It’s funny how the world works. Sometimes, all it takes is a very everyday event to make you realize that all this while; you had just been looking, without really seeing.
Little waifs selling nick-knacks at traffic intersections is a very everyday sight, at lest in this mighty country of contradictions. In fact we’ve become so used to them, that they kind of have become like house elves in a Harry Potter book- always scuttling about, but never really visible.
I was at the intersection near the Forum in Koramangala that day. While waiting for the traffic from the other end to stop, I noticed this little punk across the road. He looked like spirited imp, in his rather over-sized clothes, well worn, of that murky urchin colour, that is not quite grey, not entirely brown. Now, this one was prancing happily in this side, with his sack of sellables, till he reached a waiting car. Then suddenly his happy expression changed. It became desperate, desolate picture of the poor hungry urchin on the road. The homeless, hapless orphan, forced to the streets, in an age when he should have been in school. Transformation was complete and he played his part well.
As the light turned green again, he hopped back to his elfish oblivion again, clutching the loose change in his hand, waiting for the next traffic light, next transformation.
As I watched this li’l drama I realized that what I felt for this kid was not sympathy. It was a strange kind of respect. This child, all of perhaps six, had already learnt to live, he had learnt that important lesson in life that most of us don’t, at least not until it’s too late. That this world allows the survival, only of the fittest.
He had figured that he lives in a world that not only is unfair, but is also never unfair in his favour. Had accepted that to live, he had to put on an act. So life pulled a past one on him, he just had to pull a faster one on life.
It’s funny how the world works. Most of us- the so called “privileged kids”- are expected to be good at dealing with challenges of life. That’s what we are trained for by parents, drilled at school by teachers. We are told what to expect in the “real world”, and for nearly 15-20 years, trained to face it. But still, when the fabled reality finally strikes, most of us are knocked silly.
No one warned these kids. No one trained them to face the “real world”. They were born into it. It’s the only one they know. Yet they deal with it, everyday, day after day.
These li’l elves are survivors. Brave brand of fighters whom no one applauds, no one thinks of giving award to. And they do it without whining. Because they know no alternative. They live their lives, from one stop at the intersection to another.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Friday, June 23, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
U Know U Are In Kerala Again
Well, was there again! Plus this seems to be the season for sequels. Ice Age 2, X-Men 3 ( The Last Stand, apparently. From now on, they sit. Ok, sorry, real PJ), n if you thought sequels and trilogies were boring, there's always Ocean's Thirteen (now this has possibilities, I'll be looking forward to an Ocean's 56, but that's next year), KKRISHHH (er...no comments!). So I wouldn't want my poor humble blog to feel left out would I? So after the phenomenal (spelled wrong??gosh!don't tell anyone I studied Eng Lit in coll!!) sucess of the original post (yeah right!) here's the much awaited sequel (actually not, but what the heck, no one's gonna sue me for saying that)
So, u know that u are in Kerala again, when,
U notice that though most school don't extend their uniforms to shoes, they will however, insist that girls wear big fat ribbons on there thick coconut oiled black hair.
There will be atleast 3 strikes/bandhs/harthals every month. If everyone's having a busy month they may settle for just a 'panni-mudakku' or only one harthal. And they are all different things by definition mind you, even though, eventually it is just a reason to be lazy.
All the shops will be closed by 7 p.m, 8, if you happen to live in the most happening part of the town.
You will find Mohanlal, or Mammootti, or Kavya Madhavan grinning at you from top of sign boards of every other shop. Current favourite, I believe is Prithviraj, even though he is faaar behind dear old Lalettan (copyright violation, owe this to Sreejith)
You start confusing saree shops...er showrooms, or jewelleries with shopping malls. How very stupid of you. Just because the the saree showrooms n jewelleries are spread across spaces as big as a football stadium, and are 5 floors high, each specialised for a specific kind of saree or jewellery, customised for your comfort, does NOT mean that you think they are shopping malls. Seriously, they should give out store maps that have a red cross marked saying 'you are here' and another one saying 'you'd want to get your ass here' before they let people into a Joy Allukas or a Kalyan silks or sundry other mazes pretending to be showrooms.
