The 21st Century Masquerade

Quite some time ago, a stranger entered a home. The otherwise peacefully living humans were startled by its beauty and its abilities. Like a joker in a circus, this stranger had gathered everyone's attention.

As we Indians say, "Atithi Devo Bhava." Guest is God. The inhabitants welcomed the stranger with open arms and gave him room in their home and hearts. He was treated well and taken care of. Time flew by and they didn't realise that he had become a permanent member of their lives. Little did they realise that he had begun to influence their day to day activities. Like a strict grandfather in an ethical, traditional Indian family, he started to control their lives and they, like puppets in the hands of an artist, started to live life his way.

The timings and habits of the house members were altered. From the moment they woke up to the moment their journey to the dream world started, they took care of him. His awesomeness had taken a toll on them and like children who can be baited into eating a vegetable, they were manipulated by his mesmerising smile. They couldn't see the harm it was causing. The results were clear. If the people of the house didn't control what was happening, their lives would be screwed. The stranger never caused any harm as such. But the growing attraction of the people towards him and their over possessiveness and habitual nature had certainly decayed their lives. And this had to stop.

The story tells the tale of a family and a stranger who made his place in their home and hearts. But the people started to get obsessed with him. And if they didn't stop, there was going to be a disaster. Isn't this story similar to ours? Confused? Let me make it more clear. The stranger is none other than our very own smart phones which have transformed the smart human beings into technology's slave.

Yesterday, I went to a clinic. I was sitting in the waiting area along with other few patients. The patient on my left was texting someone, the one in front of me was gazing at the screen of the newly bought iPhone, the woman, also on my left, had her earphones plugged in and was watching some video, the other patient in front of me was playing some game on that 8 inch wide tablet. I, being one of this tech defined world was writing something in Evernote. We were all waiting for our turn to come, when two people entered. A woman, maybe 38, and her 3 year old daughter. How do I know that li'l girl's age? Well, I have the sweetest niece, who is 3 and I kind of know how they look like at this age. Anyways, they made themselves comfortable on two chairs in front of me. The daughter placed her feet on the chair, which in our ethical world is unethical, and her mother took the responsibility to get those feet down. But kids are kids. They don't understand the thin line between what is ethical and what is unethical. They are who they are. No masks, no formalities. And that's what I love about kids. Innocence packed in the smallest of packages. The round begins, mother telling the daughter to put her feet down and the daughter trying her level best to go against the wishes of her beloved mother. Cuteness level 9999.

Amidst the continuous rounds of begging and refusal, our eyes which were initially on the bright screens of our devices darted towards the innocence of that sweet bundle of happiness. And our faces had this curve which is famous to set millions of things straight. That little girl had succeeded in bringing the tech nerds into real life.

We admired her. She made me realise something. "Excess of everything is wrong." This was what we were taught by our beloved parents. And I being a young girl of 20, was struck with the depth of this simple thought.

We talk a lot about missing out on small things that life offers. Let me rearrange my words. We talk a lot about missing out on all the small things that are served to us on a platter. The laugh of a new born baby, nature, greenery, family time, the endless talks with a loved one, the cool winds, dancing in the rains, the water droplets falling on our face erasing all the fatigue of the day, the kiss from our loved ones, resting our head in mother's lap, hearing words of appraisal from our parents, getting a kiss and a hug from dad, that proud smile on his face, getting home after days or months; this, and more is offered to us by life. And we often ignore them just because our eyes are glued to the bright screens.

Dear humans, have we ever realized how much we have missed so far? Probably not. Have we ever thought about our lives outside the digital world? I guess, no. Well, better late than never. Technology has numerous benefits and it might take a day or two for me to list them down. But there is life outside those boxes. Give it a shot and live. Live to the fullest. I promise, life will be much happier.