PARADIGM SHIFT -- ‘Kali Yuga’
Tempted as I am to wax eloquent about the phenomenal advancements made during the past few decades, I shall desist and have a look at the other side of the coin. A peculiar shift in human behaviour is discernible during the past two decades, as a result of social and technological changes in the realm of social media. This might have manifested in our inclination to broadcast more than what we converse. We are unable to hold a conversation with real people. But we spend hours and hours conversing on sms / chat / skype / g-talk or whatever. The scene now is like this:
Two old friends happen to meet in a cafe after a very long time. One of them, during the meeting time, is more preoccupied with ‘Facebook’ and ‘chatting’ to tell her hundreds of ‘friends’ that she is enjoying a lovely cup of coffee with an old friend than actually spending that limited time with the friend. This is the ‘virtual’ era. We are more occupied with photographing and video-graphing the scenic places on a holiday and mailing them instantly than actually savouring the scenic beauty.
The real pleasures are getting buried somewhere deep in the rubble, and there is little osmosis of them into the depths of life. We, increasingly, are tending to live on the surface of life rather than enjoying the rich depths and true emotions of it. This reminds me of the doyen of corporate hospital world, Padma Shri Dr. G Bakthavathsalam, Chairman of the K.G. Hospital and Post Graduate Medical Institute, Coimbatore calling me up over phone and saying: “ Vanakkam, Vanakkam, Dr. Rama Prasad, I could have written to you, but emotions cannot be expressed adequately through inanimate texts. That is why I wanted to talk to you directly to express my feelings and emotions in admiring your good work and excellent writings .........hope to meet you sometime for more personal expression of emotions ...”The visionary leader seems to have demonstrated that personal interactions have a dimension which can never be matched by virtual media.
‘Texting’ has come into vogue in a big way. Writing long letters or holding telephone conversations have become passé. People gave up writing letters aeons ago. With that are gone the nuances of communication which ‘brought a smile to one’s lips, a lump in the throat, a tear to the eyes or a dimple to a romantic cheek’. Frenetic life !
“In the information society, nobody thinks. We expect to banish paper,
but we actually banish thought.” -- Michael Crichton
Now (2016), there is one new phenomenon. People go about very busily searching, through their smart phone screens, for something across the roads and deep in the forests. The latest addition to parental worry list is this “Augmented Reality App”, the “Pokemon Go” (http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pokmon-go-is-latest-addition-to-parental-worry-list/article8877478.ece ).
THE CHANGING WORLD
“CHANGE IS THE ONLY THING THAT IS CONSTANT IN THIS WORLD !!”
‘KALIYUGA’ PHENOMENON
In general, there is an increasing tendency nowadays for people to live a tense, hurried and unconnected way of city life in contrast to our earlier generations’ insouciance (carefree, relaxed and easy-going life) and highly interactive life. There is too much traffic, too much socialising, too many glitzy malls, too many slicker pubs and too many conveniences. Daily rigmarole of routine apart, people load their lives with aerobics, zumbz, gym, clubs, beauty parlours, book clubs and what not. They are too busy and work like programmed machines in the urban rat race, cocooned in toxic air and gulping down chemically-altered foods.
They can’t wait for a few days for a fever to subside; they run from doctor to doctor – 5 doctors in 5 days -- and get soaked in dangerous drugs ! Surrounded by madding crowds and loaded with artificially urgent schedules, they don’t have the time to live; they just exist, may be in posh four-bed room villas with all conceivable comforts, endless shelves displaying an endless choice of the next thing to buy – the hallmark of consumption and consumerism. ‘Good life’ with an overwhelming sense that life is rootless and meaningless. The pursuit of this ‘good life’ through consumerism has become a dominant global force, in the absence of other sustained macro-political and social narratives, says the Australian social theorist, Paul James in his book Globalization and Culture.
FEMSHIP & WOMANCE
The paradigm shift has occured in various human parameters. One more example is related to 'modern women' in high income bracket located in big cities. Some of them follow their own agenda. They consciously think that men are an inferior rubble. They drive in their own Audis and Range Rovers, live in their own luxury apartments, carry Prada / Gucci hand bags, wear Jimmy Choo shoes, visit gourmet restaurants and top notch boutiques where the price tag is just a low whisper, have trendy hair cuts -- a short voluminous bob with graduated fringes, sport a Harry Potter-inspired Griffindor dye job, order tempura and lab kai in crispy wonton shells along with Scotch on the rocks, go abroad on holidays. And the latest trend of these women is to forge friendship with women only which is called FEMSHIP (close female camaraderie), to have very close relationship called WOMANCE (non-sexual relationship between women), to become HIGH WIVES (wives who have fun in female groups without husbands), to become FEDDIES (two girl friends) and have GLUBS (close groups of girls who regularly meet for leisure activities) ... strange modern women who think that it is inferior to be associated with males and that there is no security threat without being with males !!! Of course, they frequent only high end joints with multi-layered security systems in place. Most of them are in twenties or early thirties, infused with new energy and money power. ( http://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/2018/jun/03/femship-freedom-why-should-boys-have-all-the-fun-1822079.html )
BOOMERANG GENERATION
FEMSHIP & WOMANCE
The paradigm shift has occured in various human parameters. One more example is related to 'modern women' in high income bracket located in big cities. Some of them follow their own agenda. They consciously think that men are an inferior rubble. They drive in their own Audis and Range Rovers, live in their own luxury apartments, carry Prada / Gucci hand bags, wear Jimmy Choo shoes, visit gourmet restaurants and top notch boutiques where the price tag is just a low whisper, have trendy hair cuts -- a short voluminous bob with graduated fringes, sport a Harry Potter-inspired Griffindor dye job, order tempura and lab kai in crispy wonton shells along with Scotch on the rocks, go abroad on holidays. And the latest trend of these women is to forge friendship with women only which is called FEMSHIP (close female camaraderie), to have very close relationship called WOMANCE (non-sexual relationship between women), to become HIGH WIVES (wives who have fun in female groups without husbands), to become FEDDIES (two girl friends) and have GLUBS (close groups of girls who regularly meet for leisure activities) ... strange modern women who think that it is inferior to be associated with males and that there is no security threat without being with males !!! Of course, they frequent only high end joints with multi-layered security systems in place. Most of them are in twenties or early thirties, infused with new energy and money power. ( http://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/2018/jun/03/femship-freedom-why-should-boys-have-all-the-fun-1822079.html )
BOOMERANG GENERATION
A ‘boomerang generation’ may emerge which seeks healthier lifestyles in the wild lands with healthier natural ambience and meaningful occupation sans stress and competition. They may like to quit the crazy, materialistic and delusional world of hypocrisy and live in the serene and tranquil lap of nature in the woods.
