It’s no secret that in these difficult times using social media has acquired a legit status. Now no one is complaining about people getting too involved in the virtual world while distancing themselves from the real. After-all, social distancing is hot. And as I too have more time to scroll down my timeline, (really! When did I have the crunch of time!!!!) I surely find it much more engaging than any other form of entertainment, though not always pleasurable. Now who likes that feeling of frivolousness! Alright let me delve upon it further.
There are some old acquaintances of mine with whom I had lost touch. Suddenly I see a friend request and a message on my messenger. I go excitedly like..Oh ! long time, how are you? “Have been trying to find you … how are you? How is the sunny boy?” they say, echoing the same excitement as mine. And then they finish off with …”catch ya later”.
Only that ‘later’ never comes up. All they do is ,drown me with a sense of incompetency and ineptitude with their awesome creations. Those lovely poetries with soulful meanings, book covers of the published work, the cake decorations- I don’t remember when did I last try frosting my cake after seeing such amazing and creative frostings, the Saaris are not Saaris- they are heirlooms- worn with such elegance that I can never dream of! I vividly remember a senior lady chiding me for wearing my Saari too high, making my block heels all visible, just as I was about to go on to the stage for anchoring an event ( ha, trying to push the envelope here). Gardens that make you look at your somewhat wilting money plant in the old old-monk’s bottle, some motley earthen pots with commonplace crotons and hybrid turned wild roses for the lack of gardening knowledge, with much contempt. Business setups that make you marvel at their acumen, while thinking about your ‘forever in the planning mode’ business ideas ( mine is to open a café on the foothills of Shivalik, with free consultancy on love life, to catch the young crowd- hope no one is stealing that idea!).
Then there are the fitness divas doing marathons with svelte figures, with their ‘humble declarations’ of having finished 10 Km or more, flashing their achievements in no uncertain terms! Imagine what it would do to a soul like mine, who gets up every morning thinking about hundreds of reasons to not go even for a stroll and pat myself well enough if I do! “Dost agar fail ho jaaye toh dukh hota hai, dost agar first aa jaaye toh zyaada dukh hota hai”- Did I get the meaning of this famous dialogue of three idiots? – Absolutely! Social media ensured that!
And you end up being their ‘liking’ tool. You like because they made you think that you are their friend and by virtue of that, you should press the like button, you like because you really liked it, you also hit the like despite not liking it because you are under some obligation, you click on the ‘like’ with the hope that perhaps your posts too shall be liked in return, following ‘you scratch my back I scratch yours’ adage! I rather walked the extra mile, writing all those floral paragraphs, but without much effect! But I carry on- Apna Time Aayega, is my favourite song not for no reason!
And boy! Talk of status! Some are like the current affairs. If I am short on time and want to know as to what’s happening around in the world, I just have to check my timeline. “Well done Sindhu, never mind losing, you can do it next time” Oh! So, there was some international badminton tournament, I instantly gain knowledge. Political news too is in tow- this side or that. There are prayers which somehow seem to have a better connect with the God who too apparently has gone high tech with his own smart phone, checking every now and then about the latest call of distress! These days his phone is crashing too often perhaps, in the ‘Coronatine’ era!
Some literary friends of mine throw challenges by putting status that’s almost next to impossible to comprehend, in all its metaphorical glory! Killing two birds with one stone, I say! The world gets to know about the depth of their thoughts and they themselves find a way to sieve their ‘matching in intellect’ friends from the ‘chaff’! Here I find myself on the tricky track. To comment or not ! If I comment, there is a very high probability that I shall end up in the ‘chaff’ basket; if I don’t, its like losing the battle even before fighting!!!!! And I have not begun on the ‘lurkers’. But guess, I can let them be. At least they don’t make me feel the way my super active and multi-talented friends do!!!!
By the way, I find myself in competition with one of my friends’ cute little puppy, who has got hundreds of likes (including mine) with his cute little drooling face as compared to my ‘in depth researched’ write up!!
Still here I am. Still scrolling down… for I love to smile, to feel motivated, to feel invigorated ..for that is what I get from their posts … for they are my friends…bringing much needed spice to my otherwise humdrum life.. ‘Coronatine’ notwithstanding!
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