Amazing people who make me go on n on n on:)

30 June, 2011

Gadgetisizing Me!


It is strange how you are born one person and how you evolve into another. I was born a gadget-free girl ya, right, I know everyone is- there are chances you can be born with a silver spoon but never with a silver laptop, can you? But I was different initially-too many machines and wires and processes would put me into foreboding and I almost anticipated that someday I might take a premature retirement in my teens and go to the Himalayas to lead a confusion-free, tech-free life. 

That of course did not happen because:
A. Himalayas did not have McDonalds or KFC and hunting down animals to make my own burger, would require hunting down bakers to make my own bun too -huh?
B. I wasn’t married yet so I would need more than just clothes to keep me warm and I didn’t think I’d meet sexy rishis on the way.
C. Wriggly and reptile-ish things with many feet scared me more than all the wires put around me together.
D....Never mind, point is I did not retire and it is just a coincidence that the ‘Save Himalaya’ Movement has been relaxed since then and they shifted their focus on ‘Save Tiger’ instead.

But along with adulthood came the subtle inevitability of technology seeping in-television and the advent of foreign soaps brought enlightenment that if at first you don’t get the good looking hunk to walk the aisle, wait a while and his father would anyways jump the bandwagon nopes, I did not call you a bandwagon, it was for analogy’s sake. Being the ‘couch potato’ was the training ground for being the eventual ‘couch slave’.

The mobile slowly became such a permanent fixture at the edge of that thing called my arm that so many times I almost shuffle my hands vigorously to make sure my cell phone hasn’t got stipulated there. Thank god I also slowly understood the need for vibratory mode on this gadget, before doing ‘Ram, Ram-ghor kalyug!’ and shunning it as a device meant to corrupt gullible and experimental minds and bodies. It is so me now that it faithfully sleeps by my bed side and is the first thing I peer into after opening my eyeballs yes, I live in the belief that the humanity has nothing better to do than give me missed calls and forwarded messages in the dark, wee hours by which we can change the world and make it a better place. Even during the night sometimes I wake up with a fright, not because the baby may have woken up but because I seemed to have “heard” the message tone beep. My mobile is now synonymous with me, my E63-big yet handy, communicative yet trouble free!

Also came the realisation for wanting the air conditioners to keep me looking sweat-free and touchable and for geysers to keep me from freezing so that I melt others at first fright...er...sight. So what if I did not understand what was happening inside those big fat boxes, I could at least switch them on and off and be done with it.

However, the machinery that slowly grew on me was the computer yes, look closer and you might almost find little laptops budding here and there so much has the “growing” been effective. I used to look down disdainfully at those addicted to the World Wide Web-but like they say, tab tak sherni ke mooh mein khoon nahi laga tha! You need to be in Rome to do like the Romans do!

My first computer was a laptop gifted by my dearly beloved after our wedding bells had rung loud and clear. Little did he know that he was inviting competition for himself into his own home and right onto his bed. If I am not found anywhere in the house, rest assured I could be located curled up at the edge of the thing I sleep on with the thing I often sleep with-my laptop. In fact sometimes when by chance I leave it for charging on his side, I can almost trace visible fume like stuff of envy emitting out of his head. I sniff and ask him if something is burning and he says with a mad scientist grin, “Yes, your laptop” and I make sure I call the insurance waala immediately and double check if I have got the fire insurance claim on my gadgets. “For god’s sake,” I tell my beloved, “It is just a machine” and then wink back to my machine and tell it, “Oh, he is just a man!”

When I started my relationship with this gadget, I was often left wondering how similar we are in so many ways and yet so different:
A. We are both kind of harmless when we are on sleep mode/shut down and lo, the moment we open up, you just can’t stop the action and the jabber!

B. We come in various shapes and sizes-I have forever been oscillating between various volumes and magnitudes and I think neither can the computer make up its mind of what’s the best statistics for it. The previous bulky models were so me-we fitted extremely well in the lap, as its name was meant to signify. But then the manufacturers got inspired by size zero and the belief that ‘less is more’. I now have to sweat out my hard earned flesh to keep up to fit into arms and palms.

C. We both can do wonders if you press our keys right and when charged fully, you just have to watch us perform please don’t ask me to decode that, there are some answers that even Google is afraid to provide.   

D. We both use “enter” mode more than “shift/control” and we can go up to a lot of F’s when required-F1, F2, F3, etc. Okay time to shut up with my ABCD!