People are becoming more and more non-communicative. Some of our people who go abroad to stay with their children for some time complain bitterly of this trend abroad. They say that nobody there on the roads talks to them freely as it is here. In fact, they do not see plenty of people on roads. Even our business people have become reserved in their talk with co-businessmen. One financial adviser (who came to me as a patient – not as a financial adviser, as I have only peanuts which need no advice !) told me that even his clients do not nowadays divulge everything about their finances to him. Even wives do not know much of their husbands !
Once an airline offered a special package for rich businessmen. “Buy a ticket for you, and get a free ticket for your wife!” was the offer. Many businessmen availed the offer. After the holiday trip is over, the airlines mailed a letter to the wives of the businessmen thanking for availing the opportunity of the free ticket holiday trip and also enquired as to how pleased they were with the airline. All the wives replied something like this: “What free ticket, which holiday ?” ! That is the height of “Kaliyuga” !!!
Presently, many are immensely connected globally through the Net and smartphones which make half of the conversation only (“ummm”) – to know about this “ummm”in a factual, yet humorous, article titled “It’s ummm right through” (The Hindu, Open Page, Feb. 24, 2013 - http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/its-ummm-right-through/article4446721.ece. ) wherein the writer accused the smartphones of destroying family chitchats and relations forever and reducing the younger generation to a “disruptive” generation ! I wrote in the preceding pages under the heading ‘INTERNET (Google) EFFECT’ about the changing scenario of communication in the world today. In this context, it may be interesting to read the comment on the link: www. http://wordsmithofbengal.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/google-effect-and-kali-yuga-prophecies/ on the subject of trends in ‘Kaliyuga’.
‘OOCYTE FREEZING’
Perhaps, it is one of the ‘Kaliyuga’ priorities that is making some busy career-minded women to postpone their pregnancy to after 35 years and yet have a ‘good’ ovum stored through ‘oocyte freezing’ (preserving ova collected at a younger age which are qualitatively better than those which are produced after the age of 35 years) and use it through IVF pregnancy when they are ready to take a maternity break after achieving something ‘substantial’ in their career ! (Read “No Time for Babies, Career-minded Women Opt to Freeze Eggs” – TNIE, Feb. 25, 2013 / http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_no-time-for-babies-working-women-opt-for-freezing-eggs_1803867 ).
We forget that: “We are people, not programmed devices.”
CRAZY IDEAS
While scriptures and vedantic thoughts once made one view the tangible merely as insubstantial dreams, the current trend is for the hardened heads to seek the softest pillows ! Love for luxury and consumerism is becoming increasingly manifest. The brains in the hardened heads look for more trendy ideas.
DIVORCE IN STYLE
One crazy idea is to divorce in style ! With Divorce Cakes and Divorce Registry Gifts, a divorce celebration with a lavish dinner party is being hosted to say good bye to one’s wedded life all the way in a plush hotel. It is currently happening among dutch couples.
DEATH DRESSES
We choose wedding dresses, birthday dresses, anniversary dresses, etc. And now, the latest turn in the already bizarre human behaviour gave birth to the idea of creating the availability of a service which carries out an order to dress one’s dead body with a particular costume (death dress) which is chosen by the person in advance for the occasion ! Not a joke. Some people have already pre-paid and reserved the dress suits. Crazy and inane to one, ingenious and thoughtful to another.
FRENETIC LIFE
Life has become frenetic now. Hardly anybody writes a letter on paper with pen and drop into the post box, nowadays. Recently I received a hand-written post card (I shall scan and paste it somewhere on this website) by a person unknown to me (S.Raphael, MA, M.Phil.,Main Road, Kapanamangalam, Sembangudi - 612603, Thiruvarur Dt., Tamil Nadu, Cell:09444530952) appreciating my article which he read in The Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/article2801701.ece). He ended the letter with: “I pray for you. Please don’t bother to reply.” This little and simple (yet with a heartening personal touch) communication gave me more happiness than the hundreds of elaborate laudatory comments I received through E-mail, media, phones, Facebook, etc. Departing from the routine, I posted a handwritten reply to the well-wisher (Read on this page under the heading “OUR (doctors’) HANDWRITING”).
DOWN MEMORY LANE
Read under the heading “GOOD OLD DAYS” on this blog to know about some shifts that took place during the past half-a-century.
About the paradigm shift in thinking and doing in some matters related to sex, mating and marriage read under the heading “SEX, MATING and MARRIAGE” on this blog.
And the Bard said: ”There’s nothing Good or Bad in the world, only thinking makes it so”.
THIS IS AN ABRIDGED TEXT OF MY 'SCRIBBLING'. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL TEXT. -- T. Rama Prasad |
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