Perceptions
The
Road Less Travelled
Kavita
Charanji
I am no
techno geek. Not for me the world of hi fi gadgets --mobiles,
computers, cable television and trappings like credit cards
and fancy holiday 'packages' promised by travel agencies.
Much to the discomfiture of my family, I am somewhat at sea
when I stay in expensive hotels, spend huge amounts on 'food’
and 'lodging'. As far as I'm concerned, when you have seen
one five-star hotel, you have seen them all. Far more preferable
is a modest roof over one's head in a locale like Himachal
Pradesh, India or the paddy fields near Mymensingh in Bangladesh.
My children
complained about my aversion to modern technology when they
were very young. Their grouse was that, unlike their friends,
they had to make do with a weather beaten small black and
white television. And horror of horrors, there was no cable
connection. So they grew up on a fare of <>Sholay, Ramayan<>
and whatever else passed as entertainment on Doordarshan.
Finally, of course, I capitulated to getting a colour TV and
cable. This meant being constantly paranoid about the children
sneakily watching unsuitable programmes when I wasn't around.
TV watching
is fast eroding the reading habit. Instead of reading children's
classics, the young ones prefer to become couch potatoes.
Just when they should be playing outdoors, they are glued
to horrific fare like WWF and hair raising offerings from
AXN.
I have
an equal aversion for mobiles and computers. The latter tend
to play up just when you want to get on the internet or are
on the verge of printing a crucial document. And what about
those anti-social instruments called cell phones, which disrupt
social contact and track you down with no regard for time
or place? Ugh!
Credit
cards--it goes without saying-- are a strict no-no for me.
In the early days I may have used one, today I prefer to do
without one. It keeps one's expenses under control to do without
a card. 'Buy now and pay later'-- it just doesn't appeal to
me.
Copyright
(R) thedailystar.net 2004
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