Haring Insights

For some of us, it certainly has proved to be a boon. All these enhancements overcome the shortcomings of their predecessors and aim to make their users content and pleased. Every house in the urban region of our nation seems to be equipped with the latest technology. You are guaranteed to find TVs, Refrigerators, ACs, Microwaves, phones and much more in these homes. And they undoubtedly make the lives of these residents stress-free and merrier.

Comfort is what these innovations have provided us in abundance. The little and monotonous things that we detested are easily managed by our machines. It has carved a different lifestyle altogether.

Science has also answered many questions and unraveled the mystery behind countless things. What is Chalk made up of? How can we oppose the gravitational force? Can all Plants photosynthesize? We now have the answers to these questions on our fingertips. And from these answers, we travel ahead and make the maximum out of it. We produce the best Chalks for our children. We travel to space and land on the Moon. We develop tissue cultures and make our own food. We have come a far way from the ancient days and it would be heart wrenching and gloomy to go back if not tough to survive.

Apart from the logic and reasoning applications and making mundane jobs just a click away, Science and Technology together have brought Modern Medicine to our doorsteps. Infectious diseases like Smallpox and Rinderpest have completely been eradicated through vaccination campaigns. The most recent development of modern medicine is the vaccine for human papillomavirus in 2006, which is a cause of cervical cancer. Such advances continue to take place and provide the human species with a sense of security and well-being. While death is a course of life, Modern medicine has brought people from the brink of it. We now lead a healthy life and tackle the hindrances that intend to make us weak, depressed and dejected.

With such innovations around us, which continually thrive to make our living comfortable, we tend to be happier than ever. Then why the question, whether Science and Technology are making us happier or not, still arises. Are we getting swayed by our greed and wanting to have more than our needs? Or is it a demerit of all the advances that we don’t know where to stop. While we try to find the cause of the questions that keep hitting us, we cannot overlook the harmful effects Science and Technology continue to have. Science and Technology is also a bane for some unlucky individuals.

Albert Einstein said, “Technological progress is like an ax in the hands of a pathological criminal.” The quotation came from the father of modern physics at the time when the entire world was engulfed in the war between the Allies and the Axis. Immeasurable destruction was carried out during the World Wars and myriad of lives were lost forever. And the new generation is still handicapped by the nuclear bombing in Japan. How can we term such consequences as Happier moments? While every single person in this world is capable of understanding the destructive nature of military maneuvers, why are we still getting involved in such vicious acts? We grief when there is a loss of a life. We feel immense sorrow at such times. Even then innocent lives are lost at this very moment in some street of Afghanistan; another individual is brutally bombed during the upheaval in Libya right now.  Technological progress might have given a new meaning to new age wars, but it also has accounted for our brothers, our fathers, our sisters and our mothers. They are never going to come back, our mourning will continue and such progress will keep causing distress.

While some advances, like Torpedo, are composed only of destructive powers, others are dependent on the way we use them. Say Drugs. Prescribed and taken for medicinal purposes brings relief. But addiction to such chemical substances is life threating and disastrous. So is the scenario with the latest Social networking sites. Some of us have become so engrossed with the regular updates and the rich media content that we hardly leave our gadgets and systems alone. Not only that but the teenagers can be seen glued to their cell phones. Turning every few seconds to check for incomings. A delay of 8 minutes usually causes a response of the kind “why haven’t I received any text lately?”  While the addictions and repercussions are plenty, the technological growth has made us irritable and jumpy. And jumpy is certainly not happy in any language.

So where do we actually stand when we talk about Science and Technology and their list of pros and cons. For one thing, we are still alive and functioning better than ever, even with the productions of arms and forces. And if it weren’t in the wrong hand or handled as callously as it was, we might never have some chapters in our history books and some of those battle stories might never be told.

While the opinion will largely remain divided whether Science and Technology are boon or bane for mankind, we will continue to step ahead and make startling progressions. The majority of us have actually been making the right use of it. It is for this reason that we still live a peaceful life. And these progressions, even with all their ulterior applications, will continue to make us happy as we make the right use of it.

If you know the meanings of the capitalized words above then you do know about the subject of this article, Social Media. And if you associate with the sentences above, you might need help for social media addiction. Good news is that help comes in the form of another Social Network. Social Anxiety Friends, a social network to help you with your addiction to "Social Networks".  

