The Lost Old World...

It is not just dinosaurs that go extinct!

Reader's Digest recently took a bow as the curtain dropped on its 86 iconic years in circulation. I wonder what the senior generation must go through as all the anchors from the old world seem to be fast disappearing.

Personally, I am grateful that we still have books in the physical format. I like the feeling of holding a book in my hand. I love the smell of the printed pages and touching its smooth cover, as I pause to reflect on what I have read. Sometimes the sharp edge can nick your finger. You can run your eyes over the written pages and jump chapters if you so desire. This is difficult in audio books and also in the digital editions.

A few months back, I went to the post office to buy inland letters. Another customer quizzed me, "Who uses these in the days of email and WhatsApp?" With a wide smile, I told him, "My dad sends out handwritten letters using these." Thanks to the post-office and seniors like him who share a symbiotic relationship that we are still able to get glimpses of the yesteryears.

 The old world charm of family and friends gathering around the radio and then the TV in the living room l, while we rooted for India in cricket matches or watched the Sunday Hindi movie all huddled together, has also been lost to us.

India was touted as the land which embraced the new age additions, while still supporting the old world. Coffee at Starbucks and Barista is all good, but I still hope that the 'wada pav' stalls in every nook and cranny of Mumbai, as also the tea stalls all over India, withstand the pressure of the changing times.