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For all those who watched the movie 2012 with rapt attention, hearts accelerating at 80 kilometres an hour-December 21st is just around the corner. Despite the fact that 2012 was a movie that wasn’t even worth a tub of popcorn, it echoed the thoughts of what a majority of seemingly sane people have buried at the back of their stressed minds. Even for those who don’t believe in this apocalypse looming large overhead, the small voice at the back refuses to stop asking the dreaded question, “What if…?”

When the announcement of the Mayan calendar prediction was first made, critics and believers engaged in a furore of intense debates about the end of the world. Mexico’s tourism agency began expecting a whopping 52 million visitors during the last few months of 2012. Back in India, a certain media channel promoted this concept by announcing ‘breaking news’ for almost ten days at a stretch. Mayanist scholars themselves are sceptical about this terrifying and, literally, life shaking prediction and state that this idea might actually misrepresent Mayan culture. Yet, most dreamers and romantics prefer to etch poetry on the walls of monuments with touching phrases like ‘U r myn til 2012, evn wen d wurld closes its eyez on uz jaanu..’ as a testament of their commitment and belief in love, apart from ruining public property.

As laughable as this matter may be, scientists as well as astrologers predict certain amount of turbulence during this year. With natural calamities set to rise, one can never be sure when an earthquake or tsunami may wipe out major cities and even countries. As cyclone Sandy sweeps the East coast of the US, one does wonder how many more calamities are in store. Sandy may be a natural event, and yet so many others are rising due to excessive human intervention. However, no matter how many indications mother Earth sends us, people would rather believe in ancient signs and make elaborate plans on how to celebrate the ‘end of an era’ than actually take some steps towards saving the environment. As most people await the arrival of 21st December, the question turns towards whether we learn something from this over-hyped event after it passes us and begin working towards a better future, or if people celebrate life for a week and then go back to living the in the same extravagant fashion. Though we seem to be leaning towards the latter option, there is hope that the same miracle, which could save the world from ending too soon, will work its magic twice. All said and done, this interpretation is subject to change. If the Mayans, Chicken Little, and Adele were right, then the sky is truly falling.