This is the sure shot way of knowing that u really are in Kerala. You will find 'showrooms' for umbrellas, with high-tech umbies that come in all shapes, colours n sizes possible- With lights, with automatic open-shut buttons, hands-free ones, that sing when you open them, ones that jump up and do a li'l polka dance when u close them. And there will be familiy loyalties running across generations towards a particular brand name. Their ad campaigns can give Coke n Pepsi run for their money. "Mazza Mazza, Kudaa Kudaa. Mazza vannal Popy Kudaa"
This again more applicable for Kottayam-Cochin side. Every small town junction will have a 'Kurishupalli' regardless of whether there is a real 'palli' (for non-mallus, that's church) around or not.
People will still stare if you wear jeans and a short tee. Sometimes if are really unlucky you will meet jerks who will leer at you in such a way that you wonder if u have you cloths inside out, or if ur fly's open. :( :(
You will find atleast 2 bus stands in every town, no matter how small the town is- one for 'private buses' and another for 'transport buses'(these are KSRTC buses). Nevermind the fact that both the buses are used for 'transport' :D
Buses will have bells, with a loong rope running through one side, that the conductor can tug, to signal stop or go to the driver. One ring means stop, two to go. Pretty innovative :)
Killies. No, I don't mean the winged variety. This is the post given to that additional guy in most of the 'private buses' in Kerala. Why a guy would want his job description to mean 'small bird' is beyond me, but this is ur friendly neighbourhood chap who stands on the bus ka steps, helps the passengers climb in n climb out, helps poor ladies by pulling up their luggage into the bus, helps old ladies, by pulling them into the bus, n also tries mild forms of firting with pretty young things. Generally tells u to move in, make space for others, hold on for dear life. Tells the driver when to stop, when to move on. Very unique, n very special to Kerala.
There will be associations, and cooperative societies for everything. Last time I went, the state conference for the all Kerala bakers' association, innovatively named "Bake' was being held in Ernakulam. 8
To God's own country...And to His own humour sense ! :)
So, u know that u are in Kerala again, when,
U notice that though most school don't extend their uniforms to shoes, they will however, insist that girls wear big fat ribbons on there thick coconut oiled black hair.
There will be atleast 3 strikes/bandhs/harthals every month. If everyone's having a busy month they may settle for just a 'panni-mudakku' or only one harthal. And they are all different things by definition mind you, even though, eventually it is just a reason to be lazy.
All the shops will be closed by 7 p.m, 8, if you happen to live in the most happening part of the town.
You will find Mohanlal, or Mammootti, or Kavya Madhavan grinning at you from top of sign boards of every other shop. Current favourite, I believe is Prithviraj, even though he is faaar behind dear old Lalettan (copyright violation, owe this to Sreejith)
You start confusing saree shops...er showrooms, or jewelleries with shopping malls. How very stupid of you. Just because the the saree showrooms n jewelleries are spread across spaces as big as a football stadium, and are 5 floors high, each specialised for a specific kind of saree or jewellery, customised for your comfort, does NOT mean that you think they are shopping malls. Seriously, they should give out store maps that have a red cross marked saying 'you are here' and another one saying 'you'd want to get your ass here' before they let people into a Joy Allukas or a Kalyan silks or sundry other mazes pretending to be showrooms.
This is the sure shot way of knowing that u really are in Kerala. You will find 'showrooms' for umbrellas, with high-tech umbies that come in all shapes, colours n sizes possible- With lights, with automatic open-shut buttons, hands-free ones, that sing when you open them, ones that jump up and do a li'l polka dance when u close them. And there will be familiy loyalties running across generations towards a particular brand name. Their ad campaigns can give Coke n Pepsi run for their money. "Mazza Mazza, Kudaa Kudaa. Mazza vannal Popy Kudaa"
This again more applicable for Kottayam-Cochin side. Every small town junction will have a 'Kurishupalli' regardless of whether there is a real 'palli' (for non-mallus, that's church) around or not.
