Some good, some bad

Wg Cdr DPS Bajwa (retd)

THE other day my grandson, aged 9, called me up from Canada, saying: “Dadaji, I have a quick questionnaire for you as part of my school project on three generations.” I asked him to shoot the questions. The survey was about certain things he owned now and whether his father and grandfather had the same exposure when they were nine years old. He asked me if I had owned or used a gramophone, a stereo, a microwave oven, an electric oven, a computer, an iPad, a television, a cell phone, etc. as a child.

My answer was that at the age of nine, I had only used a gramophone, a radio, electric lights, kerosene lamp and candles. He was astonished that I just had a few of all the gizmos which he has today. Fortunately, my son had some more things than me, when he was nine. Even I realised how primitive we were five-six decades ago, as far as technology was concerned.  Although  my  grandson’s survey was over, a lot of counter-questions erupted in my thoughts. 

I wanted to ask him if he had ever eaten sugarcane from the fields, or if he had tasted roasted corn or grams from the village “bhatthi”. Will he understand if I told him that we used to drink cold water from an earthen pitcher, or bought commercial ice for cooling our drinks. We used to bathe with water drawn by buckets from the well or a handpump in the courtyard. We would burn firewood or cowdung cakes to cook in open kitchens. The clothes were washed by our mother.  The means of commuting were horsecarts or on a horseback. For urgent messages, we would send telegrams  or write letters which were delivered through post in a few days. The only means of long distance travel were trains and one would carry one’s bedding for an overnight journey. In summer, we used to sleep in the open, in courtyards or rooftops, on cots made of strings and ropes sans thick matteresses. In primary school, we would write on wooden planks called “takhti” coated with “Multani mitti”,  with a reed cut in the shape of a pen, dipping it in ink.

Looking back, I think in my lifetime we have experienced maximum changes brought about by technology. It was unthinkable that we could walk on the moon; talk to someone thousands of miles away and yet see him on the phone or iPad. The vast amount of information or pictures can now be stored on small CDs or USBs. One can access any type of information through Google and YouTube. The present generation has  got addicted so much to the web and social networking  sites that they feel like a fish out of water if they lose their phone or are denied access to the Net. This has resulted in diminished personal social interaction. The dependence on technology has changed the very fibre of society.