A : Amazing things that my ten year old self would find miraculous today #AtoZchallenge

When I was in my pre-teens, a new hotel opened up in my hometown, Ludhiana. (There is a hotel at that place, even today. But, not the same one.)  The biggest attraction for me in that new hotel was a lift, which had an outer glass wall over-looking the road. By the way, I had never been in a lift before. 

At that time, we used to stay in a joint family. One of my cousins threw a tantrum to try out the lift. And along with our grandmother, packed in a small car, we kids took a ride to the hotel and had multiple joy rides in the magical lift, that took us up and down four floors, multiple times. It is an amazing anecdote for various reasons. One, my grandmother went to that three-star hotel without footwear. Most of the times, she was barefoot. And nobody stopped us from entering the hotel. We rarely used to go out for eating in restaurants, and it was perfectly normal. We kids didn't feel compelled to dine there or spend money in that hotel on anything else. I must tell you, kids get away with a lot of things. 

When I look back at that eventful evening, I don't remember when I started taking for granted,  technological marvels like these. In 2016, I was in Dubai, and I went up the lift in Burj Khalifa. It took about a minute to go up some freaking 100 plus floors. But I don't remember being as excited as I was in that four-storey hotel in Ludhiana.

Also, we dine out a lot more now. I don't think my 10 year old self would find that easy to digest. (no pun intended)

One of my uncles (my mother's eldest brother) - mamaji - used to stay in Patiala. Once we went there for a visit. There was something called an AC Market in Patiala, which we all wanted to see. Not because we wanted to shop there or there was a line-up of great brands, that we see today in most of the malls. We wanted to go there because, as the name suggests, it had centralised Air Conditioning, a rarity about 20 years ago, in small towns. And for us kids, it had a moving staircase - an escalator. Again something I witnessed there for the first time. And, totally freaked out riding them. It may  now sound funny, but I find escalators pretty standard, boring and slow. 

So let me list down some amazing things that my ten year old self would find miraculous today.

1. Home Delivery - When I moved to Mumbai in 2005, I was surprised with the range of things we can get home delivered, even alcohol. I think this is the pinnacle of our advancement as a civilization, considering we started off as hunter-gatherers. This doesn't only reflect our technology usage but also our enterprise and change in social structures. With apps, ruling the roost, in last 10 years, even Home Delivery has undergone a massive change. Now you don't even need to call.

2. Cash Less - Sometimes I don't use cash for days on stretch. Everything is either already paid for or you have cards. In fact, if you throw a stone around, there are chances you will hit a payment wallet instead of a leather one. When I was 10 years old, at that time also I didn't use cash for days on stretch. But that was because I didn't have any. Parents were my debit and credit cards rolled into one. 

3. Entertainment - We are constantly hooked to a screen nowadays. The excitement of waiting for a Sunday to watch our favorite cartoon or Ramayana is long forgotten. This instant gratification is all pervasive. Not only in entertainment, but our smart phones have replaced most of the things, I used to do elsewhere as a 10 year old. I feel it most in terms of satiating my curiosity. We just search on google if we need an answer. I am sure people will have smaller memories 100 years from now. Evolution.

4. Multiplexes - I spend lot of my free time at movies. And my 10 year old self would not even recognize the way we watch movies now. Multiplexes have sanitized the movie watching experience over the years. Single screens have a nostalgic value for me. I still remember the tickets bought in black and time spent in queues. You can read more about my experiences with single screens here.

5. Gully Cricket  - I heard they take few thousand bucks to play equivalent of Gully Cricket at indoor turfs these days. That is a sad state of affairs. We used to play for hours in our street. Friendships formed and characters were built. I wish such social spaces hadn't shrunk. And kids shouldn't be spending more time at tuition. Save the childhoods. 

This list is endless. You can add more such items in the comments section. 

But technology and innovation are not the only things bringing in change. Few things else do too.

When I was 10 years old, I never thought that my career would bring me to Chennai of all places in India. My 10 year old self would have never agreed to stay away from my mom ever. Lust of money is overpowering it seems.

