Decoding the GenX behind the Gen Next
Three months ago, an ad campaign was launched by a celebrated scooter brand of the country. The voiceover behind the commercial boomed, ‘Aaj kal India ki har generation, nayi generation hai (Nowadays, in India there’s a new generation in every generation). Indian mothers are living up to this tagline, using technological innovations to constantly reinvent themselves.
Their newfangled activities, to name a few, now consist of cooking a wide range of cuisines, shopping online, designing clothes and making social contacts, all this through their phones. Well, my mother is no different.
Prior to using one, the smart phone appeared to be a time-killing machine to her. However, the urge to stay connected with two lovable sons abroad made her take to this technological bliss. The complexities of a smart phone definitely trouble a person with minimal technical know-how, but my mother was determined to beat all odds. She started with basics such as locking, unlocking, dialling and the like.
A pinch of interest and consistent efforts eventually paid off. Today, her capabilities range from being active on instant messaging applications to updating her bank account through online banking services. Her approach to learning is quite simple: Observe, try, ask, practice and bingo! Every time, after learning a new feature, she excitedly says, “Lai eh te saukha hi kam aa (Oh! It’s quite easy)”. In her euphoria, I am overcome by acute nostalgia for my childhood days when the art of making rotis used to fascinate me. I remember how my tiny hands would move under hers on a rolling pin.
Now, this role reversal adds to the simple joys of life. Owing to the phonetic disparities between Queen’s English and her mother tongue, texting still remains a Herculean task for mommy dearest, but she has learnt to get even by switching to voice messages. Pop-ups also pose a problem, but she escapes them with the back button.
Forwarding options are her recent favourites, optimally used for passing relevant content. Last month, when Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s saga put Punjab and Haryana in a bind (sadly, it claimed 38 lives and left hundreds injured), she was the first to inform me about the temporary withdrawal of data services by the government. Later that week, she stormed my phone with numerous calls and kept cursing the drama baba for disrupting normalcy of her life, and of millions of others.
In contrast, my father is a Luddite of mild intensity. The utility of his phone is confined to two buttons: green (for connecting) and red (for disconnecting). But, the updated weather inputs provided by Mrs Weather Reporter during monsoon helped him in sowing maize seedlings (cattle fodder) on time. The other day, I found him at his wittiest best while conversing with my maternal grandmother. He said, “Eh taan mere niyanea nu vi pichhe chhaddi jandi aa’ (My wife is surpassing my children in phone usage)”. My mother defended her stand by maintaining, “Te hor ki, ajkal bahut jaruri ho gaya eni door baithe bacheya de dukh sukh sun na (Nowadays, it’s important to listen to the highs and lows of children staying overseas)”.
Life is a learning process and age is just a number. No one embodies this better than my mother. More power to you, mom! Keep inspiring your kids.
HER APPROACH TO LEARNING IS SIMPLE: OBSERVE, TRY, ASK, PRACTICE. EVERY TIME AFTER LEARNING A NEW FEATURE, SHE EXCITEDLY SAYS, “LAI EH TE SAUKHA HI KAM AA (OH! IT’S QUITE EASY)”