Rosalyn D'Mello: Let's make this the year of humanity

Representation picThinkstockMy godchild Lyle suggested I mention him in my column He wanted to be identified as an eightyearold boy in grade three who has a great mind As I write this he is restlessly working the rocking chair in our home in Goa His nervous energy is palpable He is in fact waiting as he sips on his tea He is waiting for me to finish this column because I promised to take him to Margao to buy him a watch as a Christmas gift Im not sure he even knows precisely how to read time But I loved that he specifically asked for a watch And of course Im a sucker for metaphor What better way to end the year than with a meditation on reading timeThe years passing was accelerated by such intense travelling and yet it was speckled by many moments of spectacular pause Last evening as I was heading to the restroom of Rogers a shack on Benaulim beach I thought of a similar moment on Paradise Beach with Tsohil in January The sun had set and there was an indigo darkness that had taken over the sky The entrance to the loo was blocked by a sentinel tree frog I remember its red eyes gaping at me I havent spoken to Tsohil in months ever since he left for the US on an amazing MFA scholarship programme But I thought of him last night when I thought of the tree frog He was one of those gifts the universe hands you Just like it did me Nikhil Chopra who ensured my year began with opportunities for both solitude and fructifying collaboration by offering me a residency at the HH Arts Spaces where Tsohil was coresident Last night was also spent under the stars with my sister and Turkish friend Asli Cavusoglu whom I met and befriended at the Khoj International Artists Residency and who was responsible for my adventurous visit to Europe and Turkey in June She and my friend Julien who had invited me to visit him at his cabin in the South of France are here in Goa and we will ring in the New Year together How momentous and fortuitous I think even as I busy myself with family ahead of my sisters wedding Im eagerly awaiting the arrival of my best friend Mona on January 1 She has been the source of so much strength and joy for me over the years and I love the thought of having her with me as we embark on 2018Ive already resolved to emotionally investing even more time and energy in my friendships particularly those that further the cause of the feminist sisterhood What is the point of anything if one doesnt have at the end all those opportunities for laughter and togetherness for meaningful conversation and even collective mourning For let us not forget that this year also began with Trump being crowned President of a superpower and the year also saw great treachery on part of the powers that be in India that undermined the electoral processes that is the foundation of our claim to democracy Its difficult to be in Goa and forget how its voters were betrayed how they have had to compromise with a government they clearly didnt elect Two more years until the next defining general elections and everything looks quite grim A woman journalist was beaten up in Mumbai a woman journalist and newspaper editor Gauri Lankesh was killed in broad daylight outside her homehellip Im too afraid to even go over the years other morbid highlights not to mention the gruesome Rohingya crisis and the status of Syrian refugees especially children around the worldAt the premidnight mass on Christmas Eve as the priest rattled off a prewritten sermon from a circular I thought about what it means to be spiritual in times like these I wondered if I was being too cynical about the state of the world the ecological disasters we have caused and the stillimpending effects of climate change that have ensured future generations an unliveable world What if this was actually a defining moment an opportunity for us to start to practice our humanityI dont have easy answers I dont know what to tell my godchild about the world he inhabits I am certain only of this much that we must continue to dissent resist protest We must also allow scope for forgiveness when it is called for and humility Time will tell how events unfold and whether we can undo some of the damage weve all been complicit in causing in the recent past What is imperative is that we live our lives such that we stand at our reckoning on the right side of history May the future be suitably feminist Happy 2018Deliberating on the life and times of Everywoman Rosalyn DMello is a reputable art critic and the author of A Handbook For My Lover She tweets RosaParx Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go