People will still stare if you wear jeans and a short tee. Sometimes if are really unlucky you will meet jerks who will leer at you in such a way that you wonder if u have you cloths inside out, or if ur fly's open. :( :(
You will find atleast 2 bus stands in every town, no matter how small the town is- one for 'private buses' and another for 'transport buses'(these are KSRTC buses). Nevermind the fact that both the buses are used for 'transport' :D
Buses will have bells, with a loong rope running through one side, that the conductor can tug, to signal stop or go to the driver. One ring means stop, two to go. Pretty innovative :)
Killies. No, I don't mean the winged variety. This is the post given to that additional guy in most of the 'private buses' in Kerala. Why a guy would want his job description to mean 'small bird' is beyond me, but this is ur friendly neighbourhood chap who stands on the bus ka steps, helps the passengers climb in n climb out, helps poor ladies by pulling up their luggage into the bus, helps old ladies, by pulling them into the bus, n also tries mild forms of firting with pretty young things. Generally tells u to move in, make space for others, hold on for dear life. Tells the driver when to stop, when to move on. Very unique, n very special to Kerala.
There will be associations, and cooperative societies for everything. Last time I went, the state conference for the all Kerala bakers' association, innovatively named "Bake' was being held in Ernakulam. 8
To God's own country...And to His own humour sense ! :)
Monday, May 29, 2006
Things To Do Before I Die
This is not a tag...I jus wanted to put it down. Dreams, all of us have them. Different dreams. Some of them change as we grow up. Some don't. Most of them may remain jus that- dreams. And some come true. I've got my own list...things I really really wanna do before I die...n thanks moi, for this post.
Go to Venice...
I've always wanted to, ever since I found out bout this place for the first time. And that was when I was in 2nd std. Travel in a gondola, with the gondolier singing his song...in a language I dont understand, the feeling I may. There is no one in particular I wanna go with...but if I have someone along with me, I'd wanted it to be someone who'd understand what I see....
Get completely drunk
I drink, but I dont get drunk. Because I dont like making a fool outta myself, in front of people. So I wanna get so drunk, that I dunno what I am doing. I wanna kiss a complete stranger, hurl abuses, dance like a girl possessed.
Trust someone with my life
I've issues with trust. I let people close, but not too close. I trust my friends, but if u lose my trust once, then its difficult to get it back. People I've really really trusted ve let me down before. But I've also lived with it, n not be bothered too much. For once I wanna trust someone with everything I've...so much that I that trust breaks, I will too. For good.
Fall in love
Madly. Completely. It'd be nice if the guy I fell in love with feels the same bout me too. But even if he doesn't, I still wanna get to know that crazy/beautiful feeling that everyone's so ga-ga about. I wanna feel what it is like to feel SO much for a person. To care so much, that everything else feels inconsequential.
Become a columnist
I wanna write. No, I have to write.That is the one single passion I ve in life. Only thing that I really, fiercely care about. And I like people to read what I write. That was the reason for journalism, but the cynicism of those in the profession shook me. I didnt wanna become someone who lost the joy in life. So well, a columnist. So I can write what I want to. Talk about things I care, without restrictions, or editors to please.
Make my parents proud
I mean really, really proud. So far, I've always followed my dreams. Unfortunately, my dreams dont match with those of my parents'. They'd rather have me be successful the unconventional way. But they have never forced me to do something I wouldn't like. They have always given me options, told me what they'd like me to chose, but left me the option of choosing the other. And supported me. And, been proud in my acheivement. But I know that somewhere in their hearts, they still wish for a different daughter. And that hurts. So for once, I wanna do something that will make them proud, n really really happy-proud. I dunno what that is...but someday...
Travel all around the country...alone
I wanna see whole of this country that I so proud of. N not thru the eyes of a tour guide. Not through a package luxury tour. I wanna get a jeep, pack off few cloths in a back pack, n go see the hearts of India...the forests in Assam, leh, go trekking, walking in the woods, live with locals in an obsecure village hidden away from the modern world...
Get a house by a beach...
