if someone dropped pins accidentally. On specific days, the Ashram gives out cards with messages - usually something pulled out from the writings of Sri Aurobindo or The Mother.

Today’s message was simple and to the point. People wish each other with fancy messages and the like, but this is really the only message that matters. I’ve taken this from the website of the Aurobindo Society. You can access the full message here.

Happy new year 2006! May it be filled with happiness, joy, peace, hope and the grace of God.