Instantly Yours

Sitting in my room surrounded by numerous papers and books, I sent a mail. Then again, I reverted back to browsing for information which I needed to take the upcoming exams. In my pre-occupation to return back to Google and put in the right keywords I had forgotten to send another mail. I realized that within minutes and dutifully went back my inbox to compose. I was greeted here by a reply for the mail I had sent just minutes before.

I was struck by the instant reply. Not that it is anything new. People chat online all the time and get connected within seconds. But the person I had mailed was on the move. But, somehow I remembered some of the nostalgic stories narrated time and again of how once people had to wait for hours after booking trunk calls. I hardly remember trunk calls but have heard enough about them through people who narrate the travails they faced after booking a call. And here I was reading someone’s reply in faraway place and had made use of his Black Berry to reach me. These hand held devices are of special use to the people who travel a lot and allow them to check their mails as well as reply and delete while on the move. You do not even need to log into your inbox to know you have received a mail. They are simply pushed under your nose.

It just showed me the instant world we live in today. Or I might as well say it is a world full of instants. Noodles can be cooked in two minutes. Soup tins just wait to be opened and heated. Fast food is popular not only for its taste but also because it lends itself to this business of instant fixes.

Grinding spices, the once tedious task has been delegated to electronic mixers which take just minutes. Better still are the jars of ginger, garlic and other pastes that line the shelves at supermarkets and food sections of the malls. You are even saved the trouble of switching on the mixer.

I have even seen chopped vegetables been sold in packets. But, then too one has to cook them. Here comes the saviour, in form of the ready to eat food that just requires to be heated. Everything is instant, from coffee to curries. We have discovered the benefits of instant cricket too. Not satisfied with the ne day cricket, we have improvised to the 20-20 matches. So now you can work all day long and walk into a stadium hosting a 20-20 match for your evening entertainment. There’s instant cricket for you.

This instant stretches itself to several other areas of our troubled lives where we have no time. Tickets can be booked instantly through the internet; platform tickets can be procured instantly through vending machines. You can withdraw ready cash just in minutes or even seconds by an ATM using an electronic card. Money is transferred instantly through electronic money transfer systems without taking into ccount geographic barriers.

I find parents for one are particularly grateful for the electronic transfer of money. They feel secure in the knowledge that they can send money instantly if their sons and daughters studying in almost another part of the country are in need. I had once seen a girl waiting impatiently in front of the ATM. She had exhausted all her funds and was waiting for money to arrive in her account so that she could withdraw. This instant is so popular that manufacturers proudly announce it in their products. Maggi noodles come with the packets declaring 2minutes noodles. The sign boards of several studios announce instant photographs are taken here. Then there are consumer cameras which give you instant photographs. here is no long wait to get a roll of film exposed.

No doubt all this has made life simpler and easier. They save time and efforts but also spawn impatience. People have come to hate standing in queues or waiting in the traffic. People still wait at bus stops and line up at public departments to pay bills but that is more of a chance than choice.

The honking of horns from different vehicles if you are travelling on a busy morning and get caught in a traffic jam is nerve racking. The abuses flung in the face of an out of order ATM machine makes one feel that the world has come to an end. People hardly write letters anymore. I have heard elderly people complain very often that the e-mails sent by their children far away do not have the same charm.

We live in an instant age but at a cost. Whether we love it or hate it, the numerous things which facilitate instantaneous contacts, foods and services have become a part of our daily lives, so much so that nobody even takes notice. There rings my message alert tone signalling that someone has sent me an instant message to read.

Anumeha Verma
MS in Communication