As the year winds down, no matter what it may have been, our belief is that the next one will be better, and that is what gives December its edge.
It is a month that wraps you in a hug, cradling Hope and Promise.
If there was a contest between months, December would be the winner.
The year is winding down, there is a festive warmth in the air, year-end holidays are being planned, office Secret Santa gifts are being plotted, gorgeous silks and shawls are brought out from closet hibernation and all the winter food that one awaits through the year is back in the vegetable market -- and on grocery apps.
Diets and exercise routines become erratic with the good intention that after January 1, we will embark on a new version of ourselves.
Better health, better sleep, more time with family and friends, better time management, reading more books that we can hold and smell, doom-scrolling less and finally ticking off some of those tantalising 'to dos' on the eternal bucket list that seems to be getting longer and longer each year.
The year may be ending, but there is such possibility that lies ahead. No matter what the year may have been -- good, middling ok-ok, more bad than good, so-so or whatever, the steadfast belief is that the next year can only be better.
We never imagine that it will be worse -- and that is what gives December its edge.
It is a Winner because it holds Hope and Promise.
December is a month that wraps you in a hug. There is the family-wali feeling. There is a touch of romance. There is appreciation for the joys of friendships and old relationships that have endured -- and for those who pulled us up from the dumps and pep-talked us on the frumpy old sofa at home.
(And yes, the time to re-watch Love Actually yet again on that same old sofa.)
It's a time for those we love and those who love us back. For chats over gajak, peanuts and endless cups of adrak ki chai in the winter sun (that's when fog is not upending north Indian lives) -- and for evenings spent under blankets and throws with room heaters and hot water bottles.
When electric kettles are pulled out of kitchen cupboards and placed near the dining table for warm glasses of water -- and when 'geyser on hai?' is a daily morning chant in north Indian households.
Roadside carts sell everything from boiled eggs, peanuts in shells, til laddoos and boiled sweet potatoes peppered with masala -- and small fires made of twigs, dried leaves and wood provide warmth to those who work outdoors.
It is the season of the topi and of the muffler which has the potential to either elevate or ruin your fashion style for the day. It is when the small home gardens abound in marigolds and the weather makes the rustiest of bones brave enough to give a shot at gully cricket.
Christmas cakes, Santa caps, carols and bedecked X'Mas trees at shopping malls and airports elevate our spirits. We put gifts under the tree and pray that our flights are not delayed by the fog, and that the AQI can miraculously improve.
There are journeys to be made.
People to meet.
Old promises to fulfill before the year hurtles to its end -- and the resolve to finish unfinished ones, next year for sure.
The days are short, the month even shorter -- but it packs in a punch like none other.
So enjoy the remaining December days -- and here's to new beginnings, while I look forward to my Secret Santa gift!
© 2025