Ruchira tells us how we are dependent on gizmos and gadgets and whether these are making people lazier. An exclusive for Different Truths.

In these times, we the people, by and large, cannot conceive of an ordinary day to day lifestyle devoid of some kind of mechanical device or the other. Additionally, we also have electronic gadgets and gizmos which further eliminate the rigour and stress from the simplest of manual tasks. Consider a simple daily situation. Let us focus on lifestyles prevailing in towns cities and their suburbia only and give the villages a miss. 

Look around you. When you wake up in the morning the first thing you do is switch on the electric kettle to get hot water for your cup of tea or coffee. Your pop up toaster readies your bread slices in a jiffy. In case you opt for grilled and/or stuffed sandwiches the sandwich maker is at your service. On winter mornings a mere click of the geyser switch yields hot water for a bath, shave, washing clothes. You are no longer required to fetch pails of water or light fires.

Gentlemen can skip ordinary razors and use electric shavers instead. From the moment you step outside your home till you walk into your office, your physical activity is slashed on a humongous scale. Elevators, escalators, and electronic doors – that swing open and shut without your having to lift a finger – do the jobs for you. In earlier times people looked forward to activities like shopping sprees, a visit to the cinema and more.

Now, who wants to venture out when you can shop till you drop, yes online?  You may catch the latest flicks online, safely ensconced in the comforts of your home. For all individuals, men or women, cooking and managing their kitchens have also been streamlined and simplified. Boiling, grilling, roasting besides re-heating of refrigerated food is now efficiently performed by OTGs and microwave ovens. Boring and tedious jobs e.g. dry and wet grinding, extracting juices from fruits not forgetting dough kneading are performed by electrical appliances.

Earlier, when you wanted to eat a cake you would have to step out and buy one, or else undertake a laborious baking process. Not anymore. Your microwave can now do the job under thirty minutes, period.  Ditto for pizzas and barbecues. Instead of heading to the joints or outlets and spending a good deal of money you can bring home the basic ingredients and then leave the rest to the gadgets in your kitchen!   Provided you have the will and ample funds, a dishwasher can clean all your dishes and cooking vessels smoothly, silently. You could stop fretting and fuming when your kaamwali bai doesn’t turn up. In fact, you could jolly well bid goodbye to your Kantaabai!  On average, middle/upper-middle-class urban families are switching over to washing machines and vacuum cleaners for overall cleanliness and maintenance. As a result, bands of professional dhobis /washermen are fast disappearing. Their areas of activity remain confined to hospitals, hostels, luxury hotels, et al.

The bevy of devices as described here load you with comforts, comforts and still more comforts. For example, remotes make sure that you do not have to leave your cushy seat to switch on the television, the air conditioner or (in some cases) the ceiling fan!

At this juncture, I feel we need to ponder: when the bulk of the daily chores and personal activities are getting done with minimal efforts on our parts what are we left with? With no avenues left for dissipating our energy, we are not turning into lazy people and leading vegetable-like existences. If this lethargy or sloth is allowed to grow and overpower us the results will be disastrous.  Ultimately one day we will be rendered incapable of doing the tiniest of physical or intellectual tasks! Not a happy situation to say the least.  

Photo from the Internet

Ruchira Adhikari Ghosh

Born in Guwahati Assam, Ruchira grew up in Delhi and Punjab. A product of Sacred Heart Convent, Ludhiana, she holds a Master’s degree in English Literature from Punjab University, Chandigarh. Armed with a P.G diploma in journalism in Journalism, she has been a pen-pusher for nearly 25 years. Her chequered career encompasses print, web, as well as television. She has metamorphosed as a feature writer, her forte being women’s issues, food, travel and literature.

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