Time always
fascinates me. Time changes constantly. We all know that. We have been told
that. In the famous statement “Change is the only constant”, time is the
variable. But can we really see that? Think about it. We hardly see time
change. All you smarty pants out there, don’t look at your watches immediately!
What I meant was that in the hustle and bustle of our lives, we fail to notice
all the changes that happen around us. We are subconsciously aware of the
changing times but we sort of seamlessly ease in to all these changes that we
hardly notice them. Well, I am not being intentionally vague or purposefully
confusing here even though you may be cursing me already.
Well,
think about it. Time is like the earth or the sun or the millions of heavenly
objects. Science has educated us that all these things move. But we have never
really seen them do so (unless you are sitting in NASA with a super telescope).
Time is like wind. We can feel the change but it eludes our eyes. So years go
by and we live life adapting to (and accepting) all the changes that happen
around us through the years without really stopping to think and see the extent
and magnitude of those changes. And also there is the continuum paradox. Well,
don’t worry. This is not a science article. Imagine you keep seeing someone
every single day. You wouldn’t notice the subtle changes in their appearance as
they are so gradual that they go unnoticed. On the other hand if you are seeing
someone say after 5 years you are more likely to see the changes in them.
All
right.. all right.. I can see a few polite folks yelling: “So what are you
trying to say here?” Well, I will give you the usual answer: Nothing really. If
you still want to try and peek into my brain, don’t tell me I didn’t try to
warn you. Well, it is one of those random moments where I was just reminiscing
the old times and my idle mind started to chronicle all the changes that it has
lived through all these years. And it made me part nostalgic and part
philosophical. Don’t worry…. Won’t bore you with anything too deep though.
So let
us see, what has changed in our lives! Well, for starters, everything! The way
of life, the people around you, the landscape, the scenery, the air you
breathe, the roads you travel, the food you eat, the things you do and so on
and so forth! Nothing has been spared by the winds of time and change.
Be more
specific, you say. Okay! In those days, TV was not 24 hours. And it was not 240
channels either. I am sure lot of you would feel nostalgic about Doordarshan. I
used to sit watching the Doordarshan symbol spinning and spinning, waiting for
programming to begin. Or sometimes there used to be that multi-color bars that
covered the TV screen like a rainbow which always fascinated me. And I don’t
know if it is just me, but I felt that the programs in those days were better
than the ones that air now. But again I digress.
The
point is that in those days there were limited numbers of good quality shows (and of
different genres) that kept us hooked. I remember waiting for the next
Wednesday to watch Byomkesh Bakshi. Sunday mornings were always the most
exciting time of the week as we had great shows and cartoons back to back from I
think 9 to 12. And those were the only times you could watch these shows. If by
chance you miss it, there is no way you can watch it again. There was no re-telecast.
There was no internet (probably was inside some genius’ mind). I remember being
so bummed when I couldn’t watch a favorite show due to a power cut. I also
remember going to a friend who lived a few streets apart (where by some
miracle, there was no power cut) and asking him what happened in that day’s
episode. I can’t imagine anyone doing these things nowadays. To the next
generation, this might even sound outright funny (I can already see Maya making
fun of me), but these are bits of nostalgia for me.
There
was no Youtube (or multiple music channels) those days and Chitrahaar or
Rangoli were the only means for you to catch a new song or reminisce an old classic.
And ohhh…. Movies. What can I say? There was so much buzz and anticipation over
the release of a new movie. The only way to watch a new movie was in the
theater. And we only watched our most favorite actors’ movies (or an absolute
classic) in the theater. So it felt like a huge deal. I would always be in
countdown mode that whole week. And then there was ice cream, popcorn etc… It
felt very special. Nowadays we have the option to watch every other movie in
the theater though more often than not, we watch them in our laptops while
multitasking a bunch of other things. And a week later, we don’t even remember
if we ever watched that movie or not. It is no surprise that I distinctly
remember only the movies (the theater I watched them in and several other details)
that I watched up until I probably went to college.
Moving
on to food. Well, that too has changed a lot. I remember fruit and vegetable
vendors making rounds every single morning. I used to love the exercise of
going out and picking fresh vegetables. No supermarkets, no genetically
modified shiny fruits that look like that they came out of a washing machine,
no cutely labelled organic fancy (read expensive) stuff! Just fresh fruits and
vegetables right out of neighboring farm lands. And lots of variety too. I know
it will be a weird comparison, but if you think about it, even though the
number of dishes in restaurants have risen exponentially, the
ingredients are actually shrinking. There are vegetables that I no longer see
or are very scarce these days. And talk about restaurants and fancy places
serving food! Well, I know we have a lot of options these days. But somehow I
feel that they just try too much to be different and unique. Don’t get me
wrong, they are very good, but I still prefer the older ones which kept it
relatively simple but immensely delicious.
Let us switch gears a bit. How
about the stark contrast in watching a Bjorn Borg or a Stefan Edberg play to
the current crop (barring Federer of course) go on and on in endless marathon
rallies like soft skinned cyborgs? How about the fact that in a few years, we
could see 1 over cricket matches playing to packed arenas? I can just go on and
on but I am sure you don’t want me to. And don’t get me wrong: I am not saying
that all this change is bad. By no means! I am just saying that our lives are
changing daily at an infinitesimal velocity and ferocity.
And if
you think about it, technology is at the forefront of most of the changes that
have transpired in our lives. It is what drove us out of the streets and
playgrounds into our cellphones and gaming consoles. It is what gave us the
option of skipping a get together with friends and to catch up later on
Facebook or Whatsapp. It is the one that trumped our urge to catch a movie on
the giant screen to watching it on your iPad on the go. It is the one that
egged us to tear away from our roots and explore the vast expanses of the earth
(and beyond). Well, I guess you get the point here.
There
will be a day when we (at least some of us) will be travelling in cars that
drive themselves, when robots will clean our dishes and autobots will cook
delicacies for us as we watch a movie in our Google glasses while telecommuting
to work. And to our delusional mind, all this would seem like life as usual.
But to the deep subconscious, if and when it wakes up from a slumber, it would
be another of time’s in-numerous illusions that will, like it or not, leave you
transformed and transfixed to equal measure.
