The Lucky Generation

This is a journey into the nostalgia. A salutation to a very lucky generation- our generation! I am also one among the few lucky. Our generation has been the luckiest one. I am compelled to say so when I look behind and remember those years I have spent growing up. Our generation has seen the most wonderful and drastic advancements of technology in our day-to-day lives. We have seen technology evolving at its best. We have seen how new technology invades the older ones and how it makes something, at one time trendy, obsolete and outdated. We have seen it all… If you still don’t realize, then let me give you a walkthrough…

Welcome to 80s. The decade I was born. I was growing up listening to radio. I got up in the morning listening to the violin playing the “Akash-vani” tune. As I got ready for school I could hear the husky sound of the newsreader on the radio roaring, and by the time I got ready the movie songs started playing.

Television was evolving… Only a few people owned it. The black-and-white moving pictures were starting to become the most priced thing. Our neighbour was one among them. He had that big box-shaped TV, with wooden lids to cover the screen. The moment he slid the lids open every evening, tens of children and even elders assembled into his house to watch it. “Chayageet” and “Chitrahaar” was the most awaited and loved program on that big box. Going to my uncle’s house on Sundays really excited me. That’s because I could get to see “Vikram-Betal” on Sunday evening on his TV. Those were the days when we saw antennas hanging on the roofs of a few people.

Years later, these antennas stared mushrooming on every roof. The black-and-white box turned into colour. I began to wake up in the morning to the tune of “Doordarshan”. Then came the VCRs, stereos and cassette players. Every movie released now showed into the theatre and then soon a Video cassette was available in libraries on lease. I had had enough of TV. I used to go to my grandfather’s place during weekends. I and my cousin used to wait anxiously for uncle (maternal) to return from his shop. Because on weekends he brought a video cassette to play on his VCR. We even played guess-games and betted on the movie that we were likely to see that Saturday night.

Now, welcome to 90s. There was a new buzz- Cable TV. Everybody talked about Star TV and Zee TV. Yes… only a couple of satellite channels and a few other foreign channels like Chinese and Portuguese. Just having those foreign language channels made the owners proud like a peacock. Now, along with the antennas, gigantic Dish Antennas were also starting to mushroom on some of the roofs.

Then the gizmos and gadgets staring walking into daily lives. First it was the messaging device – Pager. Pagers didn’t go too far… But soon, we could hear a new name- The cellular phone. But only a few privileged people owned it. Landline was hard to get, and cellular was costly as people had to even pay for incoming calls!! In the meanwhile, Digital diaries and the likes were also seen instead of paper diaries.

As the new millennium neared, the storage media were changing. Music was now available in CDs and music cassettes were starting to become obsolete, but were yet in the market. Instead of cassette players it was CD players.

The digital world was threatening to conquer our lives as we neared the new centaury. We as college student had desk-tops at home, and we used 3 ½ inch floppies to carry our data to college and home. Internet was starting to show its face. E-mails were being introduced as a new medium of communication.

Zoom into 2000. Internet was starting to rein the market as yet another media along with print, TV and radio. Advertisements and contests on satellite channels no longer demanded answers on “Post-cards” like good old “Surabhi”. They just gave their sites or e-mails. Channel [V] and M TV used the internet media to the fullest. MP3 players and iPods started replacing walkman. Cell phones were now owned by even the panwalas on the streets.

By mid of the first decade of first millennium, there were even more advancements waiting. Everybody now used pen-drives and CDs and Floppies became extinct. The gigantic dish-antennas vanished, and in came the DTH (Direct-to-home) satellite channel service. Cable TV the thing that was the symbol of pride was now fully overtaken. The desk-top which I had on my table, got converted into a slim 15-inch long lap-top. TVs no longer have that big hunch at the back. They are as slim as a notebook. Cell phones can be used as MP3 player, Movie player, Internet browser, gaming device, storage device, camera, and yeah… of course… you can talk too. The digicams replaced the film-roll run cameras.

Information is now as easily accessible as pebbles. The school students now complete their assignments in no time with google around. Any song or movie you would wish to listen to is available on internet for download- no VCRs, music cassettes, CDs required any more. No standing in queues to pay your LIC premium or telephone bill. Even that can be done on your laptop through internet. Don’t you feel like the Aladin of Arabian Nights with the genie who says “Yes Master” and POP!!!... your wish comes true?

That is the reason I say we belong to a lucky generation. We have witnessed this wonderful jounry of technological developments. The journey is still on… Who knows what’s in store for us next ..?