India, Nov. 12 -- The rest of the world may herald the arrival of the New Year on 1st January but in my household (I am Gujarati by marriage), it has always been the day after Diwali that is celebrated as the first day of the New Year. The greeting we exchange with family and friends on this day says it all: "Saal Mubarak". That is to say, may the coming year be blessed.

Which is why, this is the day on which I draw up my list of New Year resolutions, determined that this year will be better than the one that has gone past. Unsurprisingly, only some of these stick while others fall by the wayside with the passage of time. But, for what it's worth, these are just some of my resolutions for this year.

No procrastinating. Sadly, over the y...