Not a crowded beach. Not a huge house. Just some place where I can sit out on the porch, n see the waves wash up. Where I can sit with a mug of coffee in my hand, watch the rain drops fall in the sea n be lost. Where I can talk the night away...feel all n nothing...
Free fall...
bunjee jump into the water...
Learn how to swim...
Make someone's life worthwhile...
Adopt a child...
Buy ice cream for a kid on the road...
Write a love story...
Get lost in a strange country n be rescued by a kind stranger...
Be stranded in a Forrest...
Meet a murderer...
Live...n then die...n see who all come to my funeral. Who all cry. N who all say, thank god...
Go to Venice...
I've always wanted to, ever since I found out bout this place for the first time. And that was when I was in 2nd std. Travel in a gondola, with the gondolier singing his song...in a language I dont understand, the feeling I may. There is no one in particular I wanna go with...but if I have someone along with me, I'd wanted it to be someone who'd understand what I see....
Get completely drunk
I drink, but I dont get drunk. Because I dont like making a fool outta myself, in front of people. So I wanna get so drunk, that I dunno what I am doing. I wanna kiss a complete stranger, hurl abuses, dance like a girl possessed.
Trust someone with my life
I've issues with trust. I let people close, but not too close. I trust my friends, but if u lose my trust once, then its difficult to get it back. People I've really really trusted ve let me down before. But I've also lived with it, n not be bothered too much. For once I wanna trust someone with everything I've...so much that I that trust breaks, I will too. For good.
Fall in love
Madly. Completely. It'd be nice if the guy I fell in love with feels the same bout me too. But even if he doesn't, I still wanna get to know that crazy/beautiful feeling that everyone's so ga-ga about. I wanna feel what it is like to feel SO much for a person. To care so much, that everything else feels inconsequential.
Become a columnist
I wanna write. No, I have to write.That is the one single passion I ve in life. Only thing that I really, fiercely care about. And I like people to read what I write. That was the reason for journalism, but the cynicism of those in the profession shook me. I didnt wanna become someone who lost the joy in life. So well, a columnist. So I can write what I want to. Talk about things I care, without restrictions, or editors to please.
Make my parents proud
I mean really, really proud. So far, I've always followed my dreams. Unfortunately, my dreams dont match with those of my parents'. They'd rather have me be successful the unconventional way. But they have never forced me to do something I wouldn't like. They have always given me options, told me what they'd like me to chose, but left me the option of choosing the other. And supported me. And, been proud in my acheivement. But I know that somewhere in their hearts, they still wish for a different daughter. And that hurts. So for once, I wanna do something that will make them proud, n really really happy-proud. I dunno what that is...but someday...
Travel all around the country...alone
I wanna see whole of this country that I so proud of. N not thru the eyes of a tour guide. Not through a package luxury tour. I wanna get a jeep, pack off few cloths in a back pack, n go see the hearts of India...the forests in Assam, leh, go trekking, walking in the woods, live with locals in an obsecure village hidden away from the modern world...
Get a house by a beach...
Not a crowded beach. Not a huge house. Just some place where I can sit out on the porch, n see the waves wash up. Where I can sit with a mug of coffee in my hand, watch the rain drops fall in the sea n be lost. Where I can talk the night away...feel all n nothing...
Free fall...
bunjee jump into the water...
Learn how to swim...
Make someone's life worthwhile...
Adopt a child...
Buy ice cream for a kid on the road...
Write a love story...
Get lost in a strange country n be rescued by a kind stranger...
Be stranded in a Forrest...
Meet a murderer...
Live...n then die...n see who all come to my funeral. Who all cry. N who all say, thank god...
Friday, May 05, 2006
The Biggest Reality Show Ever…
There are some days that just knock u off your feet. Some days when u just wake up with a smile on our face, not really knowing that it will the only one on your face the entire day. Some days when everything just seems to go wrong, as though the whole universe just conspired to make you feel utterly miserable. That was last Sunday. And that was the last post.
Ever get this feeling that you’re watching your own life happen from outside? No, I don’t mean to ask if u have suffered a mild case of dissassociative disorder. Just that at times, u just feel that things happening to you, are not really happening to u. they are not really real. Well, if you have never felt that way, I’d request u to stop reading right here. I wouldn’t want u to think that I’m a raving lunatic. Neither do I want to put ideas into your head.
