Illustration by Nilanjan Das / India Today
What a difference a month makes. In early November, 2021 looked well on its way from the worst it showed us in April, to the holiday season of laughs and forgetfulness. Normalcy, or at least the ‘new normal’, seemed like a catchphrase for the coming new year. That and ‘endemicity’. And then on November 26th, we found something far more appealing: Omicron.
The fourteen essays in our New Year’s special were always going to be an equation of hope and caution, but as you’ll see they are all December kids: the calm, if not sad, optimism of them is a preserved memory. Our economists warn of obstacles and new challenges, our eminent epidemiologists advise eternal vigilance and our geopolitical experts promise a world of uncertainties. Indian politics is a world in itself, of course, in which we can expect the state elections this year to face the current crisis for electoral opportunities that may unfold as the main event trailer in 2024 . In truth, some of our writers seem at least dismayed by the pandemic, while welcoming the long-term rise of the global Indian diaspora, or even the disruptions in our work routines that have accelerated a new digital turn. Our climate change forecasters don’t call the COVID crisis at all, but in their call for ‘unusual as business’ they suggest that even though the pandemic may not actually be ‘good for the environment’, it has made us rethink our priorities. Paused for reconsideration. Who’s an optimistic, New Year’s thing
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