It’s always ‘that time of the year’ in my life if I come to think of it. In January it’s time for New Year resolutions, in February it’s Googlee’s birthday and then the hateful Valentine’s Day, March brings a month tied to bad memories, April ushers in rainfall and Easter, May is the brokest month in my calendar because from 1^st to 31^st almost everyone I know seems to be celebrating something that warrants a gift, June is my birthday month, July denotes the beginning of 2 months worth of school holidays, August is not as regal as it sounds, September is yet another month tied to memories I’m trying to get rid of, October ushers in rain again and I happen to like the rain followed by November which is birthday month for my Dream Girl and then December that comes in a close second to May in terms of being broke.

There. That’s my whole year sorted with lots happening in the 52 weeks and if you want to look at the bits that make the bigger picture, then we’re starting to glaze over with the 365 days. It’s that time of the year when journalists start looking back at the year and summarising it for us, and you think – Gosh! Did that happen THIS year? Seems like ages ago.

As with every year, I feel that this year has also flown by. My personal growth has surpassed any definitive goals I might have set for myself. By that fancy language I mean I’ve put on a lot of weight if you’re talking about personal growth. Clearly we’re well paid at Radio Africa, as many might think! On the other hand, I feel my greatest achievement in 2010 has been that I learnt to speak Hindi. It may not be a big deal but this year I had HUGE shoes to fill. Jasmine does a specialised Hindi show on East FM every Sunday and for most of this year I had to sit in for her as she had a rough pregnancy and was told to be on total bed rest. I cannot begin to tell you how hard it was for me to fill those shoes. Silsile has always been my favourite show so sitting in for Jasmine was a huge honour but I was seriously scared.

Well, the good man Patrick, or PQ as we all know him as, has always said impossible is nothing and he’s damn right. I learnt to speak Hindi by watching movies and repeating the dialogues from my favourite movies. I also started talking to myself a lot more than usual, in Hindi, but of course. My kids thought I’d lost the plot and started replying back to me in Hindi instead of our mother tongue Punjabi.

Many were impressed with my new-found language skill and helped me through. It was really heart-warming to receive encouragement from the lovely listeners who would indulge me if I switched to Punjabi halfway through the conversation. I still grin like a child when complimented on my Hindi speaking skills because I know I really made an effort and didn’t give up.

A lot more has happened this year and perhaps in the next two weeks a lot more will happen so I’m not going to get into one of those listed modes where I’ll tell you what happened to me this year. All I’ll say is that it’s been a wonderful year despite the ups and downs; I’ve lost a lot but in terms of gaining, my weight didn’t let me down. I forgave and moved on but still haven’t learnt to forget. And I don’t know if this is the best thing or the worst thing ever but I didn’t buy footwear this year. If you know me, you’ll think I’m ill. I used to buy at least 4 or 5 pairs a month…

Have a great start to 2011. I might as well go buy a nice pair of footwear for myself. I have a reputation to live up to.