This is an old Chinese curse and is used even today. It is used when a Chinese does not want to see someone happy. The person who administers the curse hopes that the other person’s life may be surrounded by worries and obstacles. Ironically, the curse could also turn into a blessing and living in ‘interesting times’ could lead to exciting opportunities and experiences.
I was about five years old, and our household was rattled awake by its ringing – yes, it was the telephone. Our household was the first to get a telephone connection in our locality. My dad managed to pull a few strings with someone in the department and we skipped ahead of the queue when connections were authorized. Just like any typical Indian household procedure of welcoming new things into our life, the telephone was received with great pomp and show. Vermilion powder and scented flowers were sprinkled on it and it was placed at the right angle and position in the living room to ward off evil spirits. Relatives and friends near and far were informed of its arrival and it became the centerpiece of attraction. My sister and I underwent detailed training on phone etiquettes and we waited eagerly for the ‘ringing’ tone every day. And when the phone did ring, our entire family would dash to answer the call no matter what state we were in or which important job we were doing. I can bet my hands down that then record holding sprinter Carl Lewis would have come up short beating my grand-dad to the phone. Such was the captivating force of the telephone.
More than two decades have passed, and today that same telephone which caused brought so much excitement into my family lies ignored in a corner. All my family members flash latest mobile phones and whether we need it or not it is part of our lives. My grand-dad waited an entire life time for a telephone to arrive in his house, my dad half a life-time and me 5 years. In less than half my lifetime- mobile phones, smart phones, pocket pc’s, laptops et al have shifted through my hands. Technological development has made Moore’s law look ordinary.
I strongly believe people of my age (give or take a few years) live at the cusp of two generations. We are neither old timers nor are we ‘gen x’. We have seen the best and worst of the generation gone by and at the same time witnessed the amazing changes in the next generation. Our children will never know the excitement of using a telephone or the pleasure of watching nationalized programs in a black and white television with the whole family. Nor will they be able to understand the raw passion of the angry young man portrayed by Amitab Bachan or appreciate the tunes of Kishore Da, Rafi sahib, AR Rehman and others. The future that will unfold for the next generation is beyond our wildest imagination.
We are living through a time frame when technological advancement has revolutionized our daily life and economic development has gifted us tremendous opportunities. And, we have seen severely bruised by the dark side as well- economic downturns, terrorism, oil wars, natural disasters, corruption etc. So what has been that one key ingredient that we have got that has made us turn every corner, adapt to changes, take that giant leap of faith and given us hope in testing times? It’s our value system acquired through ‘word of mouth’ teaching from the generation gone by. That value system has been the driving force of almost every decision we have taken in our lives so far. It holds us firmly to our roots. Gone as the days when the world used to view us as the ‘land of snake charmers’ and spices. Today we are centric to world development. And it is our values which will give us the true identity of being an ‘Indian’ in the modern world. Let us not get mesmerized by the changes around us. It’s our fundamental duty us to pass on our value system to the next generation. Make sure it’s not lost forever. Rest as they say will be history.
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