However, I do wish I was as user friendly and the memory within me just as vast and just as easy to delete! *Sigh!*

We recently upgraded our laptop model-I wanted something more colourful and snappier-something that defined the colours in me, brought the globe to my finger tip and transformed carrying its weight into a child’s play. I know I can be demanding sometimes but then why not demand when/till when you are in demand? I can now carry it along where ever I go and it does the work of a stylish clutch in my arms-yes, it pays to have it, in its own way. My beloved no longer minds for he realizes there is no winning when it comes to Man Vs the Machine, unless they bring in laptops that have rounder bottoms than his.

Alas! It would be an understatement to say, that my lappy is now become my best friend! I speak to it whenever I need to vent, I connect with it whenever I need to reach out, spend time with it whenever I want to be left alone. You might as well say, ‘You never know how well you click, till you click’. My beloved going away for a week is not such a ghastly/life altering premise now as the lappy going away to the repair shop for a day. I don’t understand how can two people sit for hours looking into each other’s eyes but please don’t ask me to explain how I can sit for sometimes a full day looking at the screen. And when that little internet blue balloon emerges on the little bar below, no blues can sustain and no bars entice enough. Such is life-technology happens and gadgets snap in!

Okay, I don't think this would ever happen but OMG, I  just might reach here some day!

P.S.: This blogpost is written in response to the contest 'CHANGE IS EASY' hosted by Dell Inspiron Laptop with customizable covers on Indibloggers.
I have participated for the first time. Please go to this page and vote for me there if you like it:-)Thanks!

37 comments:

Tanvi said...

So true ... we all have become slaves to technology. We wldn't know what to do with ourselves if suddenly there was no internet, no phone and no tv. We would be cave men/women! :)

♡ from © tanvii.com

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

Psst, Sorry, I am not on indiblogger, can't click on those hearts :|

Now coming to the post, I was always attracted to material things that advertisements showed and parents denied, the things we call gadgets. I still am, and yet don't buy. Maybe in future.

BUT, I loooooove electronics and they love me too. See, they don't misbehave, and make me meet wonderful people who write praises and proses in their love for these gadgets.

Oh but were talking about your journey, hmm... you could plan a trip to Himalayas now, the sexy sadhus might be extinct, but you'll still find good cellphone network there.

And I feel that Blue thing in the taskbar, which comes in different flavours too, (and yeah you should really consider replacing Internet Explorer with Firefox or Chrome or Opera), so that blue thing is more of a heartbeat to all the computery affairs. You check for messages? I logon to my gmail every morn. Ritual.

Beautiful post, beautiful because I find electronics as a beautiful realm.
And best of luck with the contest. May you and your lappy find another digital companion. :)

Cheers,
Blasphemous Aesthete

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

Oh and about that previous post. I still couldn't find a word which could quantify how good it was, perhaps you'll have to manage with 'Beautiful', howsoever cliched it might be. :)

Amrit said...

Change is easy especially when it comes to phone. Keep using phone, send more SMS, change the background from old gadget to a cell phone or iPHONE. Reason:- I work with phone. If you don't use technology, I will lose myself.......hahah:))))

I will vote for you.

PS:- Don't think too much about Rishis either. They ain't nice.

Simply Speaking "A" Simple
Blogger

tarunima said...

haha:D
sure enough electronic gadgets are sneaking into our lives bigtime..
even i check my cell phone first thing in the morning( of course after wearing my glasses).
i can totally relate to this post:)
and all the best with the competition:)

Mishilicious Mishi said...

so true!!
my Evo was nt working for some technical fault some days back and I was like .."I'm dead!" really...I love my laptop too...I love my blog..I love my facebook id..I dont care how weird it sounds..slaves of technology or not..but this is how it is now..this is a part of our life now..connecting with pple was never this fun before...I enjoy every bit of THe Information Revolution ;p
btw thumbs up...it was fun reading it...specially the Hamaliya part..I once had the same plans,;p

jo said...

Absolutely true hai jii..
Once upon a time people used to look into the eyes of those they loved when they woke up and fall asleep looking into those very starry eyes or may be someone else's...doesn't matter. The point is we fall asleep staring into the screen of our phones and wake up doing the same.
May be technology has made life too easy...but ain't that our very basic nature.
Nice write up. Humara vote aapke sath :)

Suruchi said...

