The little pleasures of life. Every morning I see that beautiful yellow and black bird perched on the tree, chirping away a memorable tune that awakens my senses.
I am not a bird watcher waiting to do a Big Year, but this distinctive bird seems to draw me into that fascinating world. So I look it up on the net and find out it's called Blacknaped Oriole. A tropical bird native to South & South east Asia. It is a common bird in Singapore, more like crows and pigeons back in India! The unique thing about it is the number of calls it has ( 50 last recorded). They range from melodious cuckoo like songs to harsh cat whistles. The tunes appear to magically set the tone for the day for me! Here is a lovely day for you like Shreya Ghoshal's romantic melody or how about the cacophony of Black Sabbath today! How a simple bird noise can predict the unfolding for the rest of the day!
It is a wonder technology that gives us instant knowledge on just about anything under the sun can sometimes blunt our senses to the immediate pleasures. We have become immune to our surroundings. The blissful sounds of nature are all around us, but we still need an artificial app for that! Yet, imagine me looking at that bird in the years of yore. (the pre net era) "Beautiful bird, what is it called? Oh, let's open the encyclopaedia, the bird section? Right here, wow...there are millions of bird names. Let me go the library next week, maybe I can find a book on birds in South East Asia. Hope I don't forget to look it up. Hmmm..do I know any Ornithologist? Never mind, it's just a bird". There, my inquisitiveness killed right on spot. Though, I would still enjoy the croons for sometime, eventually it would fade from my memory. Fast forward to the present times...
That was just about the internet and we've come to terms with it. Let's go to the big bad world of social networking. We know raising a child is an organic experience as each child is a unique human being with unique needs. What applies to one may not apply to others. Still, can we escape going through million words on parenting advice on social networking sites everyday? Yes, this virtual society has changed our world in a way we never imagined just a few years back. It has evolved much beyond it's scope of keeping in touch with friends and family. It has now encompassed all aspects of our lives, our society and the world at large. So much so, we are now beginning to fear it. Are we overreacting?
If man is a social animal then social networking is the ultimate extrapolation of that concept. Like all other social phenomena, this madness too has to peak before it can settle down. Do we really need hundreds of videos, jokes n messages bombarding us online on the wiles of social networking and the internet on the whole? Hasn't the world seen wars, revolutions, coups, exploitations and divorces long before the telephones started ringing.
It is also true, man invents a thing and then shows greater skill in inventing ways of abusing it. Technological history is full of such examples. We now fully understand what Einstein meant when he said, "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." In that case, it is our responsibility to utilize this opportunity called social networking to awaken that collective consciousness of humanity and resist it's abuse. We know it is here to stay. We have embraced it willingly or reluctantly. Akin to that bird, it both croons and shrieks. Well, its time we cut it some slack and accept this modern way of life while safeguarding and nurturing our senses and sensibilities. So, the next time you hear your loved ones saying something while you are reading my blog. Stop. Listen to them. But hey, do get back to me at your leisure again..:-)
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