'whr r u' beeped on my lab neighbour Smita's screen. She stopped mid conversation, expertly typed out 'hvng cfee bk in 5' and continued talking smoothly, as if there was no interruption. Nor did her friend find it strange, she d have done the same, infact had, three times already in 10 minutes. Its so much a byproduct of our fast paced mobile-internet age that nobody finds it strange that you keep track of people minute to minute, irrespective of whether you re arranging a meeting or no (most of the time no, its 'timepass' :). But does this mean that we have closer, more genuine friendships and relationships than before? I doubt it.
I remember hearing of a distant aunt who was known for her great calm and general imperturbableness(to coin a word:). She stayed with her husband, and after he died, by herself, in a huge house. Both sons were away working in different cities. Her brother was a family friend independently, but lived in Delhi. Once my grandmother asked her when he d be visiting Bangalore. The aunt tilted her head and thought calmly..'I havent seen him the last two years, so this year he should be coming..' Such was life!! The way you guessed when you might see your near and dear ones was by judging how long they d not come!of course, this was said with no complaint or unrest, it was a simple statement of fact. I had asked naively if they d fought with each other. This provoked much hilarity. Apparently both were of such equable temperament that if anything people around would tear their hair out, a fight between them would have needed something ultra special..maybe hiding the chutney-pudi the brother was addicted to would do it..Besides which, i thought to myself, you cant fight if you meet once in three years..
But I thought there was something both old worldly and charming in this attitude, and something worth sharing. And after all not to say they weren't attached or so..it was just out of the question to travel that far routinely, and no news was considered good news! Quite a refreshing change from the sort of pace at which we operate today..
I tried imagining myself reporting an experiment- 'Sir it hasn't worked for one year, so it should by next April..'. Must try sometime..preferably with visa in hand :)
4 comments:
Hey..This is cool!! Loved the last line (could relate to it!! :-). I have realised by my own experience that I don't really have to 'be connected' (in today's terminology) to my nearest and dearest ones! Its far more deeper than a 'working internet connection' and a 'website'! :-) ...and yes, the visa thing is a MUST before 'next april'!!
thanks :) who's this, by the way?
I can so see the difference myself. Those odd letters when you stayed away for years from someone had SUCH strong emotions running through you! Though I have taken to e-mailing and keeping in touch much more often......I must say, I still vouch for the beauty of that odd post-card :-)
I completely agree. In the face of the present communication facilities, we have forgotten the little pleasures we had back then. Waiting for a letter once a month from my grandmother who would go off to Raichur once in a while was so gratifying. The expectation, the satisfaction of seeing it waiting when I got back home, the thrill of reading it for the first time, the pleasure of reading it again and again to see if there was anything more! I miss them..
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