THE WORLD OF 'K'











Many years ago, before the computer came in, there was something called ‘Shorthand’. Many girls would learn shorthand with the hope of becoming Secretaries to their future bosses. Understandably, the bosses were supposed to be busy… and, they had to dictate letters and messages to their Secretaries, who would note them down by using their shorthand skills. Post that, they would type the same in longhand… That was how it was when we grew up.


When we grew up, we had no telephones… Only rich (or reasonably rich) had those big telephone instruments at home. Long-distance calls – which included cross-districts – meant ‘Trunk Calls’. STD came much later… and, ISD was not meant for people like us!


There were Telegrams… and there were standard greetings and messages for most of the occasions, like birthdays, marriages, anniversaries, success in exams, on arrival of a new baby, Diwali, Christmas, Eid and so on. We simply needed to write the standard message number, like No. 5 or No. 17 etc. Shorter the cheaper… You had to be a miser in that!


“Grandma serious, start immediately”. “Uncle John passed away. Funeral at 4 tomorrow”… These were some typical ‘serious’ messages… There were happy ones, business-related ones, too.


All these things are things of the past, now. Today’s millennial kids have no clue about the Shorthand course and Telegram codes… They have smart handsets, and, they carry out their work with supersonic speed!


Ishani and Utsav, both are my twelfth-standard students.There are many commonalities between them: Both are Bengali's… Both study in Delhi Public School (CBSE)… Both have their Chartered Accountant dads working for petroleum organizations… And, both are my good students. But, both of them are differently wired when it comes to their WhatsApp messages. For example, this afternoon, I received this message from Ishani:

“Good afternoon Sir. May I please be excused from attending class today as I am not well.”


As I said, Ishani and Utsav are my ‘good students’. So, I happily replied:
“You are excused, madam. Please call your good friend, Utsav, and tell him not to come for class.”

Ishani responded:

“Okay Sir. Thank you.”


Even though I knew, that Ishani would inform about the development to her friend, Utsav, I sent to him the transcript of my communication with Ishani.


True to his name, Utsav celebrated his surprise holiday with this reply:

“K”!!!


The inverted commas and the exclamation marks are mine!



Who says the Shorthand and Telegram have become extinct?


By the way, ‘K’ is only the tip of the colossal iceberg!



GERALD D’CUNHA


Pic.:pinterest.com


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