The shortcut of cut-copy-paste

I remember the time when we used to rack our brains to come up with a smart line for the weekly caption contest. Nowadays, social media is replete with the slickest of readymade captions for us to download and post as our own. The era of cut-copy-paste conveniently put to rest the guilty pang of being a copycat, even if it meant making us wear the badge of superficial intelligence.

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This was much in contrast to the knowledge of our forefathers who devoted ample time and effort to get well-versed in their subject. My father-in-law grew up in the princely state of Kapurthala, at the time of Independence, when literary fervour was at its peak. The last ruling king, Raja Jagatjit Singh, was a great connoisseur of all kinds of literature, and encouraged in-depth learning of all languages in schools. Hence, our dad became proficient in Urdu and French at a very young age.

It would be very hurtful to him when someone quoted writers wrongly, or falsely claimed credit. He would immediately go up to the person and correct him there and then. Once, he checked a person on stage and left everyone gaping.

Several years later, we were still hesitant to admit that we had copied. In 1970, my uncle wrote a love letter to my aunt (to whom he is now married) by stealing some lines from another writer. The magic of borrowed words worked and she was impressed. But she always had an axe to grind, when she discovered that the poetic lines were not his.

Times changed, and we stopped flinching while rehashing songs, movies and poetry. It seemed we had run out of original ideas or probably running short of time to create them. In fact, the authenticity of anything that came up, whether it was on WhatsApp, videos or emails, was at stake. As a lawyer, I came across an increasing number of cases pertaining to intellectual properties being tinkered with. The imitators had put even leading brands on a slippery turf by coming out with their fake versions. Perhaps the time to smell the coffee had arrived.

The Covid times have been unprecedented in many ways. The months of lockdown slowed down the pace of our lives, and helped us look within. The welcome pause harnessed our creative juices, and proved a blessing in disguise for many of us, who picked up a guitar, wrote a poem or rustled up delectable treats.

A new hope for the innovative ideas to bloom had arisen. There was a silver lining. Sweet were the uses of adversity. Perhaps the churning of original talents would be one in these stressful times.