Regardless, there are many social networking sites out there and for varied purposes. Facebook and Orkut are full networks where you can add your entire life history and connect with anyone. LinkedIn and Xing are Professional networks that deal with your career background. Twitter is a microblogging site where you cannot communicate more than 160 characters at a time. Youtube, Pinterest, and Flickr are media sharing social networks that are all about Videos and Images. And Blogger is a place where you can describe point-by-point happenings.

While these are some of the most popular networking sites, there are some interesting and unusual sites too. VampireFreaks, which as the name implies, is about supernatural beings for the gothic-industrial subcultures. Ngopost.org, on the other hand, discusses social welfare ideas and promotes citizen journalism. Different and touching is Respectance, an online memorial to remember your loved ones.

I bid farewell to my comfortable, safe, and happy journey. Put on my poker face and inculcated all the Indian traditions and respect at once. This was not going to be easy, family reputation was in my hands. The same hands that did tradition less triple tango before boarding the train.

I answered every question she asked, even the ones that your doctor doesn’t ask. I spoke at length about inconsequential things that could have bothered even my carefree dog. And kept the conversation floating when my eyes were drowning.

I made sure not to dishonor or provoke any of our sacred religious and cultural matters. Agreed with her viewpoints and entrusted her that a child must take care of his parents, no matter what. She seemed pleased. I felt successful but not even a little jubilant.

Finally, I found the perfect opportunity to escape and so I dozed off. I left quickly when the train arrived at the destination, so I didn't have to exchange formalities while bidding adieu. 

Next night I was at my father’s club. Dinner was over. People were saying their goodbyes, finishing deserts, or just enjoying their inebriated state. My Father comes up to me and whispers in my ear, “The lady you met in the Train is here. She told me something about you.”

What I wasn’t expecting was his further assessment of my barely alive footwear. He showed me how the base had turned slippery and could easily result in my fall. A complete stranger to whom I would never return was considerate enough about my well-being. All my judgements and doubts about his character subsided that moment and I chose to consider his advice.

The guy tactfully placed some materials (by best guess being NAILS) in them to cause friction and prevent my further downfall. Such a bright guy. Probably knew more about friction than physics could ever teach me. He had to be from IIT then. But jokes apart, sometimes it’s appalling to see such smart people working on platforms. Such is the system here in our nation that even the most educated is not guaranteed a meager paying job. And it is so that people begin to drift away and indulge in unlawful acts. And now I was drifting away to the infinite list of hardships of life. The drift made me realize not of another great opinion but the fact that I was being oblivious to the cobbler’s words.

Anyhow. The work was done and it was time to try my footwear which did not appear the slightest bit different than what it was earlier. Maybe the difference would be prominent when I try it on. It’s all about ‘the feel’ these days, isn’t it? No, not much of a change after putting it on. Maybe it was another sign to buy something new.

Having nothing more to repair or ponder I asked the cobbler his job’s worth. And to say his price got me off-guard, astonished and incredulously baffled would be an understatement. But I was an engineering student. I couldn’t let go off so easily. Querying was my education right. On questioning the estimates and the net total the cobbler gave me a firm reply “Kya Bhaiya! Bola toh tha ki 5 rupaye ki ek nail hai….aap pata nahi kis duniya mein khoye huye the!”

Her first editions of the Paulo Coelho’s were missing. And she only had few, The Alchemist, The Devil and Miss Prym and the Witch of Portobello. Jai was the only person who had access to her flat. Hence, Anusha was fuming with anger on him. Jai didn’t like books. He wasn’t an avid reader like Anusha. This fuelled Anusha even more. What was he doing with them when he didn’t have anything to do with them?

Jai meanwhile was thinking what does “Maa ki aankh” could probably mean? He wasn’t Indian but he sure knew what a book-loving girl would love. Her first editions signed by the author himself. The moment Anusha finished her shake and seemed relaxed, Jai presented her her treasure, even more precious now. Anusha opened one up and reality dawned on her. Jai, who had no clue about books, had given her the best gift he could ever.

Words were unnecessary now. Love was in the air. All was forgiven and forgotten. But Jai still had a query. And he knew Anusha wouldn’t mind. Looking right into her hazel eyes he asked,

‘’Are you missing your mother? You said Teri Maa ki aankh. And Maa means Mom, right?”