Today something very strange happened. It’s not unusual for me to forget things.
I’ve learnt to address my memory issues. Every morning I make a list of things I have to do. These could include: Go to work, Pay phone bill, Train pass expires, Eyebrows, Call so-and-so, etc.
I know these are not extraordinary chores and at some point or the other each of us forget to do any of the above things. A while ago my phone had reminders like: Turn off milk gas, Rosy aunty unwell, Fill water at 9.30, Troy on HBO. Just the day before I couldn’t think of the word ‘sustainable’ while writing a review. I knew exactly what I wanted to say but still couldn’t.
Today I had to go to Andheri (yes, godforsaken Andheri) for a movie screening. Fun Republic and Andheri is general is where in a week at least one film is screened. I got off at the bus stop before CitiMall and kept walking.
I realised I couldn’t remember where I was going. I walked upto Infiniti Mall and back, trying hard to remember which lane I had to get in. With loud music in my ears I felt, for the first time, a fear. The fear that memory loss could bring. I saw my phone had a reminder SMS from the PR about the press show at 12 noon Fun Republic. Phew! Gathering my thoughts I tried calling my cousin who works in the same lane as Fun. No answer. Finally I asked a man where Fun was and he told me the left at the signal.
After reaching Fun I struggled to find the way to the special screening theatre.
There’s something really weird about not remembering things. Worse is not knowing where you, what you’re there for and how you got there. Hoping this was just a one off incident. Definitely don’t want a repeat of such a thing.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The smart-phone generation
Here's my Mumbai Muse that appeared in DNA on May 8
A friend was bragging about the apps on her new Android phone as we sat in a dark theatre waiting for the film to begin.
“The Shakespeare app gives me a list of sonnets, plays, etc of the Bard,” she said. “And I’m so addicted to the e-book app. So much so that I have developed a number and have to wear specs.”
“Oh,” I expressed wonder. “What else can your phone do?” I was quick to cash in on the opportunity to get a free lesson in new mobile-phone technology.
She said her friends shop online. Every time they come across something they like, they take pictures and send them to the others online. After some discussion, the prospective buyer makes his/her decision. Sounds like a cool way of operating. But is this all friendshipshave come to? I mean, whatever happened to those days when, in girlish excitement, we’d call each other andmeet up at Bandra or Lokhandwala to shop?
For me, a phone has always been (and always will be) a little box that fits into the palm of my hand, makes and receives calls, sends urgent texts, perhaps plays the radio, and has a fairly good memory to contain my ever-increasing contact list. A mobile phone for me carries out basic communication functions. Treating it like a convenience store doesn’t seem to be my cup of tea (maybe if I had a new-age phone, I would bask in the glory of what it could do for me).
But with life as it is now, everybody seems to be running to catch the next big thing. From the regular Nokia with radio to cameras to touch screens to QWERTY keypads to what not. When the BlackBerry arrived, everybody wanted a piece of it. And now it seems like everybody has one. A friend (who did not own a BB until a few days ago) even observed that many of our common teenage buddies managed to find partners after they got BlackBerries. How, you might ask. Young boys and girls sharing BB pins and chatting away all day have cemented relationships, it seems. A BB messenger is probably their channel for finding love, while for us it used to be religious and social events like weddings, etc.
I’m baffled while I wonder if anyone communicates the way we did just a few years ago. Hello/Hi have made way for Wassup. (I still don’t have an answer satisfactory enough for that question.) People don’t laugh the hahahahah way anymore, they only LOL/LMAO/ROTFLMAO/ and such like. You’re only as cool as the number of Facebook friends you have. That you keep in touch with only two of them is a different matter altogether.
I may sound like an old cynic who cannot see and appreciate the wonders the new-age mobile phones and internet have brought into our lives. But think about it. Don’t you miss the good ol’ days of meet and greet?
A friend was bragging about the apps on her new Android phone as we sat in a dark theatre waiting for the film to begin.
“The Shakespeare app gives me a list of sonnets, plays, etc of the Bard,” she said. “And I’m so addicted to the e-book app. So much so that I have developed a number and have to wear specs.”
“Oh,” I expressed wonder. “What else can your phone do?” I was quick to cash in on the opportunity to get a free lesson in new mobile-phone technology.
She said her friends shop online. Every time they come across something they like, they take pictures and send them to the others online. After some discussion, the prospective buyer makes his/her decision. Sounds like a cool way of operating. But is this all friendshipshave come to? I mean, whatever happened to those days when, in girlish excitement, we’d call each other andmeet up at Bandra or Lokhandwala to shop?
For me, a phone has always been (and always will be) a little box that fits into the palm of my hand, makes and receives calls, sends urgent texts, perhaps plays the radio, and has a fairly good memory to contain my ever-increasing contact list. A mobile phone for me carries out basic communication functions. Treating it like a convenience store doesn’t seem to be my cup of tea (maybe if I had a new-age phone, I would bask in the glory of what it could do for me).
But with life as it is now, everybody seems to be running to catch the next big thing. From the regular Nokia with radio to cameras to touch screens to QWERTY keypads to what not. When the BlackBerry arrived, everybody wanted a piece of it. And now it seems like everybody has one. A friend (who did not own a BB until a few days ago) even observed that many of our common teenage buddies managed to find partners after they got BlackBerries. How, you might ask. Young boys and girls sharing BB pins and chatting away all day have cemented relationships, it seems. A BB messenger is probably their channel for finding love, while for us it used to be religious and social events like weddings, etc.
I’m baffled while I wonder if anyone communicates the way we did just a few years ago. Hello/Hi have made way for Wassup. (I still don’t have an answer satisfactory enough for that question.) People don’t laugh the hahahahah way anymore, they only LOL/LMAO/ROTFLMAO/ and such like. You’re only as cool as the number of Facebook friends you have. That you keep in touch with only two of them is a different matter altogether.
I may sound like an old cynic who cannot see and appreciate the wonders the new-age mobile phones and internet have brought into our lives. But think about it. Don’t you miss the good ol’ days of meet and greet?
Friday, May 6, 2011
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