2020

 1. What did you do in 2020 that you’d never done before?

Ahahahaha. AHAHAHA...What can I say. Survived an unprecedented global pandemic and saw our global descent into fascism?  

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?


 No, and no. Resolution, shmesolution. Who has the time when the world is ending?



3. Did anyone close to you give birth?


Yes! First core baby. :) 

4. Did anyone close to you die?


Yes.



5. What countries did you visit?

None.  


6. What would you like to have in 2021 that you lacked in 2020?

An effective vaccine, dear god.



7. What date from 2020 will remain etched upon your memory?

18th March, because that was the day I started working from home, expecting this weird new disease to go away in a couple of months. And well...it's now January and I haven't been back in the office since. And also 29th August, because that's when we came back for good. 


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

• Not dying.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Fucking up my mental health. 


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Yup. Typhoid and fractured ankle and slow descent into madness.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Rajdhani first class tickets to Kolkata.


12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

Mine. And sporadically S'.


13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

EVERYONE'S!


14. Where did most of your money go?

Books and Swiggy. 



15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?


Moving back to Kolkata.


16. What song/album will always remind you of 2020?

Jano kichu mone koro na...

[https://youtu.be/o1v3z2EUgcM]

17.Compared to this time last year, are you:

1. Happier or sadder? Happier.
2. Thinner or fatter? Same.
3. Richer or poorer? Richer.


18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Walking around Delhi roads when I had the time and opportunity.


19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Work.


20. How will you be spending Christmas?


I spent Christmas drinking coffee with D and then driving around Kolkata with S. It was a good day. 


21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?

Shallow Hollows


22. Did you fall in love in 2020?

Nope.


23. How many one night stands in this last year?

None.


24. What was your favourite TV programme?

This was the year I discovered Korean drama! While the world died around me and I stayed at home for months on end, I wore my mask and watched impossibly good looking people having complicated lovelives and ridiculous problems. My favourites were 'Crash Landing On You', 'Because This is my First Life' and 'Hospital Playlist.' 

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?


Can't remember.

26. What was the best book(s) you read?

One of the most distressing things about this extraordinary year was the fact that it took away my ability to read. I spent hours doomscrolling on my phone or just staring at the ceiling, but couldn't bring myself to finish books. Reading has always been my go-to method to relax, and in a year when I needed it most...I just couldn't. Anyway, all this to say that I didn't read much, but I DID discover Georgette Heyer. Her 'Why Shoot A Butler' was easily the most heartwarming thing I read in a year full of heartbreaks.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?


Akhilbandhu Ghosh. 

28. What did you want and get?

To quit my super stressful job.


29. What did you want and not get?

Peace.


30. What were your favourite films of this year?

I truly cannot remember a single movie I watched this year. I do recall rewatching 'Asa Jawar Majhe' with S, and being struck by its deliciousness anew. Does that count?

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 32. Was just recuperating from a nasty bout of Typhoid, so couldn't eat anything but boiled rice and eggs and idli. But had friends over, fed them good food, and lived a little vicariously. So that was good. This was right before the world shut down,  and thank god for that.


32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
 
A little less 'unprecedented' events please. It sucks to live through history. 


33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2020?

Aha. Ahaha. AHAHAHAHA. I gave away half my wardrobe before the cross-country move, and have solely survived on pajamas for a year.

34. What kept you sane?

Cats. 


35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

David Tennant. Neil Gaiman. Riz Ahmed.


36. What political issue stirred you the most?

I ... don't know where to start. Next question please.

37. Who did you miss?

EVERY one. EVERY FUCKING ONE. 

38. Who was the best new person you met?

No new person was met. Everyone stayed put in their homes.


39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2020.

This, too, shall pass.


40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?

Aur bhi dukh hai zamane mein, mohabbat ke siva,

Raahatein aur bhi hai, vasl ki rahat ke siva...