Well, this feeling that I get once in a while, often gets me thinking. What the hell is reality anyways. Who decides what is real n what is science fiction? I mean, matrix could be real. So could Hogwarts. Sure, now u are thinking, “ Yeah right, and the moon is made of blue cheese, n clouds are made of kurlo pillows. This kid’s gone way off the rocker.” Its convenient right? We have made categories for everyone to fit in. Even for those who don’t want to- they are the miss-fits. The radicals. If someone says or believes in something that doesn’t fit into the system, they are immediately cast away as schizophrenics, maniacs. The Not-normals.
This brings us back to my original question. Who decides what is normal? Whose reality are we living anyways? I remember one day in college, tsu, me and killi had this HUGE debate over this. Well, mostly it was killi n me, with tsu trying placate me, while supporting killi’s view. Killi claimed that reality was quite simply what she could see, feel, touch n hear. I countered that so does a schizophrenic, so why is that called hallucination? She counter-countered that, well what a schizo’s reality is something that only he can see. But her reality is something that all of us can…she, me, tsu, the guy sitting in the adjacent bench trying to evesdrop, all of us. So well, I asked, then that simply means that your reality is dependant on the corroboration of others. Which when simply put can just mean that whatever the majority thinks, believes, and says, becomes the reality. It may be wrong, but then u gotta live with it.
This brings us to another favourite theory of mine. That this big, beautiful world of ours, runs on a few sets of parameters. And on the assumption that every man, woman, n child, accept n believe in those parameters. These parameters may not always make sense, but they are essential building blocks of our world. If they crumble, we crumble. So when some enlightened soul stands up to question them, it becomes necessary for us to label them as crazy, so that we don’t have to grope in the darkness for answers. Because we are quite happy to live with the answers that we already have. So well, if we believe that matrix is a reality, it kinda burdens us with a need to take a stand. Do we, go on as we did even after knowing the truth? Or do we, like Neo, fight for freedom? Choice…it’s not just our greatest gift, it is also our biggest burden. We chose our reality. We chose what we want to believe. And we chose to be who we are. Reality, my friend, is a myth. It’s all in your head…zombie.
Ever get this feeling that you’re watching your own life happen from outside? No, I don’t mean to ask if u have suffered a mild case of dissassociative disorder. Just that at times, u just feel that things happening to you, are not really happening to u. they are not really real. Well, if you have never felt that way, I’d request u to stop reading right here. I wouldn’t want u to think that I’m a raving lunatic. Neither do I want to put ideas into your head.
Well, this feeling that I get once in a while, often gets me thinking. What the hell is reality anyways. Who decides what is real n what is science fiction? I mean, matrix could be real. So could Hogwarts. Sure, now u are thinking, “ Yeah right, and the moon is made of blue cheese, n clouds are made of kurlo pillows. This kid’s gone way off the rocker.” Its convenient right? We have made categories for everyone to fit in. Even for those who don’t want to- they are the miss-fits. The radicals. If someone says or believes in something that doesn’t fit into the system, they are immediately cast away as schizophrenics, maniacs. The Not-normals.
This brings us back to my original question. Who decides what is normal? Whose reality are we living anyways? I remember one day in college, tsu, me and killi had this HUGE debate over this. Well, mostly it was killi n me, with tsu trying placate me, while supporting killi’s view. Killi claimed that reality was quite simply what she could see, feel, touch n hear. I countered that so does a schizophrenic, so why is that called hallucination? She counter-countered that, well what a schizo’s reality is something that only he can see. But her reality is something that all of us can…she, me, tsu, the guy sitting in the adjacent bench trying to evesdrop, all of us. So well, I asked, then that simply means that your reality is dependant on the corroboration of others. Which when simply put can just mean that whatever the majority thinks, believes, and says, becomes the reality. It may be wrong, but then u gotta live with it.
