Few days
back, was chatting with one of my machis at his house. Since schools
have re – opened, his younger bro was studying with his classmate. I was
surprised to see a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 near those guys. When I went
with curiosity just to have a view of it, (since I have been gifted with a
smartphone only before a month, after the completion of my first year in
university; before that, I was using Nokia C201) that guy muttered a tone
of mockery, “Anna, what are you going to do with that without knowing the
lock pattern? Here, let me unlock it.” I just blushed and gave it to him
but replied sternly that I didn’t need it. (Even God can’t control my
eagerness for automobiles and mobiles; babes escape my eyes but not these)
I didn’t want to get my disappointment noticed.
He said
that he needed some latest songs and movies that had to be transferred from another
PC. I was immobile for a moment. Bringing me back to the comfort zone, I
noticed my friend was still petrified. I shook him and he, without a word, just
went out of the house. I could comprehend through telepathy that he had gone
through the same state of mind as me, too.
A fifth
grade boy, no, not even a boy, a child, tantalizes me with his expensive
electronic gadget!!! I thought of my childhood. It had a bit of electronic
devices in it, but not to this extent. The years after my birth can be
classified into various branches, like the Carolus Linnaeus’ ‘Binomial
Nomenlature’. Let me explain them in a simple bulleted list as detailing
them in the form of a flowchart would make the readers feel dizzy.
1) Pre
– cable era, where Doordarshan was the only TV channel (Televisions didn’t
occupy the core of day – to – day life, then; I wonder how housewives spent
their afternoons then without serials) Radio played an important role in
providing information. Especially, I used radio only for listening to cricket
commentaries and weather reports during rainy days to know if there was a
holiday for schools.
2) Pre
– computer era, when TVs were becoming widespread, yet these LEDs and Plasma
TVs hadn’t born. Cable connections were available at a maximum of 50 rupees per
month. (I had started watching cricket in TV; Sachin, Azharudhin, Kumble and
Javagal Srinath began decorating the bedroom walls in the form of stickers and
newspaper cuttings)
3) Pre
– smartphone era, when Nokia 1100 was the only available model with a
mind – boggling price of 6000 bucks. (We were one of the first families in
our locality to actually buy a mobile for residential purposes) That simple
ringing tone transcended my happiness, because for the first time ever, I had
heard something different from the regular, ‘tring tring’.
I still remember the
day when Cable was installed in my home. That was vacation in 2003 and we were
all eager to watch the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. I could hear people
conversing with raised eyebrows, “They’re going to have cable installed
today.” The whole of our street was in frenzy throughout the day. There
were too many children in and around the area and they all had to assemble at a
particular house in the adjacent street to watch the series, ‘Jeeboomba’
in Vijay TV. (Those were the days when kids with Jeeboomba pencils were
admired) Now, that monopoly had been
broken. That was like ‘history in the making’.
A group of people were
climbing the posts and trees with random commands, “Throw the wire here”,
“Hold on, tie it over there” Finally, there was the instruction. “Switch
your TV on” Dad and bro did so with shaking hands and
Bingo….!!! Installation successful. I was beaming with pride
and joy and soon became the ‘Big Brother’ of the gang of chotus
and vaandus. There were children of my age group swarming the hall
always to watch matches. And, India didn’t disappoint, either. Except being
bundled out for 125 in the league match against the Aussies which the ‘Men
In Blue’ lost eventually, everything was going on well. Especially, the
match against Pakistan provided the necessary environment for such hyped
expectations.
After Saeed
Anwar’s stroke – filled century had propelled Pak to 273/7, it was time for
India to boomerang them. Sachin and Sehwag did that exactly. Viru was seen as
the man who could replicate everything from Tendulkar. They provided a
rollicking start. As usual, my home was house – full and every upper cut, flick
and cover drive of Sachin was being received with heavy applause and uproar,
the noise thundering all over the street. Even some of the elders were yelling
like children, “Great shot, isn’t it? Wasim Akram’s going to be a dead meat
today.” My home saw the crests and troughs of the people’s expressions and emotions
through the ‘boon in disguise’, the Cable TV. When Sachin was caught and
bowled for a mere 4 off Glenn McGrath in the Grand Finale, the entire clan
abused and cursed him. (Maybe, the loss of his wife in 2008 was the
aftermath of the intensity of the curse. No offence, please)
I can still
recollect the exact results of all the matches India played in the WC 2003 and
finally, Sourav Ganguly’s men were the runners – up. But, more than that, the
entire neighborhood had integrated as an entity for cricket, forgetting the
quarrels for municipality water, abuses for improper septic tank cleaning and
rows over several other reasons which aren’t worth mentioning here. Such was
the effect a single, small BPL TV could create in those days. When I narrate
this to some kids nowadays, they just snub me by asking, “Why didn’t you
have a Bravia with stereo speakers and sub – woofers?”
