Modern Day Problems-3

Day before yesterday I wrote about the importance of the power.
Yesterday I wrote about the problems and stresses related to it.
Today I am writing how our parents or ancestors were happy and contented without power.

In my childhood -
There was no power in the house. We used mustard oil lamps or kerosene oil lanterns in our houses to go around, in the kitchen and sometimes for reading too. We normally finished our studies in the daytime only. We got our water from a hand pump or from a well, as there was no tap water in the city in those days. Even well was not there in every house. However, we had a well in our house, so many people come to our well to fetch water. It was fun to watch people coming to our house with their buckets to fetch water. Rope was always there at our well so they did not need to bring their rope. For some people filling water was a project.

We use firewood and coal for cooking - so no worry of gas, microwave, toaster, oven etc etc. Food was cooked twice a day - lunch and dinner. If  somebody had to eat at any other time of the day, he ate only cooked kept food - no grudges. No fresh breakfast - only Paraathaa cooked the previous night with vegetable (if it was there at all) otherwise with pickles. My mother used to make many kinds of pickles. One full cupboard - of 4 planks, on each of which at least 4 big jars could be kept, was always full - with 16 jars of various kinds of pickles.

Otherwise we always ate fresh, no fridge food, no freezer food. If sometime something remained, we used to give to poor people. We were happy that our food was utilized and they were happy that they got the food. What a win-win situation.

Getting up in the morning was no problem. My mother and grandmother used to get up very early, so they used to wake us up. There was only one alarm clock, of about 6" diameter, in our house and the other one on my father's wrist. There was no need for us to see TIME. Our parents kept the track of the time. We used that alarm clock to see time only to go to school, so that we are not late, that is all.

There was no radio, let alone TV or anything else. Only rich and educated people used to subscribe for newspaper. Why? Literacy rate was very low and people did not value the newspaper as much. Only countable magazines were there to read. Most things were spoken and heard.

Whole day either school, or play, or some studies or any other activity if we ever had any. When it was about to be dark, we sat on our open air roof and talk about many things - of house, of outside, of city, of country, about history and geography. My father used to ask us many types of puzzles and questions. We gained a lots of knowledge out of them.

Then at about 8.00 pm we used to have our dinner, sometimes my mother made it an hour before, sometimes she made it instantly. After taking dinner we used to lay down our beds and our father used to tell us many stories - of Raam, of Mahaabhaarat, historical, educational. And then we slept. At that time we heard many stories. I have written down many of them as "My Childhood Stories".

What about in summer days? As we did not have any electricity we did not have any electric fan. We used hand fans to cool down ourselves. Everybody had hand fans on his bed. There used to be many fans lying everywhere in the house. As the summer started the hand fan sellers used to come to sell them and people used to buy them in  tens for the whole summer, They were made of palm leaves. Many fans were made very beautiful - by using colored cloths, beads, golden laces etc; and all this was done in our houses too. My grandmother and mother used to beautify these hand fans. It was an art.

My school days - 
My school days started when I was 8. Till then we had power and tap water in our house. It was a great relief then. The whole house used to seem lighted and for water we did not have to draw water from hand pump - just turn the head of the faucet and Lo there was water flowing down heavily. It used to come 24 hours. Since power was there so we had a radio also in our house, although my father did not allow me to touch it. It was used only to .listen to news only. There were not many programs used to air in those days.

This electricity was not like today also. Our room was 12 x 30 feet, and we used only 40 watt bulb in that big room  and we never thought that the light was dim, rather we were happy that we could study in the night. But today even if we have 100 watt bulb in a small room, we complain of low light.

I used to spend my summer vacation (2 and 1/2 months) with my maternal uncles' place. Our house was a businessman's house, so there were no modern way of living - from the view point of that time. My maternal Uncles (Maamaa) were in government service, so they lived in the modern way. We (my younger sister and myself) learned many things of modern life by living there,

In short - No Power, No Problems, No Distress.

