In the 1990s for most New Year’s eve I would spend it at home with the family watching some dumb programs on tv that alternate between the really corny & the genuinely cheesy. But the 1998 New Year’s eve was spent drinking with my buddies from NIIT in Perumpadapu. One of my friends, Manuel, had a room that he stayed in over there and we sat and drank rum with coke from late afternoon till night and then went to see the fireworks from a small bridge nearby. 1999 was pretty much the same as the rest of the 90s, although, if I remember correctly, they were showing Titanic on cable and I watched that with my mom, sister & sister’s mom-in-law.
2000, 2001 & 2002 were quite New Year’s eves spent at home. I remember that my cousin Shalini, who lived with her parents two doors away from my folks house, used to insist on getting a cake and cutting it exactly at midnight to ring in the New Year on a sweet note. 2003 I spent drinking alone and going to an internet cafe. It was there that I got the call that I was selected to join Escotel / Idea. That was a happy feeling and I bought some food for my family and went back home to celebrate. 2004 & 2005 – I was working till midnight but would sneak out to have dinner at the bar below the office and enjoyed a few drinks with my food.
2006 & 2007 New Year’s were a lot of fun. My sister hosted some of my relatives to nice parties each of those years. It would go down in history as some of the best, fun filled parties we have had as a family. I will always rate parties against these two as they were so much fun, especially the 2006 NY’s eve party. 2008 wasn’t a good eve party; in fact I skipped the party as my mood was shot due to a work related issue. I was in a foul mood and did a quite evening on my own.
Last year was fun with Anil & Madhu. Nothing like enjoying drinks & good food with your best buds. And last night it was pretty much the same. We met in Velocity bar and had some drinks and food. We talked and laughed for a few hours. We decided to leave earlier to avoid the crazies and cops but mother nature had a plan for us. It was pouring torrential rain, like it was the end of the world. Rain splashed down on Cochin in a fury and it thundered & there was lightning too. We had to wait a long time to hail an auto and we got quite wet. I reached home by 11pm and dried myself and then fell asleep only to wake up by 12:40 am. Then I watched some tv for a while until sleep came to me again.