2018 can be summed up in one word - Toxic.
And there are several reasons why 'toxic' gained the top spot as the Word of the Year. It was everywhere. Our atmosphere, environment, society, politics, cinema and culture, beliefs and traditions - you name it.
The year in question saw violent sways in caste and electoral politics. While we saw humanity coming together for a united cause at some instances, others cast a blotch on our ethos and questioned our very existence as a social being.
In Kerala, Madhu, Kevin, and Abhimanyu will forever be remembered as victims of violence, caused when people took matters into their own hands. A toxic caste divide to was at play.
Calamities that played havoc
The Nipah virus shook the state in early May after its sudden outbreak, which took 17 lives in the districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram. A relatively unknown virus and the inability to identify its antidote made the Nipah scare real. Hundreds were put under observation, while a thousand others were quarantined. A coordinated effort by the centre and state governments and a hugely commendable work by the Health Department ensured that the outbreak was contained, and well within our control.
Reeling under the effects of a deadly outbreak, the state was further drowned in an excess of 75 percent downpour, which caused our water bodies to overflow, and fill up the dams to their maximum capacity.
Dubbed as the greatest foods in a century, the deluge crippled the state and bought its whole running mechanism to a standstill. Inland connectivity suffered when an estimated 10,000 km of road network and hundreds of rural and urban structures were either partially damaged or fully destroyed by a surge of the murky, toxic waters.
The airport at Nedumbassery, India's fourth busiest in terms of international traffic, shut down its operations for almost 2 weeks due to heavy water logging on its runways and adjacent terminals.
With little means to tackle such a fury of nature, the state had turned to the centre, which pressed the NDRF and Armed Police Forces into action, along with boats, choppers, aircraft and teams for medical aid, rescue and relief.
But it were the fishermen who had emerged as the unsung heroes, braving all odds, manoeuvring their boats through turbulent waters. Their contribution to the rescue and relief operations as first responders, saved the lives of about 65,000 men, women and children, according to official figures.
The Kerala floods saw humanity coming together, helping one another. The young and old joined hands to coordinate in the disaster management effort. "This is a sign that the future of our state is safe in the hands of a responsible youth," remarked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
And soon after the floods, relief had come pouring in from all around the world. The UAE had reportedly offered a ₹700 crore assistance to undertake the massive relief and rehabilitation effort. The Centre refused to accept the proposal due to existing policies that required funding exclusively through domestic channels. Both parties locked horns on the matter, leading to a toxic Centre-State relationship.
Verdicts that split us
A new found unity was immediately cut short by a landmark verdict by the Supreme Court that allowed women of all ages groups entry into Sabarimala, the hill shrine of Swami Ayyappa.
A holy sanctum had now turned into a conflict zone, where political parties shifted alliances and took stands; their eyes steadily gazed on the 2019 elections.
Politics had slowly overshadowed tradition, and it had become a case of faith versus law.
Three months down the line, the tension still hasn't eased, and a toxic disharmony still looms even while the 'Women's Wall' is being formed in the name of renaissance.
Other notable verdicts by the apex court were the decriminalisation of consensual same-sex and quashing adultery as a criminal offence.
Affairs overseas
Elsewhere around the world, we saw some ice melt when the two Koreas made an agreement of peace after a historic meeting in March, that formally ended the Korean War.
Oman, known for being a mediator in a tense middle east region, hosted the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was received by the premier Sultan Qaboos Bin Said.
The Irish Parliament voted in favour of scrapping a constitutional ban on abortion, while the Chinese had claimed to make the world's first births of genetically altered babies.
But an estimated 1.9 million children were made to starve in conflict-ridden Yemen, where a toxic proxy war is taking place between power-hungry Arab states.
The Saudi regime had to face flak when they'd knowingly assassinated one of their own, journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in a cinema-style murder at its embassy in Turkey.
Vicious net
Last year we'd seen Facebook and Google, corporate giants from California, having to sit in front of a Senate hearing on charges of electoral influence and a serious data breach had threatened to expose data of millions of its users.
The California wildfires, the earthquakes in Java, the volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunamis in Indonesia and the hurricanes in the United States had brought the world to tears. A rather toxic environment.
All of humanity cried tears of joy when 12 boys of the Wild Boars football team along with their coach were rescued from a Thai cave after weeks of daring rescue operations by experts from around the globe.
We witnessed devotees clad in black and protestors donned in yellow.
Eighty-two bold women climbed the Palais des Festival at Cannes, in the #metoo movement, the strongest-ever movement against sexual assault and harassment. The movement had its ripples in every part of the world, ousting many prominent figures in position.
Lost for ever
We lost music stalwarts like Aretha Franklin, Avicci and our beloved Balabhaskar. Burt Reynolds, Sridevi, Captain Raju and Mrinal Sen in Cinema. Anthony Bourdain who had roamed all the 'parts unknown,' and Stephen Hawkings, who had seen through the cosmos, known unknown and beyond. Stan Lee, who had given us a whole new universe to marvel at, too departed.
Games we play
France lifted the World Cup, while Kerala, the Santosh Trophy. Kohli continued to dominate in cricket. They held our flag high - Mary Kom at the boxing ring, Neeraj Chopra in javellin, Mirabhai Chanu and Jeremy Lalrinnunga in weightlifting. Manu Bhaker and Anish Bhanwala did us proud at the shooting range.
PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal inched it out at the racket court.
Save our souls
The adjective 'toxic' is derived from the Latin 'toxicum' meaning 'poison.'
Lord Shiva had swallowed 'halahala,' the dangerous potion capable of wiping out the whole of creation. But he had squeezed his throat in order to prevent the very poison from descending into his body.
2018 was certainly a year that had its toll on each of us in one way or another.
Let's not get consumed by its existence but, rather move forward and welcome a new year with renewed belief, faith and hope.
Happy New Year