I absolutely love the instant reactions i get when i share my thoughts. When I started writing, i had no idea how wonderful it would be to see these reactions through comments, thumbs up (or, thumbs down), mails, smiles, and statistics! Right until now, when i experienced it myself, i would have thought it impossible! Yes, right until now, the earliest i could think of 'instant' was when instant noodles and instant coffee were introduced.
But now- now, everything has become instant. I need not wait for the post anymore, I just check my various inboxes; and that is a good thing because we don’t even have postmen delivering mail at our doorstep! (‘What???” - i know that is the reaction of most people when they come to know of it...but it is true!) I don’t have to beat the coffee anymore, and that is a huge convenience when i really feel like having one alone, or am travelling or when i just feel lazy...and now they have instant tea too! I haven’t tried it yet, but they claim it is as good as 'mom's'!
I realise it is not only about convenience, it is also about speed, about impatience, and about saving time. I am impatient to know how my writing is received and perceived; i am thankful for the speed at which the statistics are uploaded, and believe me, it does take lesser time to entertain unannounced guests when you have one of those instant meal packages! I am sure they are not so healthy, but they are still better than a whole lot of other junk food that we end up eating when absolutely famished and in no mood/ with no energy to cook.
And yet, I still savour the excitement of sitting in the evening assembly and waiting for my name to be called out to receive my mail. Yes, in our time (I know, I know, it can look like Ancient History when i tell you that we had no mobile phones, but really, it wasn’t that long ago!!), there was nothing instant- everything took its own sweet time, ripened slowly, tasted sweeter, and was kept for savouring it again later! Mails were keepsakes, and could not be just left in a nondescript Inbox or a specifically named folder; the excitement at getting a mail, and the disappointment at not getting one were both intense emotions (really!!), receiving a phone call made your day because not many people took the trouble of spending on expensive STD calls, cards were carefully chosen and given and then treasured....was it all so idyllic as it seems now? I am not sure but what i am sure about is, growing up in those times, i didn’t mind it at all! Something as simple as coffee wasn’t that simple…'Beating' coffee was a skill and if you knew the right proportions, you could boast that you make good coffee, unlike the limited skill required today of opening a 3-in-1 pack and mixing it with hot water!
Come to think of it, having a mobile phone would have certainly been convenient though- it would have saved me waiting in cold January winter evenings near the warden's room! The same goes for instant noodles. They have definitely been a life saver. Whether it was (and still is!) travelling, hunger pangs in the hostel room, midnight snack attack, or just breaking a 'fast' at midnight...Maggi became a part of our lives like nothing else edible could. I do not know of one single person who has no memories associated with our good old Maggi! Now, how wonderful is that?
And yet, it was a time that I can look back and call ‘good old days’! (By the way, for the uninitiated, it also meant that your office could not get hold of you when you were holidaying!!!! Isn’t that great?? ) I did not know it then but obviously, it was also a time when the world was getting ready to become more spontaneous, more ‘instant’, more responsive. I am glad; I got a chance to enjoy that transition instead of just knowing the world at its fastest today. I am glad that my memories of those times also include a mango night in the hostel and umpteen such nights at home- feasting on real mangoes which were left to ripen on the trees and not subject to some chemicals to hasten their growth…
I cannot say that ‘instant’ is bad- it is not. It can be a real life saver in more cases than I know, but 'instant' takes away the pleasure of letting it brew... be it coffee, tea, any other beverage or simply, life.
Yours sincerely truly forever instantly,
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These observations are my point of view of the life, as I see it. This blog does not intend to hurt, rationalise, judge, ridicule, or in any way offend anyone at all...it is only a way of sharing my own observations...so, please take it in the right spirit....thanks.