Modern Day Problems-1
Modern Day Problems-2

Sushma Gupta
www.sushmajee.com 

Modern Day Problems-2

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of POWER in our everyday life of today. Its existence in our life today shows that we cannot live without it. Just think if we do not have it even for some time what will happen to our life --

--We might not get up in the morning on time without the alarm clock. We are late for all our work.
--No hot water, no powered toothbrush, no electric shaving -- oh what a start of the day? Without these things our mood is off and we cannot do well the whole day.
--Tea or coffee on stove? Never. It will be so late if the master had to prepare on stove, so he had to leave for his office without taking it. Mood off.
--Breakfast in a shop, or restaurant. More delay for work.
--Without radio and TV there is no news and entertainment - what a dry start of the day...
--The family has the habit of eating yogurt at lunch time. When there is no power, no yogurt, what a lunch without yogurt? The whole day is spoiled.
--No TV, - no entertainment, all interesting serials are gone,
--No computer - no e-mail, no home business, no homework for children, Such a useless day.
--And the whole day there was no AC/fan (or heating), so either suffer in heat, or shiver in cold.
-- No security system in the night - how to sleep in the night unsecured?
--Next day again late waking up, late going to work and so on...

The whole day - what a stressful useless day? It was never never never like this before.
So the Power give us the power to be happy these days.
But what if the Power is not there, then what? Only distress.

But what do you think? Was it all the time like this? We did not have all these things, say 70 years ago. Then? Were we not happy? Did we have to worry about anything like today?

No. There was nothing to worry about, so what would we worry about? And when there was no worry, there was no distress. Thus the life was distress free. It was a simple life.

We will see it tomorrow that how we were distress free many years ago when the power was not there.

Modern Day Problems-1
Modern Day Problems-3


Sushma Gupta
www.sushmajee.com

Modern Day Problems-1

It is difficult to list today's problems and stress related to them. The problems start since morning and perhaps do not end even after sleeping. Many times we seek their solutions in our dreams also.

70 years before our parents did not have so many problems and stresses. 70 years means, I am talking about 1940s. I think more than 90% problems have arisen from POWER which may be interpreted in any way - status or position, or electricity, both are curses for life, of course unless they are used it intelligently (while it is difficult to use them). If somebody gets power (strength) he becomes arrogant, proud and tries to rule everybody. At the same time if somebody gets power (electricity) he also becomes arrogant, proud and tries to show off himself to everybody.

In those days most common people did not have power, neither status nor electricity. Many people did not have status because of British Raaj, and many people did not have electricity because it was not very common in those days.

With the advent of electricity people have largely depended on it. Not only since morning till evening, but also 24 X 7 we need it now. The whole day and night our heating is on in Winter and AC and fan in Summer. Our refrigerator is also always on. Leave that we often need the electricity to do anything in the night.

Let us count the other uses of power - our day starts with getting up with the help of electric alarm clock, hot water in the bathroom, powered toothbrush, electric shaver etc. Come to the breakfast table - we need to grind Chutney, or sometimes spices, making tea in an electric kettle, toaster to make toasts, and cold water to drink. After the breakfast we need it to make yogurt in an electric pot, to vacuum clean the house, to run the washing machine to wash clothes. And Yeah, I forgot, during this period our radio is always on for the housewife and TV for other family members. News and entertainment are necessary for our modern day life.

Now a days a variety of food items are available for all kinds of tastes. In one lunch time, sometimes 3-4 types of food have to be cooked - master of the house needs to eat say Idli and Saambhar; old parents need liquid Daal and Chapati with it, children need to eat pasta. Then why the housewife should sacrifice her desires for the family? She wants to eat Khichdi today. In  this menu there is a 100% possibility that at least one or two people will have their lunch cold. Reheating? no problem. Microwave is there. Reheat the food as many times as you like and eat it.

After the lunch, the house wife gets sometime to watch TV or do some computer work - for this not only electricity is required internet connection is also required. Children need to do their home work on computer. Now a days there is no life without computer. Whether you have your food or not, but you must use computer.

In the evening again a similar routine resumes. Children take bath, house wife makes tea or coffee (in percolator), Housewife quickly prepares the dinner and then the most evening is spent in front of the TV or computer.

At night again the fan is on, house security system is on, AC or heating is on, then only one can sleep peacefully in a house.

Now in this routine where is the time for power to rest? or at what time you can live without power?
So POWER is the breath of our life - of course in present times.

Tomorrow I will write why our parents or ancestors did not face such problems.

Modern Day problems-2
Modern Day Problems-3

Sushma Gupta
www.sushmajee.com