Every year begins with hope. Some start on a bright note and some don’t. But 2016, more than any other year, could well define our decade and lay the foundation for the next.
Not for nothing do they say 16 is sweet. There is no sweeping under the carpet the many issues that we will face as 2016 rolls out. With hotly contested elections in the offing, there will be moments that will seem to question the values that we hold beloved. And the terror group Islamic State may continue to wreak havoc.
Back home, there will be the motormouths who, it would appear for a frightening moment, will have free reign in the year to come also. Nor will intolerance and the debate over it disappear as we throw away the last sheet of the old calendar.
The imponderables — the monsoon, the state of the global economy and what it holds for us — are many. Some of our old bugbears will continue to haunt us. Will our civic infrastructure hold up as more and more Indians head for the cities? Can we stop the air that we breathe and the water that we drink from getting any dirtier?
Read:
Focus 2016: Saffron test for Left
Trump is the joker in Presidential race
Focus 2016: Our greying cities
Focus 2016: Excitement unlimited
The first page of the new calendar is that time of the year when we can write a new story. In this special supplement, we examine the issues that will dominate the headlines in 2016.
The year will not be short on excitement with elections to the four crucial states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and West Bengal. Elsewhere in the world will be the US Presidential election, and the winner could well determine the many forces that shape the world. We also take a special look at how the economy will perform as crude oil and commodities get cheaper and the rest of the world struggles with the numbers.
But it has been well said that life is livelier in the second half of the newspaper. We take a look at the many things that the world of science and technology holds for us this coming year. We have carefully short-listed the inventions and discoveries that will reach us in the 12 months ahead. We look at some of the most landmark releases of 2016 being churned out by Bollywood — what is life without the movies!
The year will host two of the biggest events in the calendar: The Olympics in Rio, Brazil, and the T20 Cricket World Cup at home. Expect quite a few absentees at work, and many bleary-eyed personnel. We also indulge in a bit of stargazing to see what the year may hold for all of us.
