The Mercury has touched 30 plus. By Imphal standards, it is very hot and humid. Erratic power supply has not made things better. The rain gods played truant for the past many days. This can cause more problems. Depletion of water level at Loktak Hydro Project can bring more power cuts. Moreover, the residents of Imphal are facing acute water shortage.

But life goes on. Amidst bandhs and strikes, killings and maiming. With a crowd of problems, an average Manipuri is least bothered about the things going around. Anyway, they can always read, listen or watch newspaper, radio ISTV or DD News for the latest happenings. As long as it does not affect him/her, life is the same.

For the young at heart, thumb exercising on the mobile sending dumb SMS’s has become a way of life. Oblivious to their surroundings, they now reap the full benefits of being on mobile. No more waiting for hours. No more anxiety. Send SMS or call and fix the time and place for a date. Send SMS or call, saying you are on your way.

Share MMS clips with friends ranging from kissing your girlfriend to porno clips. It sure is amazing how much you can do with your thumb, besides having sucked it when you were a little kid.

Yes, life will go on. The protestors will protest, caring little about his neighbour. The freedom fighters will go on vowing to fight till death. The security personnel will always put up a tough challenge to the freedom fighters.

The drug pushers will ensure that the stuffs are smuggled in, praying that more and more youths fall into their honey trap. For every little issue that does not make sense for you and me, there will be bandhs and strikes. For every little or big issue, our children will be forced out of their class rooms to sit or stand under the hot sun.

But life will go on. Because, we have accepted our fate. Nobody rules our society anymore. Pseudo-leaders have sprung from every direction sending the society directionless.

And we are following them blindly into the blind alley where there is no way out. There is no one to bail us out from this deep abyss. Maybe, its time we observe a day of mourning. Because, we can do nothing else but mourn at our fate.

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

It is really amazing how technology is changing our lives. A plethora of gadgets have invaded our lives. From hi-tech mobile phones costing more than 40K to I-Pod, Gaming devices etc…there is a host of entertainment devices available in the market. These gadgets are becoming sleeker, slimmer and very, very portable.

Let us look at the mobile phones. It is no more just a device for voice or text communication. It can be loaded with lots of gizmo stuffs. Today, you can browse the web, send or receive e-mails, share photos and music, take photographs, set your own tone, listen to music…on your mobile.

Then there are WAP or GPRS enabled phones with blue-tooth facilities. Forgive me if I sound confusing or too naive, because I am confused myself as I am still a novice. I am just commenting on the technological terms that I come across ads on newspapers, magazines and television. If you present me one of that hi-fi mobile phone, you can be sure; it will take me a few sleepless nights to get to the bottom of it.

You can also take for granted that I find new technologies intriguing and stimulating. It wakes up my grey cell. I just love fidgeting around with it, trying to find the means and ways to solve the intricacies of any modern gadgets if it gets in my hands.

I remember the first time I was introduced to computers. That was about ten years back when we were at St. Joseph’s Imphal. I remember there were six computers where the monitor was placed on the CPU. There were no CD Rom drive, forget about CD Writer. We had to write lengthy BASIC programmes asking the computer to do some simple task like finding the average of the ages of students. There was no Windows Operating system then.

Then it took a college drop-out to figure out that the operating system of the computer was very difficult and cumbersome. So one fine day, he thought why not make it easier by clicking with a mouse and introduce a programme that can simplify the system? Today, Bill Gates’ Windows Operating system has done wonders to the world of computing whereby even a small kid can operate and manipulate the system with just a click.

Next, came the internet. I confess that I was really hooked to it in the beginning. I was doing my Mass Communications course at Delhi when I discovered the world of internet. At first, I was reluctant because I knew there might be no stopping of me once I get started. However, the bug bit me sooner than I expected.

I had casually entered a cyber café with a friend watching him surfing the net. And for several months, I shielded myself from the outside world and spent most of the time at the cyber-café surfing and chatting. Needless to say, a large chunk of my pocket money went into the pockets of that cyber-café owner, who was kind enough to offer me frisbees like discounts and coffee.

Now sometimes I wonder, if I had not been a journalist, I would surely have been a techie with long, grizzly hair thumbing on the keyboards creating programs, video-games etc following the footsteps of the likes of Sabeer Bhatia, the man behind Hotmail. Because I can say with some convictions that machines understand me.

As for the GPRS, WAP and what not enabled-mobile, I sometimes fantasize of taking a bank loan to own one, one day. Until then, I guess, I shall have to satiate my thirst by reading gizmo mags and admiring just the photographs.

SULTRY NIGHTS

Going back to the mercury rising, I wonder how on earth those people at slums in places like Delhi spend their days and nights. During summers, when I used to travel by train to north India with the hot loo blowing on your face, I felt pity for the guys, living in ram shackled tents made of black plastic sheets, nearby railway tracks.

But, looking at the dozens of small dirty kids playing around, I surmise, they do not mind at all the sultry nights. I also bet they do not need any Viagra. As for me, even the temperature here in Imphal (pleasant compared to Delhi or Lucknow, a heaven compared to the slum tents), especially on a load-shedding night, is enough to force me stay aloof from my wife’s warm body.

I look forward to pleasant winter nights, cuddling under the warm, red Moreh blankets.