udhaar ki zindagi

i got a mouse on rent. the surprising thing is not that i got one, but that i could get one. it used to be land, house, money, and other assortments necessary to eking out an existence, that used to be available on rent. now its a mouse.

how the mighty have fallen. i think i was born at the right time to see the transition from one world to the other. the early years were spent with books, outdoor games, dunking in tubewells, bonding with family, hurling my sister around, and trying out rather impossible feats of mental ability; viz., going through school. in retrospect those were fun times. it was a simple life, with nothing more to contend with other than getting away with mischief, coming up with innovative ideas to make our parents life more miserable, teenage angst, et al. nothing that millions of other kids at that age dont go through.

and then tip toing its way out from research laboratories, the computer literally revolutionised the way we live and think. today i cant imagine a life without computers. i wouldnt go so far as to say that its an evil, or even a necessary one. but yet, it never ceases to amaze me how everything has changed. the world just flipped itself over with the flip of a switch. computer, and the associated industry, is the means of livelihood for a large chunk of the world population. there is no sphere of life left untouched by the jumble of wires, the dull grey of plastic casing and the blue glare of monitors. it has become all pervasive. reminds me of something that came up while discussing blogs with a friend. the issue at hand was blogrolling and i just could'nt help myself from thinking about our vocabulary and its usage. cliched as it may sound, i think (along with others) that blogs are going to be around for a long long time, and become a force to reckon with, in terms of communication idioms. in that respect, imagine some years into the future:

school bully to school wuss: i am going to steam roll you.
wuss to bully: oh yeah? i will blogroll you.
school bully: *shocked and suitably impressed*

but i dont want to get into the moral, social, economical or cultural issues associated with this movement. i just want you to take a step back and gape at this change. i dont think history can offer us a revolution larger in scale, speedier in taking effect, and bloodless in its entirety, than this. it is beyond admiration or loathing. reverence is a word which seems befitting.

but look where that mouse has dragged and dropped us. i dont think i have a philosophical point to make with this post. i guess i just miss that old simple way of life.