Racing against time

Demand for vegetarian food is on the rise everywhere in the world as people opt for healthy food. Yet, towards beginning of the century, being a vegetarian was a problem anywhere in the world, except in India. One would have to scramble the menu in a restaurant, to find vegetarian dishes. Today one can comfortably choose vegetarian dishes anywhere. It is an amazing transformation within a period of less than thirty years in the same manner as organic food has become an element of healthy diet. Bernard Shaw was a vegetarian because he did not want to bury animals in his body. Today, there is a rising concern about caring for animals by the mighty human. But vegetarian dishes are not easy to make compared to making a basic meat or fish dish. The preparation of vegetarian meal, however simple, requires skill. Much depends on the cook on how the ingredients, in particular spices, are mixed. The end result, if done properly, can be amazingly good. India is the vegetarian capital of the world through a long period of engagement driven by religious beliefs. Being a non-vegetarian can be a problem in most places there. Even eggs are no-go items in many restaurants.

Among many other changing practices during this period of time, one is the ownership of pets. Today a pet, mostly dog or cat, is a family member. There are other types of pets as well such as chicken. I have an English friend whose chicken insists on sleeping with his daughter. The trend will take a while before it is adopted in our country. Those who do so use household helps for the care of these animals. These animals are later devoured, something unthinkable for a pet. We had many such animals in our house with which we played. I remember an incidence in my life when my mother prepared a meal for me with one of these birds. One day as I returned home after watching a film, she proudly presented a gourmet meal with one such bird with which I have spent many playful days. How could I bury it in my body? On the other hand, there were the watchful eyes of my mother to see how I was enjoying the meal. This is a problem of transition from one generation to another as practices, a la values, change over time

It was not long ago when telephone calls were made through dialling the operators just like what we do today with helplines. I was then a student at London University in the seventies. There were phone boxes used with coins. Many a times coins were lost as the connection did not get through. The money could be claimed back through dialling the operator who would then connect the number for free. Telephone directories were also new developments of the time that were promoted with jingles such as 'let your fingers do the walking'. Cell phones today have sped up this walk to run. Today one runs through the button with fingers at speed faster than a cheetah as it chases a prey.

Being tired of running with the fingers we now want to speed through words of mouth. The instructions are spoken such as with Siri or Alexa. Much of the instructions are spoken instead of being punched on the cell. This is very helpful for the visibly impaired. It is amazing how the communication processes have changed from one to another. It is only a question of time when one will be able to use the mind to instruct and get things done. This will eliminate most of the physical touches. But controlling the mind can be tricky as yet we do not know how it works in terms of how the cells link up with one another. We have little control over mind, as yet.

When Brain takes away the use of physical activities of life, problems can arise in other ways. The body, to keep it going, needs physical activity. As a result of diminished uses we now see the rise of gyms and other physical fitness centres. This is life, you lose some and win some.

In this context I have an amusing story from my life. In my student days in England, I have seen people using calculators even for adding small numbers that we would normally do mentally. Once I quipped a friend on what he would do if his calculator ran out of battery. Quickly he dug out a pair of batteries from his bag. Similarly, what about artificial intelligence tools that are gradually creeping in our lives, even for simple tasks such as generation of assignments for class work? Where do we draw the line on how far is far enough? Or is there a need at all? As we move ahead in time, life will generate many more challenges as newer conveniences are added. How these challenges are addressed beginning with simpler activities such as the use of cell phones today is not known. One can only hope for the best.

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