New year comes with new routines, styles and goals. Here’s what to look forward to in 2019. By Team Viva
Why are New Year resolutions important? Why do people tend to change their habit patterns and try to re-structure them with the onset of a new date line? Because they bring in a chance to rejuvenate, recreate and look forward. As people’s preferences keep evolving, here’s what you can look forward to.
For the bookshelf
As the first month acts as host to a number of literature festivals like the Jaipur Literature Festival, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, Tata Steel Literary Festival, there will be numerous new book launches and prizes.
Veteran journalist and writer Kuldip Nayar’s On Leaders and Icons from Jinnah to Modi will be a posthumous release of his collection of India’s political and cultural life over the decades, recounting his experiences of meeting leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Narendra Modi.
We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls around the World by Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai, will be a follow-up of her bestselling memoir I am Malala. She introduces, in her book, some of the faces behind the statistics and news stories about the millions of people displaced worldwide. The book explores not only Yousafzai’s own story of adjustments to a new life while longing for home, but she also shares the personal stories of some of the incredible girls she had met on her various journeys — girls who have lost their community, relatives, and often the only world they’ve ever known.
The next in line explores answers around Dawood. How did he become the undisputed king of the Mumbai underworld? Who was his mentor? What was his process? The book, Dawood’s Mentor: The Man Who Made India’s Biggest Don, is a non-fiction account by crime writer S. Hussain Zaidi. It tells about how, when Dawood and Khalid (Khan Bachcha) met, they forged into an unlikely friendship and together set on a mission to crush, defeat and neutralise all mafia gangs in the city.
Prasoon Joshi’s next called Thinking Aloud: Reflections on India will also see its release in the month. In the book, Joshi’s musings are divided into four sections, each exploring a specific theme yet all of them tied together by a commonality. They discuss various ideas that Joshi had stumbled upon while interacting and being a part of various forums, cultural exchange programs, and literary festivals.
Through a combination of personal anecdotes with history and neuroscience, Creativity Unleashed by Gopi Krishnaswamy will aim to help readers understand that creativity, which is considered to be one of the most valuable skills to possess, is well within one’s reach.
Digital transformation
One of the biggest technological shifts in 2019, as predicted, will be fixing of 5G applications and mobile devices. According to Forbes, a plan towards setting up 5G has been made. It says that the year will be an “exciting” time for 5G and mobiles alike. There will be 5G finding its way into the upper corner of mobile devices, except for iPhone users, as for them, it is more likely going to happen in 2020 or later.
The next in line are the technological advancements through data, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). As per Forbes, with improved processing power that can increase machine learning, digital leaders will be seen investing in making more of all of their data and this will be done with machine learning and AI. It says that one per cent will grow to three or four per cent by 2020; which may seem small but is a massive increase in data utilisation.
Another new addition will be the smart speakers helping you learn another language. With the verbal translations and conversations, Google, for example is all set to make its assistant, converse in French and German languages other than English.
Better skincare
Even though organic and more herbal products have been around for a while, experts believe that 2019 will likely see a rise in plant-based skincare products. Moisturisers, face cleansers and facial scrubs made from fruit and green plants are predicted to clean out the shelves. Why? The harsh and potentially toxic chemicals in mainstream skincare products are becoming hard to justify, when there’s now so many gentle, natural and effective alternatives on the market.
Experts also believe that non-surgical cosmetic methods (like plastic surgery) will be the talk of town in 2019. The use of injectables, stem-cell experimentation as well as cooling and heating procedures are all set to make their mark in the beauty world.
Films and entertainment
Theatres are always on the list of everyone whether a kid or an adult. So let’s find out some most awaited films of 2019.
Kalank, directed by Abhishek Verman, stars Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Varun Dhawan, Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, among others. The film, slated to release in April, is based in the backdrop of 1940s and the Partition of India.
The next in line is Hrithik Roshan-starrer, Super 30, directed by Vikas Bahl, a biopic on the life of mathematician Anand Kumar. The mathematics genius from a modest family in Bihar, who is made to believe that only a King’s son can become a king, is on a mission to prove that even the poor man can create some of the world’s most genius minds. He starts a training program named ‘Super 30’ to help 30 IIT aspirants crack the entrance and make them successful professionals.
For all superhero-fantasy and action sequence lovers, Captain Marvel will be making its way to theatres. In the film, to be released in March, Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. It stars Brie Larson, Gemma Chan.
Food movements
The meal on one’s plate varies from person to person. Here’s how food experts believe a change will come about in consumer eating habits in 2019.
With an eco-friendly wave taking over the food industry, zero-waste movement and sustainability factors are expected to take over people’s food eating habits. Experts believe that 2019 is going to be the year where sustainability and looking for chemical-free foods are at the core of how food is approached.
