Newerways

  It is not the strongest or the most intelligent of the species that survive, but the one most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin. Technology is transforming us into a data set. What do we eat, what do we do, what do we see, what do we like, how do we entertain, what do we search for? Moore's Law emphasizes that the pace of technological change will continue to grow. Disruptive technologies are on the rise, disrupting our very existence.  Lately, there has been a lot of talk about ChatGPT; inquisitively, I wanted to try it. My tech-driven sons helped me and disrupted the otherwise creative process I relied on so much. It was inspiring to know that GPT could suggest recipes based on the ingredients you have, or even suggest travel destinations within your budget. Interestingly enough. The origin of these innovative ideas prompted me to think of a new, evolving species —a digital species, much like Avatar.  A digital species is a great idea to write about. I outlined my p...

Monetary transfers while traveling were fascinating. Hiding the currency notes in a deep pocket, such as the one stitched on the inner side of the vest, was all too common. My grandfather traveled this way with the money hidden from the pickpockets' maneuvers. He could even feel it with his bare hand on his torso if the need arose. My father, a generation younger, preferred to keep his money safely hidden in his socks while traveling. Unwilling to reveal his hideout, he continued to wear his shoes, unmindful of the discomfort they caused. As for me, I ridiculed the idea of such safe places, but I carried mine in the deep pockets of my jacket or neatly rolled into the drawstring pocket of my salwar. Generation Z did not believe in the cheat sheets that we hoisted. They went a step further and carried their bank in their pockets. Their cheat sheets consisted of PINs and passwords as they swiped or transferred. My Paytm account was messed up by cheats when my husband responded to a co...

A dhoti-clad man stood next to the reception counter where I stood to attend to my daily records. A brief look at his face made me question the nature of his work in the hospital. He opened up his file and handed me his papers. He had undergone surgery for sarcoma maxillary sinus, a carcinoma in the hollow bone adjacent to the nose, twenty years ago. He held a dentist responsible for the negligence caused in extracting his tooth. It resulted in this lifelong illness. My attempts to shake the belief he had held for twenty years seemed an impossible feat. So, I aimed to alleviate his current problem and provide him some relief. The man continued further; he pulled up his dhoti to his thigh. What I saw was no less scary and unsightly. It imitated the brown extensions of the roots of trees above the ground. The lengths and heights varied. Truncated lines existed on those roots and merged well with the background. Nature has its way of designing things up. The thigh from where doctors had r...

The least understood section in English, besides the tenses, was the figures of speech. It required years of work to achieve distinction in grammar. We received it, as a matter of fact, in barely a few hours. Mausaji continued to exalt us with his anecdotes, laced with puns, metaphors, hyperboles, onomatopoeia, and yet more on our visit to their home. He made us learn the figures of speech so effortlessly that edutainment became the hottest topic in family circles. My Hindi-speaking American niece required little explanation when she enquired him of his profession. He answered her by rolling his tongue and saying ' layyar ' that he made it sound like a ' liar ' when his actual profession spelled ' lawyer, ' It reminded everyone of an incident that my grandfather had narrated. In those times when people struggled to speak English. The ' character ' was pronounced as ' chara-actor '. Nothing could then be as confusing as calling ' Champagne ...

  "You always say you don’t see many movies, but still, you seem to have seen every one of them," commented my husband. ‘Yes, I used to see all the movies in my younger years that came on television, and besides this, we have always been blessed to stay in houses that had cinema halls just within walking distance. Living in a joint family with uncles and aunts was another privilege. The good old days are gone. Never mind, we now have theaters in every house. Fifty-five-inch screens and Netflix, backed by home theater systems, suffice for the theaters. Soon I too disappeared into my phone, tablet, and the next smart thing, all too tempting to disengage. Google's recommendation to watch ten movies before Netflix decided to remove them drew my attention to a classic. It was also recommended once by my sister; by name, it was a woman-oriented movie, and not one but two women, and lastly, it appeared in the comedy section. I was all eyes and ears to ‘Julie and Julia.' Aft...

Giving flowers is an age-old tradition. It elevates the endorphin levels to incite genuine happiness both to the giver and the recipient. A visit to a garden in full bloom can uplift and transform our spirits, such is the effect of their aura. 'Flower' and 'phool' have the same meaning in different languages.Yet the interchangeability of the usage of two words can induce an interesting effect. An academic who was into the business of teaching young adults often embarked upon the topic of healthy diet besides the professional discourse. The emphasis on the need to eat raw fruits and vegetables was almost a second nature as much as following it. To utter astonishment, this academician was once stopped by a student who felt indebted to his teacher. He wished to express his gratitude and hence pulled out a large green from his bag. It was a wonderful ‘Broccoli’; a distant cousin to our ‘Gobhi ka Phool’, the cauliflower.

Yet another day of waiting and long queues. I briefly looked at the chiller of a shop at the lounge and stared at the menu on display for breakfast. I collected the bottle of Bisleri and moved out to settle on the bench that was probably there just for me. I busied myself by calling family and informing them of my schedule (arrival and departure). I was enjoying my Solitary Reaper status till an old lady made herself comfortable near me. My grey hair and thin build attracted her to me as she thought we were the same age and could be great companions. Hence, a conversation struck between us. She divulged the secrets of her aches and medical problems one by one and enquired about mine. You are a dentist, that too, my daughter's age said the bewildered woman. I got busier with her queries. She was now even more comfortable and asked me to run and buy her a Bisleri. I offered her mine; she refused because of her fast. I towed my luggage back and forth along with her water bottle. Obser...