The End Of Innocence:

Finally I met her. We were walking through an entire field of pretty jasmines; the wind was blowing gently, there was slight shower of rain making thw wind cooler then ever before and causing the silky petals to tickle the tips of her fingers as we pushed through long strands of bright green grass. The ground was soft and bouncy beneath her bare feet and her body was so light that she was almost floating just above the spongy earth. All around the birds whistled their happy tune as they went about their business. There was slight shower of rain which was spicing up the atmosphere and I was just lovin’ it. The cool breeze was passing her face and the sweet scent of the jasmines filled her nostrils. She felt so happy…so free…and I was just and just gazing at her

I crept more closer to her, and just then I heard…BANG! BANG! BANG! I jumped from my sleep to a loud banging to my door. Confused and half asleep, I made my way to the front door…the silence of the evening sleep was shattered. My blissful sleep lullabied by the angelic ileana frowned as I was rudely awakened. It took a few seconds to realise that the culprit was none other than the loud blaring ringtone of mobile phone. Sigh…sigh….

At this point of time, my wrath vented mercilessly on cell phones…after-all who gave it right to disturb my dream???

Mobile phones have mushroomed in every nook and corner and have seeped so much into people's lifestyles that many feel helpless and lost when they realize they have forgotten to carry the device with them. The mobile phone is almost a consort to people these days. It has transmogrified life so much that we have become heavily dependent on this piece of technology in various walks of our lives.

I remember spending my times in the evening, after school, playing cricket, fighting with my brother, and listening to my grand pa’s stories. But these days, one finds school students either SMSing, or playing games on the phone! What happened to the names like scrabble, hide and seek, bicycle race, and sand castles after school? Is it gone?

In the recent past, I along with my dad, had been to a wedding. And I was not surprised to see relatives of the bride and the groom huddled on the dais handing over their phones to the newly weds informing them that their cousin from the U.S. wants to wish them well. The priest has to stop chanting the mantras and wait for the conversation to finish. And in the mean time, even the priests are busy answering their own “next schedules” on phones. I was disgusted as always.These days the wedding hall reverberates with ringtones, each humming to its own glory unmindful of the sanctity of the proceedings.

Barbie dolls and toy cars no longer occupy the prime position at the bedside. That has long been conquered by the mobile phone which has replaced bedtime stories and dreams. What a pity to see young minds flipping away idly! It is an eyesore to see children playing football, soccer or cricket virtually instead of engaging in the game in the real world.

It is a very common sight that in every conference room, just after the beginning of meeting phones starts blaring out . I find it strange that at the workplace people do not bother to turn their mobile phones into ‘silent' or ‘vibrate' mode. What sort of ‘productivity' are we talking about when employees spend their time chatting, SMSing or even switching off their phone?

Also, many times I observe senseless driving by the self proclaimed superheroes, who move on to road with the neck craned onto the shoulder to balance the mobile phone and ride with one hand. Perhaps they forget that safety does not depend upon on how carefully one drives but it depends upon how the others drive on the road. Also sometimes in the Signals, people take the opportunity to quickly type an SMS. And to worsen the situation Handsfree systems like Bluetooth technologies have crept in. But, at what cost? And whose cost?

Once I was in a theatre and was watching ileana’s movie. Suddenly the person sitting next to me started taking his call and talking loudly. I once requested him to turn off his mobile phones for which I invited sneers and catcalls not only from him but also people sitting alongside. So much for etiquette!

Do we have to remain connected at the cost of distressing someone?

I am sure each of us has gone through more such annoying situations. This only goes to prove that we have lost our sensitivity towards our fellow beings. We are deeply engrossed in our lives alone that we have forgotten all about civic sense.

While the pros are many, it is high time we exercised a civic sense and a responsible attitude towards its usage.