110- Small mercies
Technology has changed the world around us in ways that would have been unimaginable a few decades back. So much so, that it will be difficult to imagine a few year from now, that there ever existed a world without some of the most ubiquitous symbols of technological invasion. Let me give some examples.
Our children will shudder to think that a world existed without a 100 channel TV, that at one time there was no internet and hence no face book, mails, twitter and so on and so forth. Connectivity meant that a letter would reach in 3-4 weeks. The younger ones will look at us with disbelief that when we tell them that there was a world without gadgets and more importantly, not long ago, there was a life to be lived, without electricity. Lanterns and kerosene lamps were enough to provide with enough illumination to sit down for night long slog over and ‘burning the midnight oil’ was not a phrase but meant literally so.
I have a little over 400 letters neatly packed, that I had received from my friends as youngster, and think I must have written at least a similar number of those – I am keen to know what my daughter will say when she sees them a decade or so later. Students will recoil in horror to know that not very long ago, Google did not exist, and that one had to, perforce, visit a place called library. Control-Copy-Paste is no longer a sequence of function; it’s a verb – a sublime act of getting things done, without compunction or shackles of ethics. Most, if not all, children will never know what a two night-three day train travel in a second class compartment means, and all the joys it would bring – flights are convenient, but lack character and experience.
But the one thing that I fear the most being lost is the joy of smelling the pages of a new book. Nothing beats that aroma, the feel of crisp pages on a stampede, the thrill of writing your name on the first page and entering the make believe world of characters of a new story. Although I entered the world of books very later by the standards of my generation, I am thankful that I did when I see some who have let an entire life pass by without enjoying the universe of books. I wonder if book reading will survive the onslaught of technology, and even if it does, will the notepad/tablet ever be able to recreate the touch, feel and aroma of fresh pages of a new book, which though not a part of the plot, is intrinsic to the joy of book reading. I wish my daughter has an affair with books, just as I did, only earlier.
I do not have anything against technology, more so when I am convinced that human quest for comfort and convenience will keep fuelling technological advances and this juggernaut will keep rolling. But there are some things from the past which are worthy of being preserved and passed down to the next generation, not because of any material benefit or even meaningless sentimentality, but because they are so simple in construct, so pure in experience, that it aches even to imagine that it will be lost in the deluge of time. It is like a family treasure – priceless to where it belongs.
Guru
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs a child , I don't remember ever getting bored.A simple game of scrabble, chess or even a book sufficed to keep one occupied. These days, even a room full of expensive gadgets, games and books are not enough to keep a "bored" five year old amused. I guess the old adage holds good - "it takes a lot more to amuse a child than it did to educate his father".
ReplyDeleteMany summer evenings, during power cuts, were spent happily listening to grandparents or parents telling us stories. One didn't mind the sweltering heat or the pesky mosquitoes. Today, our children have got used to the clinical air conditioned environment so much, that tantrums are thrown if the a/c in the school bus does not work for one day!
Technolgy, no doubt, has given us many physical comforts, which help us save so much time and energy. But where and how is that time and energy spent?Our kids certainly don't need to be taught how to spend money. They need to be taught how to spend time. Money might buy them all the luxuries but if they don't learn to sit back and enjoy those luxuries, then we would have failed as parents in teaching them that all important art of "lutf uthaana" (Can't figure out if there is word which conveys the same meaning in the english language!! )
All these gadgets and technology were meant to simplify our lives.....but what I see is a far complicated life. The pressure to remain social has increased although human race has become a recluse....two friends sitting in the same room chatting through skype/G talk (LOL)...
ReplyDelete