Thursday, October 7, 2010

# 25 - The tekki

Parents and Technology. Never has there been a more entertaining (and lovable) combo. Our folks grew up in a time where life was simple and straight forward. Lifes greatest pleasures came in boxes labeled going to the cinema, or going for a drive to Seaview, technology was simple and slow paced, writing letters to distant relatives, and waiting for weeks for correspondence ,'booking' a long distance call for 3 minutes to talk to some far flung relative in the U.S.A.

Actually most of us aged twenty-something, ( Oh God, I can actually be classified as a twenty-something now :s) also grew up in those times. Ah, the nineties, good times .I'm sure my fellow 'twenty-something’s' remember. The cartoons on STN/NTM, the long-anticipated trips to Mr.Burger,Ainkak wala Jinn,Jet Sport being for only 2.5 rupees ,er the back to the future trilogy :D. 

Anyway, then came the internet, broad band, cable tv, and the mobile technology boom and everything changed .Forever. Suddenly we were thrown into the world of instant messaging, rapid file sharing, orkut, face book etc.

We being kids at the time, we quick to adapt,but most of our parents they sort of got a little confused along the way, God bless their dear hearts ( how clihed was that line? :D) It's quite adorable to watch them be fascinated or else completely baffled to no end with things we take for granted.

Once a cousin of mine had to check her email for her mom, and the conversation went something like this:

Khala: I ! ( that’s my cousins name) check the email for me!
I : Yeah mom, I am going to XYZ’s house, I’ll check it from there
Khala: How can you check it from someone elses house? Its MY email
I: Yeah so that’s no problem I can check it from elsewhere
Khala: But How would MY email be in someone else’s computer!!  I don’t want anyone else to read it!
I: (sigh) But no its your email mom, no one else can read it!
Khala: Then why is it on someone else’s computer?!!
I: It is not on someone elses computer, I can just access it, its like making a phone call!
Khala: What do you mean?!! I thought you got the mail from the computer!

Another time a friend of mine had his mom angry at him for spending too much time on the internet, she was like

Tum Hamesha internet khun khelytey rehey ho??

Same goes for cell phones as well, my dad got a new touch screen for himself phone recently and he is convinced that it is the epitome of all technology. Example:

Dad to random relative: See! I have a new phone
Random Relative: Wow very nice, congrats
Dad: See, my phone is really cool it has a touch screen zip zip zip ( locks and unlocks it in rapid succession three four times to prove it)
RR: Yeah I can see it! Real nice!
Dad: Is YOUR phone touch screen?
RR: er, yeah it is see ( shows their phone)
Dad: Yeah good good for you, todays technology is really amazing I tell you, especially THIS phone! See! it also has a zip zip zip… CALCULATOR!
RR: er…yeah of course it does, but every phone has one!
Dad: they do??
RR: Yeah they do.
Dad: oh okay but that’s just one simple thing, forget that, my phone has an MP3 player as well!
RR: How nice I do too!
Dad: ( frowning now) really?... I thought it was not very common
RR: Well, yeah it is. But its still a good thing to have
Dad: Well yeah.... But I bet you don’t have blue teeth!!

*sorry dad, love you, but I couldn’t resist writing this

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