A few weeks back, I was fortunate enough to make a trip to Chopta, a remote place in Uttarakhand, where technology has yet to reach (not coz its really remote, its just 60 kms from Rudraprayag after all, but coz its very near to Kedarnath Wild Life Sanctuary) and its feared that the advent of technology would degrade the natural scenic environment of the place. There are no electric wires (ppl still use solar chargeable lamps in the area) and just one mobile tower (ob, its BSNL !!) with no modern facilities (or necessities !!) like TV etc.
Staying there, I was taken back in time to the days when not each home had an inverter / generator and residential colonies with power back up was not heard of, and when ppl would wait for hours together for electricity to come and "plan" things accordingly; when ppl had time to spend with each other, least of all, with their (new) neighbours; when "social networking" meant meeting friends face to face and not tweeting, facebooking, orkutting or gtalking (and when liking someone's hilarious joke or comment would result in laughing heartily rather than speaking out a series of lol, lmao, rofl etc) !!! On my yet another recent trip to Gangtok, I read in some of the monastery, the 10 diktats of Dalai Lama, and the one which I distinctly remember is: Its amazing how people hv gone to and returned successfully from moon, but dont get time to cross a gallery / road and welcome their new next door neighbour !! how ironic truly ... Sure, how social networking has modified over the years is necessary (and upto some extent, natural) considering the changes that have been brought in the society as a result of post early-90's changes in the economy, but can such social-networking sites ever replace the charm of face to face interactions ... i fail to understand, as one of my friend's status msg on fb suggested, y shud facebook represent hollowness and emptiness within us, if it were just being used as a social-networking medium ? Everyone uses these social-networking sites to stay in touch with their old pals and friends, and ofcourse for fun, and thats obvious, however, wht I fail to understand is, how can such sites sometimes become a substitute,for eg, to congratulate a friend over his success, especially when one can easily meet him and wish the same !!
Also, y is it that technology is always assumed to degrade the natural and scenic environment of a place ? y cant science and nature co-exist (in places other than the advertisement of some cosmetic products) ? There are places like Sikkim, where the local growth rate is as high as 8.3% (as per the wiki page) and yet are too beautiful and so well-planned. The day-to-day life in places like Chopta is too harsh compared to city life essentially coz of the lack of many of the basic amenities (ofcourse, it doesnt matter much to tourists, who normally wouldnt be in the place for more than a week, but kudos to the human spirit for survining there too !!). The dangers of poaching for the musk deer (and other diverse flora / fauna found in the area) apart from the pollution concerns in the area has prevented technology from reaching there. But can such risks be truly attributed to technology ? Aren't they the result of human greed. Yes, over commercialization has, upto some extent spoiled places like Mussoorie (compare the mussoorie of today to what it was somewhere in early 90s and one would immediately realize the difference). However, Gangtok has still retained its charm and natural beauty inspite of all the commercialization and tourism there. So, science and nature need not exist in isolation. They can co-exist too. The nature can sustain the "side-effects" of technology, but only upto a limit. It reminds me of the excerpt: nature can cater to the needs of all, not the wants. Its our wants that we need to take care of !!
P.S: To know more about the scenic beauty, fun and thrill of trekking in Chopta, click here.
PPS: Thank you Amit for re-kindling my interest in blogging :) :)
Staying there, I was taken back in time to the days when not each home had an inverter / generator and residential colonies with power back up was not heard of, and when ppl would wait for hours together for electricity to come and "plan" things accordingly; when ppl had time to spend with each other, least of all, with their (new) neighbours; when "social networking" meant meeting friends face to face and not tweeting, facebooking, orkutting or gtalking (and when liking someone's hilarious joke or comment would result in laughing heartily rather than speaking out a series of lol, lmao, rofl etc) !!! On my yet another recent trip to Gangtok, I read in some of the monastery, the 10 diktats of Dalai Lama, and the one which I distinctly remember is: Its amazing how people hv gone to and returned successfully from moon, but dont get time to cross a gallery / road and welcome their new next door neighbour !! how ironic truly ... Sure, how social networking has modified over the years is necessary (and upto some extent, natural) considering the changes that have been brought in the society as a result of post early-90's changes in the economy, but can such social-networking sites ever replace the charm of face to face interactions ... i fail to understand, as one of my friend's status msg on fb suggested, y shud facebook represent hollowness and emptiness within us, if it were just being used as a social-networking medium ? Everyone uses these social-networking sites to stay in touch with their old pals and friends, and ofcourse for fun, and thats obvious, however, wht I fail to understand is, how can such sites sometimes become a substitute,for eg, to congratulate a friend over his success, especially when one can easily meet him and wish the same !!
