Thursday, April 4, 2013

Changing times...for the worst.


I have always loved summers. I love the sunlight on my face every morning I open the curtains. Everything looks cheerful and bright and the yellow glow of the sun gets me going with the day.

Having spent most of my life in the sands of the Arabia – it does sound mysterious and exotic isn’t it? Like one of the enigmatic characters in the Arabian Nights. Returning to reality, the United Arab Emirates is a desert which has been transformed into a developed city with lush gardens, beautiful beaches and all those amenities or facilities that you would experience in any other developed country in the world. Before I dive into reminiscing the outrageous developments in the country, I wanted to tell you that never have I felt uncomfortable in the heat of the Arabia. Rather, I did not encounter an instance where I had to experience the sweltering heat of the summer. Air-conditioners in every place that you can think of – it was a basic necessity in that country when it was an item of luxury in most countries. So I would say I spent my summer years in Abu Dhabi in absolute bliss of the air-conditioners.

The summer in Bangalore is just as scorching hot and I need to find solace under the speeding ceiling fan. Though air-conditioner is not really a luxury anymore in India, people tell me the weather in Bangalore doesn’t really need one. Maybe years back, I would have agreed with them but not anymore.

Every year the summer is getting hotter and winter colder. This is sourced to the one and only ‘global warming’ – I have been hearing these 2 words for nearly 2 decades now and ofcourse, the threatening effect of it has been dwindling significantly. We all know the cause of global warming. We know the consequence of it, in fact we have been facing its consequence in many forms. Yet, we continue to fight against nature. It is not required anymore to state the ways in how we battle against nature. In the name of science and technology, we are not only destroying the earth but even us directly. Topics like deforestation and pollution have been discussed and debated for ages.

Let us look at the advent of cosmetic surgery – is there any part in the body that cannot go under the knife for a modification leading to beautification? If you have money, you can re-sculpture and re-define yourself.

Almost every other day, a new electronic gadget is born in the market. Children are far more advanced and tech-savvy today. The sight of a toddler playing with the parent’s mobile phone is very common. The pace at which those nimble fingers operate the phone maybe a proud moment for the parents. They puff their chest with pride and narrate stories of how smart their child is. Though it is fascinating to see the kid play with the gadget rather than the toys, I worry if the radiation from the phone would affect the child’s body, if the brightness of the panel would affect the eyes of the child, if the heat emanating from the phone would affect the delicate body.

There are many other everyday encounters where we come face-to-face technology that affects our life adversely. Being humans and with the ability to think, we need to draw a line on the usage on technology and science. We are dependent on technology and science and in fact, we are controlled by them. Our survival instincts are slowly deteriorating and I’m afraid it would be too late before we realise how far we have stretched to gain comfort in our lives and nature turns its back to hold us from falling over.

 

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