WHERE ARE WE? It's a question that we customarily ask at all turning points of the years. And, now at the fag-end of 2006 and at the threshold of 2007, it is again time to take stock where we - the people of the world and India - stand as time roller-coasts into another year of the millennium. We ask this question once again because we must know what time will do to us in the unknown days. This knowing gives us a foresight and a preparedness to take on the odds and the challenges. So, we, like every year, look back and reassess all that has slipped off from our consciousness and memory in our fast-changing world. As we do that, we find 2006 was another year that affirmed we are stuck on many fronts and, in fact, some situations have assumed ominous proportions - both at the planet and the country levels.
The year tells you we are deeper than ever into crises despite the million feel-good images coming to us. From Iraq to expanding nuclear league to one of worst global warming years to rising AIDS were powerful enough antidotes to the marketers-driven world's attempt to cover up the seamier sides with all the colours, jingles and the bangs. It's time to be realistic. That's what Rewind 2006 tells you. Get prepared for future.
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| Back in 2006 |
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| Two of 06-kind: Civic & Estilo |
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| Two new car models made an entry in 2006 - Honda Civic and Zen Estilo. Coming next in the Indian car market are models from Volkswagen and BMW, which will make 2007 another good year for cars. |
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| Year 06: Who said what |
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| There were many interesting observations made on happenings of the closing year by politicians, writers, media analysts and observes. Here are some excerpts from pieces that commented on milestones of the year and prospects for India in the future. |
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| India timeline: Glory & gloom
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| Year 2006 will go down in history for India as another year of tragedies and triumphs. Here are some defining moments in the history of 2006. |
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| 2006: A year of cheers and fears
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| Much of what happened in 2006 have the potential to put India in the top bracket. But there were also trends that stoked the perennial fears. Look back and there are reasons to say cheers, but not without apprehensions. |
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| 2006: World grappling with crises
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| Old problems and new continued to stare in the face of the world on the verge of another decisive year. A lot that happened in 06, will shape the times to come - be it the strategic shift in Asia, the continuing engagements in Iraq or N Korea's N-test. |
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| Made in 06 Bollywood
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| Keeping pace with the change across sectors in India, Bollywood released in 2006 mega films that showed how much it had narrowed the gap with Hollywood in terms of production techniques. |
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| Orwell Prize a serendipitous gift, says Delia
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| Delia Jarrett-Macauley uniquely demonstrated the Orwellian percept of turning "political writing into an art" and won the 2006 George Orwell Prize for her novel, Moses, Citizen and Me. An interview with the novelist. |
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| No mercy for the merciless
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| Terror attacks come more from mindset than existential problems. This wicked and evil mindset must be crushed to keep 2007 and beyond from repeating 2006 and before. |
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| Education in 06: Reservation can ruin India
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| What educational reservation can do may not be visible now. But it has the potential to ruin the nation. Can we leave the politicians alone to take such liberties to serve their power interests? |
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| New Year alarm: Cyber crime |
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| One of the prime concerns while moving into the New Year is cyber crime, which recorded a rise in 2006. With upswing in online transactions and e-commerce, there is a need to contain the new breed of educated criminals. |
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| Bollywood reel-outs: The Top 10 |
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| The past year of 2006 was a great Bollywood year when some really outstanding movies hit the screen. Here's a pick of the year's top 10 movies - and also 5 that failed to make the mark. |
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