Hi Anshul,
First, the length of that comment made my day-yup, sometimes quantity matters just as much as quality. You are among the very few people in blogosphere whose comments just hit the bulls eye-you pick up the best lines or emotions and say things just about right. Hence even that “nice read” is huuuuuuuuuugely appreciated-never a cliche when it comes to you*trying to stop my hand and over excitement to stop typing more lest it seems like flattery...what the heck, gives up*

Thank you for telling me that those on Indiblogger alone can click at those hearts-tch, aveeyien itna ‘vote do, vote do’ kar diya sab jagah like a stuck up politician! :-)

I am sure electronics looooooooooove you...when humans pe itnaaaaaaaaaa solid asar hota hain, to electronics to insaan bhi nahi hain;-) and woh Himalayas pe saadhu hunt-naaaaah, gave up...there are sexier people down here in the blog world:-)

And I AM on Firefox*feeling all smug now* though technically challenged for the rest of computery affairs...did you mention “affairs” somewhere? That I should know well about;-) I don’t check my mails so much-fb n blog take up most of my space here:-)

Thank you as always, for reading n all the beautiful things you say!

P.S. I got sooooooooo used to of excessive praise from you for that fiction post ki thode se kaam nahi banta...sorry, this is almost like extracting and blackmailing praise...but I am loving it:-) You became kind of my standard bar to measure my fiction posts since you commented so earnestly last time that I MUST write more of it.

Omg...I think I just wrote another post here in the comment section!

pRasad said...

After reading this title I thought- Has Suruch lost the track?? :D ..but this post again ensured you are on "right track" :D

When I read point A, I felt to ask you- Is it a coincidence or you have purposely written the double meaning?.. B,C,D made sure to remind me that I am reading your blog :).. we can point out more similarities.. bt not now ..suna he censor vale chhoti chhoti bato pe gussa hote he:))))

Suruchi said...

@Tanvi,
Hi...Imagine our lives without our blogs?:-)


@A,
Thank you...and change is not very easy, trust me, unless it comes with a fun tag:-) And rishis ka idea drop kar diya ji...there are nicer people here:-)


@Tarunima,
Haha-so cute about wearing your glasses-hum sab ek he thaali ki chate bate hain;-)

Sameera said...

Haha.. yet again a lovely post. Even I am very bad at these technical stuffs. And, I loved the sentence - So what if I did not understand what was happening inside those big fat boxes, I could at least switch them on and off and be done with it. It just caught the nerve of every non-technical insaan/aurat.. ;)

Suruchi said...

@Mishi,
I soooooooo agree...in fact sometimes I say Facebook is the only social life I have now, with my baby being so young and me restricted more to the home...and I ain’t complaining...simply loving it. Mera blog na hota to life would have been very feeke feeke:-)

And in case the Himalaya plans change, I’ll contact you n we’ll go together;-)

Suruchi said...

@Jo,
Thank you for the vote and the comment...you are a cuteheart!:-)
And they say raat ko sone se pehle n subah jaagte he bhagwan ko yaad karna chahiye-so for this reason I have put a MATA ki photo on the screen saver-sab khush!:-)

erer said...

Tell me about it! We all have grown into technology freaks! Where did solitude go?? It's not gona come near me as long as my phone keeps buzzing me any second any of my Facebook friend makes an update LOL!

Good luck for the contest huns! Hope you rock it!! :)

Chitz said...

Nice one... hear my gadget speak

Arpit said...

Hey..
Liked it on Indiblogger. :)

Loved the post.
I read few more from your blog n all the posts were great.. :)

Happy Blogging. :)

Sorcerer said...

humans have grown a new umbilical code that connects them to the network..proclaiming them as ALIVE!
:)
Wired Weird World.

Wonderful writeup

Pavitra said...

Seriously yaar! Even I'm the same... Reading messages with one eye open...squinting as much as i can in the morning.... And now that Facebook has started mobile notifications....i keep getting messages...I've been postponing turning off those updates...

And my laptop...its now become an extension of me...And i know exactly what you mean...Even when my guy goes away for a few days...My Lappy doesn't make the distance that painful.

Chalo...Before I ramble on.... Cheers!! Hugs!! :))

Shreya said...

ha ha .. suruchi your posts are always such a treat to read :D lol :) brings smile everytime ...