Also, y is it that technology is always assumed to degrade the natural and scenic environment of a place ? y cant science and nature co-exist (in places other than the advertisement of some cosmetic products) ? There are places like Sikkim, where the local growth rate is as high as 8.3% (as per the wiki page) and yet are too beautiful and so well-planned. The day-to-day life in places like Chopta is too harsh compared to city life essentially coz of the lack of many of the basic amenities (ofcourse, it doesnt matter much to tourists, who normally wouldnt be in the place for more than a week, but kudos to the human spirit for survining there too !!). The dangers of poaching for the musk deer (and other diverse flora / fauna found in the area) apart from the pollution concerns in the area has prevented technology from reaching there. But can such risks be truly attributed to technology ? Aren't they the result of human greed. Yes, over commercialization has, upto some extent spoiled places like Mussoorie (compare the mussoorie of today to what it was somewhere in early 90s and one would immediately realize the difference). However, Gangtok has still retained its charm and natural beauty inspite of all the commercialization and tourism there. So, science and nature need not exist in isolation. They can co-exist too. The nature can sustain the "side-effects" of technology, but only upto a limit. It reminds me of the excerpt: nature can cater to the needs of all, not the wants. Its our wants that we need to take care of !!
P.S: To know more about the scenic beauty, fun and thrill of trekking in Chopta, click here.
PPS: Thank you Amit for re-kindling my interest in blogging :) :)
observations well supported by facts. although points u hv made in social networking are quite apt and reasonable , the line"So, science and nature need not exist in isolation" is where i find myself satisfied.
ReplyDeletei dont blame twitters fbs and orkuts , think without them what wud hv been d plight of social networking , given how much occupied each individual is these days.
#amit gupta
@ amit: very true, even i m not blaming twitter, fb or orkut for that matter ... they are essential in today's fast-paced world to get an update on who's where and doing what, u cant everytime call a contact in US just to know how he is doing ...
ReplyDelete"Sure, how social networking has modified over the years is necessary (and upto some extent, natural) considering the changes that have been brought in the society as a result of post early-90's changes in the economy"
though the problem is when ppl literally become addicts to such "virtual social-networking" sites as a result of which they become cut-off from their "real social-networking"
This sort of technological divide between cities and small towns is far, far less in the States. For example, Ann Arbor, where I study, is a modest town by Indian, or American standards, but even so, it has all the amenities that a big city would have : proper roads, water supply, and planned architecture.
ReplyDeleteSome of this is probably due to the increased availability of good transportation and roadways..think about it, if you could drive to work in an hour from a scenic village 50 miles from Mumbai, would you bother living in Dadar or whatever? I guess when (if at all) people become more used to living in villages, and take it as a benefit instead of an indication of being backward, it will eventually lead to their technological advancement. Hopefully.
very true mandar ... couldn't agree with u more on that !! and thanx for sharing ur experiences of US !!
ReplyDeleteActally I'm staying miles from main city in Navi Mumbai, its the world's largest planned city. It takes me 1 hr to reach anywhere at the minimum and maximum 2 hrs. I stay in kharghar which has a good deal of village. So normal problems crop up, power cuts etc. I must say though that its extrememly well planned and roads are good (There are drag races every week end here). But that concept is catching up now only. Houses are still expensive to come. My place now costs 50 lacs for a decent 2 BHK flat. And people are comfortable staying in slums as always for free. Slums have started coming up in Navi Mumbai as well now. Villages are good. Technology enables us to stay farther away. In recession, Airlines faced competition from Cisco from their Video Conferencing products... basic example how technology can help preserve villages.
ReplyDelete