Friday, November 24, 2017

My view on technology ... 1965 to 2017

I was born in a rubber plantation i.e. literally born in a rubber plantation house on my parents' bed and not in a hospital! And that is because my mom could not get a transport in time to get to the hospital which was 4.8 miles away. My grandma was the "nanny on duty" and I must thank her for having handled "my arrival" at 9.25pm on that Thursday in 1965.

Given the starting point ... arriving in a "jungle" with no phone, no TV and no car ... we relied on the radio for most of our updates. Now, over time, my life changed from the "naturally unconnected world" to a fully connected world of Dubai that runs at high speed.

Many of my friends do say that "the good old days were great" and we talk a lot about our memories. I too have fond memories of my free flying childhood where my playground had no boundaries and every other kid was a friend. We had every plausible shortage ... food was short during month ends, clothing was limited, water does not flow daily on our taps, electricity was only for 12 hrs a night and the neighbour's chicken littered our veranda every day! But nevertheless, it was a beautiful world that I cannot forget. Nothing matches the spark of excitement that comes momentarily on pay day and on festivals ... that happy moments were unimaginably brilliant. Looking back, we were probably just chasing those spark moments and living our days then.

But that does not mean I want to go back to that world ... I fought hard to come out of it. It took lengthy efforts to get to a more "predictable world" where we had running water daily, electricity all day long, TV that works and the internet. So do I look back and say technology "spoilt" my life??


  • When TV came to my house, I saw the other people of the world ... and knew that I am not alone in many situations
  • When the car came to my doorstep, I learnt the price of petrol. 
  • When I got the mobile in my hand, I learnt to stay in touch
  • When computer came to my house, I connected to the universe
  • When the air conditioning came to my house, I understood the heat I had endured previously
  • When I stayed in the city, I valued the gardens
  • By dealing with banks and cards, I became part of the economy
  • With the smell of perfume, I valued the essense inside fresh flowers. 
  • With the coming of fast food, I valued my mom's cooking
  • And lastly when I got on Facebook, I remembered to wish everyone on their birthdays!
Nice to see that I found the connected high speed world after all.

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