RIP – FAXES, PAGERS, DIAL-UP & SO MUCH MORE…

By Ruma Dubey

As we look around ourselves today, like a person watching the world from the skies, everything looks so different. Right from the way we ourselves have changed to those around us – people, things and values.

Now the weekend is upon us and after a good run of the bourses this historic week, with Nifty scaling 10,000, some ‘light’ reading will do us all good. So cut off from the profits and losses of the markets and business world, today, we take a look at all things which have become irrelevant. Many of those belonging to the new generation might have no clue what we are talking about!

In terms of technology, there are so many things which simply do not exist. The only big thing missing from the landscape all around us are the PCOs. Yes, earlier every street sported one but today, it is virtually impossible to try to get a phone to make a call. The disappearance of the PCO is permanent as mobiles have taken over our modes of communication. In the same line, snail mail is also on the ebb as emails, whatsapp and other social media networks have taken over.  Remember the pager, fax and the telegram? These have become a part of the folklore already!

The music industry too has changed dramatically. Video and audio cassettes are relics of the past and CDs and DVDs too are heading there. Walkman and Discman will soon be seen in some museums as things of the past era. iPods and smart phones will music have pretty much changed it all. Even the radio – people prefer to tune in via their phone or car audio system.

The Bajaj Scooty pretty much symbolized an Indian on the move; today the Bajaj scoter is gone and what we see are huge SUVs and Maruti pretty much moves the country. TV meant EcTV and then the ‘box type’ color TV and now we have TVs on the walls – LCDs and what nots. If the place of worship held the place of pride earlier, it is the big TV which has become the focal point in every household.

Everything pretty much has changed – the way we travel – Uber and Ola have become a part of our lives. Earlier, only the very rich could afford to travel by place, today the domestic airport looks like a bus station.

Remember those computer learning and typing centers? Those are no longer seen today as almost everyone, right from grand old dad to the 2.5 years toddler; all know to use the keypad, touchscreen and navigate.

In those days, going to the banks and post offices was a regular phenomenon; today the senior citizens still prefer to visit but that’s what it is – you will see mostly only the elderly at banks and Post offices. The majority do everything online, with some never having visited a bank at all!

Also going away soon are camera’s, especially the point and shoot types – they used to be there for occasions, festivals and holidays. But today, every moment of day-to-day life is recorded by the smart phone, which is more camera than phone. Along with the camera’s also have perished the “rolls” and apart from marriage functions, no one really goes to the photo studio to print pictures. Try finding an album; it is as tough as getting your hands on a polaroid camera.

Also gone are the stock brokers. There was a time when we simply could not buy or sell equity without brokers and sub-brokers but today, they are a lot soo becoming extinct. Physical share certificates, transfer forms; so many things have chnaged.

Doordarshan, landlines, calculator, typewriter, floppy discs, Desktop computer, hand-held video games, video rental stores, hearing the sound of a modem connecting, the ability to remember phone numbers, easy-to-remember TV channel numbers; so many such small things which were a part of our day-to-day life and today labelled as “obsolete.” That’s true for the value systems too – respect, faith, worship, truth, privacy and even love; so many things have undergone a change; they all go by the same name but so different from the way we knew or know it.

Earlier life was family today one is told to make time for family and it is labelled as “bonding.” One worked to earn a living but today, most think life is work. Just as the turntables are making a comeback, these values will also come back, never go out of fashion. Because, love aaj kal!