Similarly,
another incident also hurts my conscience till date viz. downloading songs and
movies from the internet. I may not be a veteran of 40 – 50 in age, but I have
also crossed the peak time of audio cassettes and original CDs. My mind has
changed though, adapting itself to the trend – setters of the present. When
someone buys Moserbaer audio CDs worth 100 bucks today, he is looked down upon
as a ‘fool, who doesn’t know money’s worth’. Nobody owns a tape recorder
and even if rarely I spot it in some retiree’s home, it would be in coma stage
or even dead. Reason: There are none to repair and rectify tape recorders, radios
and transistors today. We recently threw away the mini transistor into the
garbage junk.
Mom and Dad
had filled up my primary schooling days with music, music and more music. Those
were the days when CD players cost more than plots and houses (!!!), so the
only affordable option was buying audio cassettes. Since we couldn’t muster
enough dosh to buy the cassettes of each and every movie, dad used to exercise
the middle – class mind in an extra – ordinary way. He would prioritize songs
from many movies and list them. There were experts maintaining studios for
recording in tapes these assorted tracks. That is how I got introduced into Ilayaraaja
and Deva’s music; that is how ‘Colonial Cousins’ stamped their
foot on Cuddalore soil; that’s when the legendary ARR was on his way to the
helm of affairs in the Indian music.
‘Kaasu
Maela Kaasu Vandhu’ (‘Kadhala Kadhala’ movie) was viral then like Kolaveri.
I must have easily heard it more than 200 times, with an average of about 4 – 5
times a day. Maharajapuram Santhanam (Carnatic vocalist, shitty minds
please don’t think of the comedian) and Nithyashree Mahadevan
soothed my parents when they were getting ready for their work. Even today,
while I hear Ghanan Ghanan from Lagaan, I imagine the people in
the movie crying for rain as the weeping owners of those audio cassette shops,
who are seen nowhere. But, I always thank mom and dad in heart for filling my
childhood with various aspects which were costly then and are rare nowadays.
There are still more than 100 valuable cassettes here with me; I hope to
convert them to the usable CDs some day, maybe with my first salary (with
minute confidence of me getting placed and earning something).
There was
this older version of the camera that used film rolls. In those days,
documentation of traveling had to be done only through photo albums. That was a
difficult process, and taking pics in that type was hell. Only dad had mastered
the art, and so he was always the ‘Sherpa Tenzing’ who couldn’t pose for
a photo after climbing Mount Everest. The films had to be carefully handled and
processed in such a way that the negatives were effectively converted to real
quality photos. Then, they had to be filtered and sorted in some chronological
order to complete the album.
This is the
era of T20 cricket; people want everything to be quick, but fail to notice the
permanency and longevity of such lusty pleasures. Debashish Mohanty’s fierce
bowling has been forgotten; cricket fans of today do not know who he is.
Sachin’s strokeplay and Dravid’s long stays to salvage India a draw in Test
matches are not topics to be discussed. This is the time when cricket has
changed from the ’Gentleman’s Game’ to some belligerent brawly sport.
People like Gayle, Maxwell and Pollard
are looked up as the ‘Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva’ of cricket; only ruthless
hits are applauded and received. Same is the case of music. Once, it was the
medium which reflected our culture and traditional background. After the advent
of Pitbulls and Akons, it is no surprise that only those tracks with the
accompaniment of noisy guitars and percussion are regarded.
Let me not waste my
time here by discussing more about this because this is the period where voting
has become just another work for people. I found a status in FB recently:
“What’s
the worth of your vote, first time voters?”
“Nothing.
Oh, well, hang on.. We can upload a pic in our walls showing the inks in our
index finger.”
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