From reading news to breaking news
Iwas the first to step into the swimming pool in the morning. Slowly, people started trickling in. I saw a gentleman in his mid-thirties giving me a sheepish smile which I acknowledged and slowly we got talking. In 15 days, I made 10 friends in the pool. I realised I was talking to complete strangers and meeting acquaintances over casual conversation. Wisdom dawned that everyone in the pool had to leave their mobile phones behind in the locker so there was no option for us but to interact with one another.
In contrast, I have seen people immersed in their mobile phones even while walking and gymming. When I look around, I find everyone glued to their phones at offices, banks, common waiting areas, hospitals, railway stations, airport lounges, parks, markets, malls, public transport, cars and educational institutions. Even if one wants to start a conversation, there’s a fear that one may disturb someone busy with the mobile phone. I fear encountering the look of disdain.
The art of conversation is slowly dying a painful death.
I believe there’s another patient in intensive care unit (ICU) of the 21st century. It’s the newspaper.
I remember that in the 1970s, there used to be a mad rush to get hold of the newspaper first thing in the morning and how I used to win against my sister. Though my reading the newspaper would be restricted to the front and sports pages back then, the arrival of the day’s news would give me a thrill as the daily was the only source of information with the outside world in the absence of the television, telephone, computer and mobile phone.
I remember my father would flip through the newspaper in the morning before heading for office. He would carry it to the office so that he could read it in detail during his free time.
Newspapers were in such demand in those days that anyone travelling in a train or public transport would wait impatiently for yesterday’s news first thing in the morning. Wherever one went, one would find a number of newspapers and magazines whether it’s a barber’s shop, a hospital waiting room or a railway platform. Sharing a newspaper was considered an art and one would always oblige the other person.
In this era of the smartphone, news is just a touch away and people get updates throughout the day. By the time they lay their hands on the newspaper the next morning, they realise that the news has already been displayed on their mobile screen. For most, flipping through the newspaper for news has become a ritual to be undergone.
I think the charm of reading the newspaper is alive with people who don’t follow social media closely or the elderly who are not comfortable with mobile phones. They still enjoy taking a large part of the morning to go over the newspaper. Sadly, the younger generation and children have no interest in the newspaper, which has more than just the day’s news to offer. Any intelligent conversation is incomplete without insight into the news.
THE ART OF CONVERSATION IS SLOWLY DYING A PAINFUL DEATH. THERE’S ANOTHER PATIENT IN THE ICU. IT’S THE NEWSPAPER