This brings us to another favourite theory of mine. That this big, beautiful world of ours, runs on a few sets of parameters. And on the assumption that every man, woman, n child, accept n believe in those parameters. These parameters may not always make sense, but they are essential building blocks of our world. If they crumble, we crumble. So when some enlightened soul stands up to question them, it becomes necessary for us to label them as crazy, so that we don’t have to grope in the darkness for answers. Because we are quite happy to live with the answers that we already have. So well, if we believe that matrix is a reality, it kinda burdens us with a need to take a stand. Do we, go on as we did even after knowing the truth? Or do we, like Neo, fight for freedom? Choice…it’s not just our greatest gift, it is also our biggest burden. We chose our reality. We chose what we want to believe. And we chose to be who we are. Reality, my friend, is a myth. It’s all in your head…zombie.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Trapped inside my head
All my life I've been sitting n crying behind the very walls that I slammed shut....
Coz of course don't want the world to see me weak
Wonder what I'm so scared of?
What I'm running away from...
Wish there'd be someone to say, that no matter how hard I try to make them, they'll never leave.
I got to stop dreaming.
I got to stop driving myself crazy.
I feel trapped inside myself.
I gotta free fall....
Shit!
Coz of course don't want the world to see me weak
Wonder what I'm so scared of?
What I'm running away from...
Wish there'd be someone to say, that no matter how hard I try to make them, they'll never leave.
I got to stop dreaming.
I got to stop driving myself crazy.
I feel trapped inside myself.
I gotta free fall....
Shit!
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Caution! Wet Floor!
Techological development goes boink
Check out the scenario:
Early morning, some 2 n half years ago, I get a “Good Morning!” forward on my newly acquired cell. “Subah ho gayi maamu!” it blithely declared. In full fervor of the days of unlimited messaging, I proceeded to forward the happy message to all my dear buddies. Select forward, sent to many, name 1, press Ok, message sent, name 2, press OK, message sent, name 3, press Ok, message se…wait a minute! Not Ok! NOT OK!!! Name 3 is not a friend, it’s my lecturer!! Oh o! Please God, no! Please don’t go! Please don’t go! Blink comes on the light, “Message Sent”. All that is left for me to do is to pray, real, real hard that the lecturer in concern is not too concerned. (Well turned out he wasn’t, n no I’m NOT telling u his name!)
In the era of star wars and matrix fundas, even the communication blunders have become tech savvy. WIRED magazine has actually coined a term to describe this ominous time between hitting the ‘send’ button on your e-mail and realizing to your utter horror that you have sent it to the wrong person. It’s called the ‘onosecond’ (from the numerous ‘oh nos!’ that go up as the horrible reality hits you!). Well, sure makes sense.
It’s quite startling to think about the amount of things that can and more often than not, will go wrong, because of one wrong click. People have lost their jobs; relationships that took years to build have been ruined.
Technology is supposed to have made communications easier, quicker. But it also has made it easier to lay booby traps to catch innocent mortals who have less than a PhD in “How to Save Thyself from Being Fooled By Technology.” Take the example of my click happy roomie, who back in her school days, got this mail asking for a few personal details (stuff like ur crush n things that could be deadly if it reaches the wrong hands in school), with a promise of a horoscope. She being the gullible sort gave it all away. As she clicked ‘ok’ horoscope turned into horror scope as the message flashed across the screen, “This information has been sent to the person who sent you this link!”. Now I needn’t really explain what followed in school the next day. Well it did motivate her to take up a career in IT though!
It’s not just your meanie friends, even IT companies resort to similar dealings to keep a check on what their employees download from their free internet access at office. There are softwares to store all that you download from the net to a separate site. Those simple Ctrl A+ Ctrl C+Ctrl V that all of us use indiscriminately, caused one unfortunate Infy guy his job.
So also with the zillions of other things that we do under the illusion that we are safe in the relative anonymity and untracability of the www. But you will never know how those nasty comments that u, in a moment of devilish inspiration posted on u oh-so-funny blog, about that friend, that boos or teacher, can turn into one unholy mess if the victim of ur brilliant wit stumbles upon it. Plus once you post it in the cyber space, you really have no control over who reads it. You maybe sharing something personal with a friend, and suddenly everyone with a computer had heard about it. Suddenly ‘copyright’ seems such a redundant word.
