Happy New Year 2026

Happy New Year 2026

Dear Friends,

Yes, I'm back.

For those who track such things, I started writing my New Year mail in 2006. Which makes this a tradition old enough to drink but still making questionable decisions. I took a four-year break from 2022 to 2025 for multiple reasons, some planned, some forced, some that only make sense in hindsight.

Some of you noticed. Some of you assumed I had finally achieved inner peace. I had not. I had just misplaced the motivation along with a few chargers.

2025, for me, was the year I accepted a hard truth: I am officially in my late 40s. Close enough to 50 that my body has started preparing for it without consulting me. I now get off the bed or sofa very slowly, like I am buffering. And if I forget my glasses, I am not just squinting. I am functionally blind.

I am still not sure whether this qualifies as a mid-life crisis, but I did decide to focus seriously on my health. Not in a dramatic, shave-your-head way. More in a “let’s see if this body lasts a little longer” way.

I tried many things. I worked out more regularly. I learned new words like protein intake, body fat percentage and recovery. I became more conscious about portion control. I increased protein and fibre, reduced overall carb portions, reduced deep fried stuff and discovered that sugar is apparently everywhere, including places where I was emotionally attached to it. I reduced alcohol, increased movement and even flirted with the idea of sleeping on time.

Some things stuck. Some things did not.

10km brisk walking and 7–8 hours of sleep surprisingly did. Mostly because once you are walking with just an Apple Watch for music, you physically cannot check your phone. And when you lie in bed with a book instead of your phone, you accidentally fall asleep like it is 1995.

I also learned that consistency is far more effective than enthusiasm, especially after the first week when enthusiasm usually leaves quietly without informing you.

The biggest learning was this. Health is not about becoming a different person. It is about making small deals with your current self and actually honouring them.

And it did help. I reached 69 kgs, which I was probably last at around 20 years ago. I can now get into slim fits once in a while if I really try, although the December binging and New Year parties have already started undoing some of that progress with impressive efficiency.

The intention of sharing this is not to brag, but to share what worked for me, in case it helps someone who has been waiting for the perfect Monday to begin.

So, if 2025 was about health, 2026 is about happiness.

Not the loud, announcement-worthy kind. The quieter kind. The kind that comes from better conversations, fewer obligations, more movement, less guilt, familiar people and the occasional indulgence enjoyed without negotiation or justification.

Writing this mail is one of those things that makes me happy. It also makes me nostalgic.

This whole habit started in 2006, which reminded me of a trip I took that year to China.

During one of my visits to Nanjing, I wandered into a tiny local market and stumbled upon a beautiful little tea shop. The shop was filled with delicate teapots, which looked even more delicate because the owner was a stout, formidable lady who clearly ran that place with authority.

I spotted one teapot I absolutely loved. Terracotta intricately designed and far more elegant than anything I deserved. Naturally, I asked the price in English.

She responded in fluent silence. So, I did what global trade has always relied on. I used the universal sign language for money, rubbing my index finger and thumb.

She smiled and took out the calculator and typed 880.

At this point, the salesperson in me wanted to negotiate, but the realist in me knew I was losing badly in a foreign country with no shared language and zero leverage.

I took the calculator and typed 300. She looked at it and laughed. Not a polite laugh. A confident, slightly amused laugh.

Then came the plot twist.

She picked up my chosen teapot, placed it on the floor and stood on it to demonstrate its sturdiness. Full body weight. No cracks. No drama. Just a very clear message. And let me remind you, she was a stout lady.

I was impressed. Slightly terrified. Completely sold.

After a few more intense rounds of calculator ping-pong, we settled at 520. We both smiled. We both walked away convinced we had out negotiated the other.

I left with a teapot, a great story and a lesson I still carry.

You do not always need a shared language to tell a story or make a connection. You just need intent, patience and a little creativity. And occasionally, a calculator.

Every year, I scroll through my list of contacts and try to remember where we met. College, work, travel, introductions that began with “you should meet” and somehow never ended.

Some of you I speak to often. Some I haven’t met or spoken for years. Some of you I get to meet when I travel, some of you when you travel to Bangalore. Some just catch up over beers or tea. Some of you hear from me only once a year, usually around now, usually when a post like this shows up uninvited.

But every time we have met, over coffee, beer, tea or chance encounters in different cities, it has brought me happiness. And I want to continue that.

So just one question this year.

What is one thing you want to do more of in 2026 that genuinely makes you happy?

And here’s:

Something Old.

Same format. Similar post. Same sender.

Something New

I have started storytelling professionally.

Yes, apparently, I have been doing it long enough to charge for it now.

https://www.sudipdutta.com/

Something Borrowed

The question above.

Something Blue

Lost something, regaining happiness. 

Mail me if you feel like it:

1. With your response to "What is one thing you want to do more of in 2026 that genuinely makes you happy?" or

2. To just say "Hi" or

3. Just like that to let me know you are alive and kicking or

4. Just so that I have your latest and working email id. Do not if you do not. But history says many of you will, and those replies usually make my day far more reliably than any health app ever has.

If you are on this familiar, exclusive, hard-to-get-off list. Some get added. Some quietly disappear when email IDs retire. If you wish not to receive this next year, do write back and tell me. I will try to respect it. My 20-year track record suggests cautious optimism.

Wishing you good health, lighter days, strong laughs, and at least one habit that survives beyond January. Ideally past Republic Day.

Happy New Year 2026. Cheers

Sudip