A DATE TO REMEMBER

A DATE TO REMEMBER

 Hi. How are you? I see you every day. Oh! Don’t worry, I don't sneak peek or secretly watch you. Yes, it’s you who have got me in your house. In fact there are many like me in your house, every room possibly. Of course, not all have been brought by you. Some of us have been given to you as gifts. You have been very choosy about the ones that should go on the wall. I love my position as it’s in the living room and very central to your entire house. But I also feel sorry for the ones who are just lying in some corners of some cupboards, lofts unnoticed, dusty. They couldn’t quite make it to the wall as they were certainly not your type. Our little brothers have also cozily settled on the desks and the shelves. They are more colorful, decorative and full of pictures of exotic locations, spectacular flora and fauna. In fact that is the only reason why they are there, to boost the esthetic value of the surroundings with very little utility to serve. I am sure by now you know who I am and what am I talking about. Yes, it’s the calendar. We are all full of dates we have had with you and the ones we are going to have with you.

 

We are extremely popular during the period when the mother earth is busy revolving round the sun on its last lap and pushing hard on the New Year to arrive. That is what its job is I guess. Just keep pushing the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and finally the year. Oh God! Just realized how pushy the earth can be. Anyway, I was saying was that we are globally very popular in this period and people buy calendars for their homes, offices and workplaces. As we hold a very small attention span of the beings, once we get a position on the wall, and it’s seldom a new position, their job is done. We are then there for a year for sure. Getting your fresh space on the wall is surely a sign of luckiness. Because sometimes, some of them are forced on top of the existing calendars and seems very much like a dorm on a sharing basis. And who knows how many piles are there behind the one we are sharing space with. I always wonder that these oldies would have so many mesmerizing stories to tell. I wish I could listen to a few myself someday.

 

Nowadays, I feel very worried. I will tell you why. Barring the first jungle ever built, man has been successful enough to build his own jungles. First the concrete jungle, then the electromagnetic jungle. Born as an ape and transitioning into and evolving as a human being certainly demanded a journey of moving away from the jungles but probably his affiliation with the jungle was so strong that eventually he is on a spree for building his type of jungles to suit his wild needs. So my worry is the electromagnetic jungle. Not that it makes us difficult to breathe, but undoubtedly its goanna jeopardize our survival. How do I mean?

 

I see that everybody in your house, including you, is owning a gadget or two. You day begins with shutting off (or rather snoozing) your alarms and ends with listening to the ‘sleep music’ on your gadgets and dozing off. There was a time when we were crucial in planning your vacations, scheduling important errands, marking important payment dates, noting down invitations and most importantly circling those birthday and anniversary dates which meant a lot to you. How we enjoyed that attention and the importance during those days. The joy was immense when we could be of help to you.

 

Now it’s all turned digital. Sitting at your desk with your back to us you still get things done. Besides, there are reminders, categories, and alarms to keep you on course. The fancies of the technology have caught up with you and there is nothing wrong with it. It just makes my heart sink deep with the thought that we are moving toward becoming extinct. In today’s times, we don’t mean anything to the younger generation and as a result we will surely cease to exist. There would be no takers. But there would are no regrets. I believe we served our time well. We took it one day at a time and helped the generations move through the years and centuries. Here we are all prepared to enter into the pages of history with pride and gratification. Don’t forget to mark the date!     

 

(c) - Rahul Shinde 01/30/01/06/2020