I always wanted to be an academic (a scientist) and settle abroad as a kid. When I was 22, I was all set to achieve this goal. But then to woo someone special and due to my youthful stupidity (cocktail of raging hormones, recklessness and an immature love) I took up a sales job and my career path was set. Today, I have a satisfying career. But there are times, when I think, what my life would have been?

---

My last year's challenge post from letter A was about being away from your roots. Read it here.

---
My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is all about writing stories, anecdotes and observations from my life in form of easy to read listicles. You can read the theme reveal post here.

2018 A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal

Last year I participated in A - Z April Blogging Challenge, and it was a great experience. I believe, I wrote some of my best posts during the challenge. Also, it helped me rejuvenate my blog. I started writing more frequently, even after the challenge finished. So I have decided to participate this year as well.

For those who are not familiar with the challenge, here is the deal. Bloggers all across the world will write 26 posts through the month of April, from A to Z.  Last year my theme was 'Anecdotes and Stories from my Life' . J: Joy and G : Grandfather were among my favorite posts, because my family members really liked them. But there were several other funny anecdotes from my life, which you may like to read about before the new challenge begins. 

Last year, while I was able to write a post daily, the biggest problem I faced was, to find a topic for the day as per alphabet. More than writing the post, the effort in finding the topic, drained my energy. So this year, I have listed 26 tentative topics before hand. That should help me remain on track. 

My theme for this year's challenge is : Listicles - I will be writing stories, anecdotes and observations from our daily lives in form of easy-to-read lists.

Do I have your attention? Please come back on April 1st to find A : Amazing things that...

February Lites

The month of February went by like a bullet. It was a really hectic period at office and involved some travel. In anticipation of this, I had picked really light books for reading in February. 

Light books for me are those books, which have less than 300 pages and are neatly divided into small chapters. Preferably, fiction. Also, for such busy periods, I prefer subjects that I am familiar with. Not requiring a dictionary while reading is another criterion. 

The three books I read in February and my views on the same follow. Some intellectuals may bash me for some of my choices. And for a change, I would agree to them.

Book 1: Sita - Warrior Of Mithila by Amish

This is Amish's second book in Ram Chandra Series, which is a re-telling of the Ramayana. If you are familiar with his past work, especially the Shiva Trilogy, you would be aware that he modernizes many incidents and concepts from our mythology in his stories, by making his woman characters stronger and men more liberal. Another facet is his strong sense of nationalism in his writings. The concept of modern nation-state India is relevant even in his stories from thousands of years ago. Also, he strongly relies on scientific and technological explanations for, what we assume to be miracles in our mythology. That makes the Gods in his books more human. He continues to do so in Sita, follow up to Scion of Ikshvaku. I believe it is a worthy follow-up.

While the scene setting in the book is laborious, but overall narrative is full of intrigue and politics of that time. Thus, making it a gripping read. I look forward to part 3.

Book 2: Immortal India : Young Country, Timeless Civilization by Amish

This one is Amish's first non fiction book. It is a collection of his writings and talks across several publications and forums. I must commend that Amish comes across as well read and his writings are well researched and backed by data. As you move ahead in the book, it becomes repetitive though. But his core concepts on religion and Indian politics really bring to fore an alternative narrative. His ability to see things from multiple perspectives seem inspired by several other authors, he has read over the years. I find his writings truly liberal and rooted unlike those of many self-proclaimed intellectuals.

His one particular essay on why he writes, was really heartfelt and I identified with it.

But I would prefer his fiction over this book, any day.

                                                     
Book 3: Making India Awesome : New Essays and Columns by Chetan Bhagat                                                                              

I have always liked Chetan Bhagat's fiction books. I know many of you don't like him as an author and may be as a person. I also am aware of, and have often noticed, the mistakes he makes in his books. But then, so do I, when I write. But one thing which I appreciate about his books is, that he is a master story teller. His slice of life stories are simple and identifiable.

But picking Making India Awesome was a big mistake. He writes about well known problems in India and gives over simplistic solutions. The book is written with very little or very poor research. I didn't expect this from an IIT-IIM alumnus. Also, he looks down upon the readers and sounds highly patronizing throughout the book.