Essays

Anywhere one goes, one can see every second person's head glued to the shoulder (as if they are suffering from cervical disc, or perhaps someone twisted their neck like my broken doll). The other common sight is of those wearing garland of wires—perhaps they have taken the movie matrix too seriously! Even if one is sitting for Puja or is dying to go to the washroom the sound of Beep Beep! immediately catches one's attention—such is the influence of mobile on the entire world that it would not be wrong to say that it is a Mobile World indeed.

Internet, video calling, 3G facilities, downloads, songs, movies, pictures, payment of bills, shopping, camera, videos—what else is there on planet earth that this pastry-sized gadget cannot do. Me and my friends chat, get match updates and play games. Not to forget, downloading Dhoni's heroic pictures, when we won the World Cup, was so much fun. Mobile also comes in handy while doing homework as I easily Google up anything I cannot understand. Is it any short of magical?

Gone are the days when only elites could boast that they possess this wonderful instrument. Nowadays, rickshaw pullers pull the rickshaws on the rhythm of song thrust in their ears through earphones, vegetable vendor delivers at home, one just needs to give him a call on his cell, private bus conductor tells you where the bus is and how long will it take to reach your stop and most importantly, mummy's half the tension is done away with when Pushpa, our notorious maid, screams from the other side—"Auntee ^1/2 ghante mem aayegi" (Aunty, I will come by half an hour).

But one should be careful while handling this instrument. Once my father, who is not that tech-savvy, went to the last rites of an aged. uncle. There was pin-drop silence around, as everyone was lamenting the demise of uncle. However, amidst such heavy environment, all of a sudden my dad's cell buzzed and the song shiela, shiela ki jawani started blaring! All eyes gave him a shocked look. Obviously, he was embarrassed. Later on, when he angrily narrated this incident to us, I guessed who's mischief it could have been—yesterday my little cousin was playing games on-his mobile.

Mobile has swept off the world today, so much so that it has become a style statement. Everyone wants to flaunt off his or her latest mobile model. Everyone wishes to outsmart the other. However, we should avoid getting trapped in such a mindset. Mobile is an immensely useful gadget, a great product of this age. We should be thankful that we are living in this age!