Long long ago, in a small town of West Bengal, there lived a group of kids. All of them were from the same padda (locality). This paltan (पलटन) of kids used to go to same school, play together, meet daily and used to do lot of outdoor activities. There schedule was like
- Wake up for School
- There was no alarm.
- One of the Family Member used to make us wake up.
- Once kids were ready for school at a specific time
- There parents used to get a Rickshaw wallahs to drop them to school
- They had to call Rickshaw wallahs
- They used to talk with Auto-wallah and bargain, and even talk other things while kids used to delay their arrival to board
- Kids used to love those colour full Rickshaws. Every one of them with their own paintings and style.
- While Kids were gone & in school
- One of Family member used to go for buying Fresh vegetable & fruits
- Again Rickshaw wallahs used to come into picture.
- There was No Ola & UBER
- If the member was in hurry, they will ask rickshaw wallah to ride faster.
- There were lot of other talks while rickshaw used to move
- Different family members used to do different things like: preparing food, washing clothes, cleaning utensils, cleaning home, work at office, etc.
- Once Kids are back from school
- They used to have food & may be have a light sleep
- In Evening all the friends used to come out of home.
- Play Time
- For playtime, one who starts first used to go another's house and call him loud
- While the friend is coming, they used to talk with others in friends house.
- Some giving lecture on how to study and how to be a good kid, and blah blah. But there used to be some talk
- Once the Baltan has assembled, they used to play.
- There was not whatsapp or mobile phones to call each other directly.
- Seasonal activities
- Kite flying season
- TV Time
- They used to watch some serials in Doordarshan
- There was no remote control to change channels
- There was no fight to change channel
- There was just one option - one channel
- Some disruptions used to make people go and play with antenna to get a proper TV signal
- We used to shout from roof - "Aaya? Dekho .. Aaya kya?"
- Telephone
- There was just one telephone for a family. Sometimes one between many neighbours.
- Not everyone used to call daily, as it happens today.
- Once a call used to come - "Tringgg... Tringgg... Tringgg.."
- Most probably it won't be of the person who picks up.
- Then there used to be big loud shout for the person -- " Jaldi Aao ... tumhara phone aaya hai.... "
- Night Time Serials
- While having food, we used to watch Surabhi
- They used have quiz and we used to send answers in Post Card
- There we no SMS or Tweet your answers options
- Bed Time
- It was peaceful
- There were no notifications tone from mobile ringing
- There were no worries to put mobile devices to charge
Now time has changed. 20 years from that time, kids & parents behave differently.
I don't deny that everyone is lured with nice features of smart phone. But how it has changed the life now.
- Now every one is so busy with their own work individually
- There is no family telephone - Everyone has their own mobile and direct contact
- Family members hardly know your friends and vice versa
- Postcards are not used that much. Now the letters or emails are a private affair
- Every one has own choice & preferences
- While watching TV, even in a smaller family of 3-4 , everyone wants their own channel to be viewed.
- Everyone chooses their own dresses from their smart phone. There is no one person who buys for whole family.
- Low interaction with the unknown folks
- People now no longer look for rickshaw wallahs and negotiate. They now have Ola & Uber. The only reason they want to know the name of cab wallah is to complain and not talk.
- People hardly talk to Sabzi wallahs daily for the fresh vegetables. They will order one weeks grocery through smart apps like Big Basket, etc
- The season and festivals have become more like a deal season to buy goods from apps in your smartphone - Amazon, Flipkart, etc
The present time is well pictured in the video below
I believe though the times have changed. We still need to have a real touch and real interaction with folks around us. We need to start enjoying the real togetherness. Lets break the shackles of the digital world and connect with people directly. Lets start enjoying the feeling and share emotions directly one to one, without any mediator (digital world). Lets build a kissanpur around us.
