NEW YEAR 2026: A fresh chapter for a changing society

Deba Prasad Misra

&

Dr Arunav Barua

“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning, but going on with all the wisdom that experience can instil in us.”

– Hal Borland

While this quote might suggest that the year is neither an end nor a beginning, one human emotion suggests the opposite. This is the human element of ‘hope’. Hope is that mighty emotion that never lets anything be the fatal end. Hope instils in us the wherewithal to brave circumstances, whatever they may be, however adverse the going. Hope is that human quality that lets us live on, in the face of hurdles, with an eye towards the solution. This requires the ability to learn that we can overcome any circumstance, and this ability is called ‘wisdom’, which our years on this planet bequeath upon us.

Before we delve upon the intricacies of this event, the New Year, let us throw a roving eye upon the year that was. 2025 has been an eventful year, if anything, and there have been a lot of happenings that have embroiled us in either joy or sorrow. Since we are citizens of the state of Assam, let us look at what 2025 has been for us in our state. The year started off in revelry and mirth, with the congregation of the largest Jhumur dance performance in February 2025. This was a Guinness World Record attempt in Guwahati with over 7500 dancers from the tea tribe community. If omens are anything to go by, the year seemed poised for more mirth and merriment. The first edition of the Guwahati Asian Film Festival (GAFF) was held in February 2025 at Jyoti Chiraban studio, Kahilipara, Guwahati.

The year promised to culminate into a celebration, but just as we were settling into the good tidings ushered in, the unthinkable happened. Zubeen Garg, the legendary singer and cultural icon, gave us a shock that we are still verily struggling to overcome and come to terms with. On the 19th of September, 2025, we were told that he is no more! A swimming accident which happened at a foreign location that seemed like fiction but was a reality none of us wanted to believe in. While Zubeen Garg was admired by all and sundry, the outpouring of grief that resulted was like an avalanche of emotions held back by the population of a state that had become used to the singer and his benign presence. No one could believe the aftermath of the news of his death. Millions congregated to bid farewell to the beloved singer, numbers that made the world stand up and notice! The rest of the country was flummoxed because none could believe the popularity of Zubeen Da in his home state. The masses that gathered were a surprise to the rest of the nation, and the world finally questioned, “Who is this man?” Assam answered, “He was our heart; he was the reason our collective heartbeats resonated with his songs; his very presence was magic.” We, the fans and admirers of Zubeen, still await justice for his having left us untimely.

While Zubeen Garg can never be forgotten, we lost a few luminaries that need mention. The flute player Deepak Sarma, who will be remembered for his adeptness at making the flute sing ethereal tunes, was another artist who left us untimely. Also the father figure of Nagara Naam, Ramcharan Bharali, a state treasure of the finer arts, left for his heavenly home, leaving a gap in the cultural landscape of the state.

New Year’s Day encourages a rare pause – a chance to look backward with gratitude and forward with intention. This brings us to Tennyson’s immortal lines: “Ring out the old, ring in the new. Ring, happy bells, across the snow. The year is going; let him go. Ring out the false, ring in the true.”

- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

With these lines we have to understand and come to the understanding that the year that was is now gone. While we need to imbibe in us the lessons that this passing year has taught us, we need to also look at the year that will be. We have to find the courage and the joy to celebrate a new beginning because, as Charles Lamb has expressed, “New Year’s Day is Everyman’s birthday.” So, we have to understand that however tedious the past year may have been, however dark the path, we have a new birthday with this New Year, one that the world celebrates together.

Many of us take stock of what we have learnt, the impediments we have overcome, etc. The New Year promises innovations, challenges and opportunities. Some tidings that have gladdened us need to be mentioned. For the youth and the populace, many new medical colleges and universities have come up.

The path ahead may be uncertain but reminds us that with hope, effort and imagination, the next chapter can be as bright and lustrous as the fireworks that welcomed it with joy and enthusiasm. The Assembly Elections that will be held in March-April 2026 are another hope for a government that we, as a populace, deserve, one that brings help and sustains our society and collective identity. AI has continued to integrate everyday routines, and more and more it is being seen that we are now dependent on this artificial intelligence for many daily tasks. Perhaps AI will morph into the controller from the controlled, but that is for the future to decide.

What we need is proper vision and an ethically healthy futuristic outlook which can courageously gallop ahead with the changing times in the new millennium. As we conclude, let us do so with a few necessary points: as we are becoming more and more urbanised, tree plantation and nature need to be of foremost importance to keep nature intact for the future generation. Quality healthcare is another sphere which needs to be looked into, as it affects the whole population without exception. As the sun rises on January 1, 2026, the world steps into another New Year carrying both familiar hopes and aspirations. New Year’s Day remains a moment of collective pause – an annual invitation to reflect on the journey behind us and look for the possibilities ahead. Let us hope that 2026 begins not simply as the date on the calendar, but as a turning point in how we shape and imagine our future.

(The writers can be reached at 6000377716 & 7578914637, respectively).