Skip to main content

Being 'Sense'ible

There was a time when I would 'write' letters, 'create' cards, 'find and remember a place' based on the instructions I got from the locals and so on. It has been more than a decade since I actually 'wrote' a letter. And I can't remember the last time I dialed my friends' number to say a 'hi' (Should calling your best friend on their birthday count?) Well, when the apps are here why do we need to! "Absolutely!" - I'll say.

There are umpteen things for which I, for one, have stopped using my hands or legs and senses and started depending more on the apps and the net. I just can't seem to ignore Google, for instance. They seem to have a billion apps for a million things. Ok... so that's exaggeration. But you get the point right.
You don't talk/write/share/chat/travel/create/play/listen/blog/WHAT...EVER - You just Google.
I have actually seen sermon advertisements that read - "There are somethings that even Google can't answer". Though I didn't imagine a competition between God and Google(!!) but then ... what do you know!

For a 2 weeks' travel to Istanbul, Google Weather's 'next 10 days' forecast assured me of a manageable and not-so-cold climate. I felt - a pair of trousers (white and black), a nice skirt and a knee-length dress were more than enough (along with the jacket of course!).

Day 1 - Google predicted '100% precipitation'. The dress made sense.
(It didn't rain the whole day. The chilly winds made things worse. I was shivering badly by night.)
Day 2 - Google predicted a dry day. Obviously, the white pants should have been perfect.
(When we left the hotel, it was raining heavily! (😭 My white pants!!) We had to book a cab.)
They say that what happens twice has to have a third time!
Day 3 - Google predicted slight rain and not much cold. The skirt was the first thing on my mind. - I ended up wearing the warmest clothes I had. Turned out it was snowing (First snow of the year and my life!!!) and temperature had dipped to minus.
What saved me? They were the 4 magical words my friend and fellow hotelier WhatsApped me just before I was getting ready - "Look outside your window"

Come to think of it, no matter how great the app is, nothing beats using your own senses!

[P.S. : Google Weather gives you the latest info. So banking on a day or a 4 hour earlier prediction may get you into trouble!]

"Outside my window"

Comments

  1. Very true. Technology has made life easy; but it's making us lazy too. It has made the world a small place; but made our minds small too. We don't even care to ask someone or talk to someone since we have 'Google'. Well written. Keep going

    ReplyDelete
  2. I totally agree with you. Very recent example would be maps and eh, train tracking app too. Due to this continuously bombardment of apps in the small box in our hands, we are going through Digital Slavery!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Love At First Sight!

I never believed in love at first sight.  But knew would meet him some day. So when the age,  the stars and the need was all there I thought I will be prepared for the formalities. But when my mom, suddenly having realised that an emergency action needed to be taken as time was slipping away, actually said,  "It's time!", I could feel my heart throbbing. LOUDLY. How would he be.  Will he like me. How exactly will the first meeting be. My head was teeming with anticipation. It was with butterflies in my stomach that I was ushered in to the meeting place. His side was very particular about him and hence ensured that I was qualified and well groomed enough to be ready for him. After the initial formal info exchange and ensuring that I was 'clean' enough, I was led to the room where we were supposed to meet. He was already there. In pristine whites and a blue blazer. A sister introduced us. He had small but gorgeous black eyes and a serene face. Too fair. Scanty ha

The Beginning

I love to write. Whether people understand it or not is a different matter. I got it clear long back. Like most kids in primary classes, I had an open mind. And a bizarre imagination. I would pour out all of this in the form of poems, complete with their rhymes and phrases. I would read and re-read my creativity back to myself and feel as an Oxford graduate everytime I completed a poem. I used to show my poetry to my family. Now you just don't deject a child, do you?! So there I was, all swelled up in pride whenever my folks would talk about my 'writing skills'. I was the next Shakespeare in the making. Or so I thought. And then there was the school magazine. I would feverishly write out my 'feelings' and submit to the editorial board. You can well imagine my disappointment, when each year, the book came albeit without my write-up. Now seriously!! How could they ignore such brilliance!! It was not until high school that my English teacher (carefully and) lovi

Happy Dussera!

The last time I enjoyed dussera was more than 16 yrs back. We lived in Delhi back then. The days spanning the navratri to dussera till diwali spelled festivities, kanjak, colorful attire, sweets, firecrackers (and of course pollution). Diwalis especially used to be a nightmare for those allergic to smog (smoke+fog). This used to be the Ramayana review time. Every kindergartner knew that the good prevailed over evil! That Ravana had 10 heads, he had a  giant brother who was lucky enough to sleep as he liked and eat as he liked and who did both generously, were favourite part of the tales. (It took adulthood to realise that such tastes could be maintained only in mythologies) There used to be huge open grounds or parks (if they were properly maintained) which were the sites for ravana-dehen. People in hundreds and thousands would turn up by evening to see tall effigies of Raavan (and Kumbhkarana and Vibhishan) being burned. Dressed in mythological combat or sometimes, regal style  the