THE LOUD-SPEAKERS
“People can become addicted to fame,
money, and attention
as deeply as they become addicted to
drugs.”
In our college canteen,
Mangalore, there was a rude waiter. He dealt with the students with his
sarcastic comments and got away with it; but, not always. One day, he got the
taste of his own medicine…
A student came to
the counter and made a typical inquiry with the rude waiter. I reproduce, here,
the exchange of their dialogues (with Hindi and English translation) in the
local Tulu language as it carries its own flavor:
Student: “Bechha yenchina undu?”
“Garam
kya hai”
“What is there hot (dish)?”
Waiter: “Bechcha? Dingeld genda undu.”
“Garam?
Chule mein koyla hai”
“Hot? There is coal in the oven.”
Student:
“Korle onji plate.”
“Ek
plate de do.”
“Get me a plate of it.”
The waiter went
inside the kitchen and returned with a plate of red-hot coal… and placed it on
the counter with that arrogant look: “You think you are smart?”
The young-man did
not blink… He pulled out a cigarette,
placed between his lips… bent down on the coal to light it up… and walked out of
the canteen, like a Boss!
Yes, we, the spectators,
applauded the ‘Boss’: “BRAVO… BRAVO!!!”
As college kids, we
got our cheap thrills from roadside ‘shows’ like these… The above one actually happened
in our college canteen when I was one of the spectators. Little did we know, then,
that, four decades later, we would get to experience loads of similar thrills
through social media and news channels, every passing minute!
Take twitting and
trolling, for example…
We, the gullible spectators,
are all waiting and watching: What next? Sonu Nigam has shaved his head knowing
very well that he did not do it for
Mullah’s ten-lakh moolha… but, to get even with the him (Mullah)… Mullah
has become even more adamant… Meanwhile, the twitter-followers, Facebook,
WhatsApp, electronic and print media are having a field day!
The noise pollution
created out of this is worse than that of the loudspeakers… It is toxic!
The Mullah says “Sonu
does it for publicity, I don’t need it… I have more followers than him!”
So, it’s all about
the number of followers; isn’t it?
Some days ago, in our
P.D. session, I had given for Group Discussion this topic: ‘Have we all become
addicts of social media?’
Without even a
single exception, the teenagers confessed: “Yes, we have!”
And smile: “Not
just we… Our parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, cousins and even grandparents…
all have become addicts!”
“You need to get in
touch with your thoughts… trust your thoughts… and express your thoughts,” I repeatedly
tell our young-ones, just to remind them, that they all have ideas, views and opinions…
and, unless they get in touch with them, trust in them, they will not be able
to express with self-confidence…
We all have our
opinions… and, we have the right to voice them in an appropriate manner from an
appropriate platform…
But, what happens
when we are ‘opinionated’?
Where is it coming
from?
GERLAD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Azriel D'Souza
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