For the terminally scatty and pathologically careless (like me, for instance), the very things that geeks love about technology are its many traps. Sometimes it can be as simple as forgetting to lock the keypad of your mobile before u put it in your pocket or bag. And then, speed dialing takes over, and lo and behold! You’ll suddenly find your balance going down the drain at drastic speed and your poor mom bellowing “Hello! Hello!” at the other end.
It’s quite ironical that for a generation that grew up on e-mails n sms, laughs heartily while watching their parents struggle with their mobiles, still fall into so many traps. We need to realize that no technology can ever be foolproof, because a. it is after all an outgrowth of the human brain, and b. lets face it, fools can really be indigenous (!).
Technology should probably come with a statutory warning, “Proceed with extreme caution, slippery ground ahead!” You can never be sure you know better. Take it from a person who, due to a childhood problem of short attention span, ahs gone through a lot of technology aided tragedies. For all who think they have seen it all, beware! Technology’s lurking around the corner!
In the era of star wars and matrix fundas, even the communication blunders have become tech savvy. WIRED magazine has actually coined a term to describe this ominous time between hitting the ‘send’ button on your e-mail and realizing to your utter horror that you have sent it to the wrong person. It’s called the ‘onosecond’ (from the numerous ‘oh nos!’ that go up as the horrible reality hits you!). Well, sure makes sense.
It’s quite startling to think about the amount of things that can and more often than not, will go wrong, because of one wrong click. People have lost their jobs; relationships that took years to build have been ruined.
Technology is supposed to have made communications easier, quicker. But it also has made it easier to lay booby traps to catch innocent mortals who have less than a PhD in “How to Save Thyself from Being Fooled By Technology.” Take the example of my click happy roomie, who back in her school days, got this mail asking for a few personal details (stuff like ur crush n things that could be deadly if it reaches the wrong hands in school), with a promise of a horoscope. She being the gullible sort gave it all away. As she clicked ‘ok’ horoscope turned into horror scope as the message flashed across the screen, “This information has been sent to the person who sent you this link!”. Now I needn’t really explain what followed in school the next day. Well it did motivate her to take up a career in IT though!
It’s not just your meanie friends, even IT companies resort to similar dealings to keep a check on what their employees download from their free internet access at office. There are softwares to store all that you download from the net to a separate site. Those simple Ctrl A+ Ctrl C+Ctrl V that all of us use indiscriminately, caused one unfortunate Infy guy his job.
So also with the zillions of other things that we do under the illusion that we are safe in the relative anonymity and untracability of the www. But you will never know how those nasty comments that u, in a moment of devilish inspiration posted on u oh-so-funny blog, about that friend, that boos or teacher, can turn into one unholy mess if the victim of ur brilliant wit stumbles upon it. Plus once you post it in the cyber space, you really have no control over who reads it. You maybe sharing something personal with a friend, and suddenly everyone with a computer had heard about it. Suddenly ‘copyright’ seems such a redundant word.
For the terminally scatty and pathologically careless (like me, for instance), the very things that geeks love about technology are its many traps. Sometimes it can be as simple as forgetting to lock the keypad of your mobile before u put it in your pocket or bag. And then, speed dialing takes over, and lo and behold! You’ll suddenly find your balance going down the drain at drastic speed and your poor mom bellowing “Hello! Hello!” at the other end.
It’s quite ironical that for a generation that grew up on e-mails n sms, laughs heartily while watching their parents struggle with their mobiles, still fall into so many traps. We need to realize that no technology can ever be foolproof, because a. it is after all an outgrowth of the human brain, and b. lets face it, fools can really be indigenous (!).
Technology should probably come with a statutory warning, “Proceed with extreme caution, slippery ground ahead!” You can never be sure you know better. Take it from a person who, due to a childhood problem of short attention span, ahs gone through a lot of technology aided tragedies. For all who think they have seen it all, beware! Technology’s lurking around the corner!
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