The Enchantress said...

You always come up with spicyyy topics....Yeah...so true..

Life without gadgets is no life....

and such serene were those days....btw..funny pic..

hugs..mwaaaahhhhhhhh

Bikram said...

you are right about the silver laptop ..

so basically a whole big article to tell us you have a E63.. I ma sure u could have jsut written that one line we would have known :)

Till i came ot uk we did not have a AC at home yes we were poor people could not afford , but when i left and sister married off.. suddenly parents could afford the AC hmmm makes me think how much they spent on us :)

he he he I like the way you defined urself and the machines made me smile .. and oh yess point c now that would be worth watching for :)

ALL the best for the contest , This is a winner post and hey make sure when you win there is a partyyyy :)...

take care :)

Bikram's

Rachit said...

loved the similarity part:) It doesn't mean that I hated rest of the post :P

Mean MAchines; Weakest Link

Mishilicious Mishi said...

haha sure suruchi! I would love to go with you..and dont worry we will have our own MAcdonald there..I promise;p

Jack said...

Suruchi,

So true. How we are becoming overly dependent on gadgets written with so much of wit. Do you think a day may come when there may be remotes to control even humans, specially children? LOL,

Take care

PS : No visits?

Rià said...

So true!! Hope u win. All the best dear. :)

Gargi Gupta said...

Suruchi: Tell me about it! *Sigh*
Nice read and we're connected bcz of this non-living yet lively thing called Lap-tops..All the best :D

Shruti said...

ha ha. The last pic cracked me up! I was born gadget free too.. I still am not a gadget freak but the way it's going now.. I might be there anytime. Nice read it was.

Suruchi said...

@pRasad,
Hehe...one man’s track is another man’s deviation:-)
Acha hua apne censor ke baat chedh di...suna hain mere blog ko A certificate milne waala hain-A one waala;-)

Thanks for being so super encouraging in keeping me so super mad:-)


@Sameera,
I guess poore non-technical samaj ka bojh is on my not so little shoulders....but you worry not-I shall sacrifice it all for humanity’s sake:-)
Thanks for being around gurl!:-)

Suruchi said...

@Warm Sunshine,
I know right-the facebook notification thingy adds to our woes-they are like the shaadi ki ladoo-jo khaye woh bhi pachtaye n jo na kahye woh bhi:-)
Thanks for the good luck!


@Chitz-thank you:-)


@Arpit,
Hi and thanks for reading around:-)
Happy blogging to you too!

Suruchi said...

@Sorcerer,
It is a weird wired world alrite, but it is the only one we have-might as well accept the umbilical code than fight it:-)

Thank you for the wonderful comment...I got the complete grasp of it while replying to you hear...shows how shallow can be the hurried reading!:-)


@Pavitra,
Turning off the messages would be like packing n selling off your television or something...let’s grin and bear n bare it all;-)

Suruchi said...

@Shriya,
Hey...thank you:-)


@Nikita,
Just as mush is your forte, spice is kinda mine-hugs n muwaaah:-)


@Rachit,
Hehe...so glad you loved it not like you hated it..offoo...stupid Delhi Belly song!:-)


@Mishi,
Waah waah...now we have company to go to the Himalayas...now let’s wait for some more people to volunteer in...bas phir party-sharty;-)

Bikram said...

:( I guess you did not like my comment :( :( :(

Suruchi said...

@Biky-nahi re...yeh E63 ki liye nahi tha...yeh to Sony Vaio ki liye the...oh but wait, I did not say that I have it anywhere, did I?:-)

We also grew up with less of gadgetisizing...I guess that was best. Like say-
Chocolates, cold drinks, mobiles and computers-the later children get them the better;-)

Glad could make you smile and thank you for the best wishes

P.S. I can manage to reply to only a few comments at a time, that Seeya allows me to, the rest I come back to later yaar-It is NOT possible that I ever NOT LIKE your comment:-)

Suruchi said...

@Uncle Jack-remotes to control children sounds like such a brilliant idea. Wish they come up with fast before Seeya grows up;-)
Thank you for always being around and I do visit you all the time:-)


@Ria-Thanks for the wishes:-)


@Droopy Rose-actually I don’t grudge being so dependent on my cell phone n computer anymore-they’ve brought me the best of the world and the best of the people as friends:-)


@Shruti-We all are sailing in the same boat:-)

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