BENGALURU: I received a message a few days back that said, ‘Enjoy the last few days of 2019. This is the last teen year that you would witness in your life’. True. The year 2019 is ending, and along with it, bringing a closure to yet another decade. This decade has not gained as much significance as the ones in the 20th century did (like the ’60s or the ’80s). We never referred to this decade lovingly as the ‘10s’, like how we did for those in the previous century. We are now starting the 20s decade but not many of us seem to have given that much thought.
I remember the excitement on December 31, 1989 when we were entering the Nineties. Sachin Tendulkar had made his debut in international cricket a month before. It was a few weeks since VP Singh became the new PM. Maine Pyar Kiya had released two days back, and was all set to gift India with a new superstar. The ‘phoren’ drink Pepsi was also about to set foot in the market, and the Indian youth (who was bored of guzzling Thumbs Up, Limca and Gold Spot) was ecstatic. The ’90s seemed promising.
Ten years later, the excitement was bigger. It was not just the turn of the year or decade or century. We were lucky to witness the change of the millennium in 2001. But in Dec 1999, the mood was sombre. The Orissa cyclone had claimed about 10,000 lives. An Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu was hijacked by terrorists. However, emails, Internet and satellite television had entered our lives. Economic liberalisation had opened doors to a new India. The dotcom boom was on, and Y2K was the buzzword all around.
Fast Forward to 2009. The Noughties were coming to an end. Post 9/11, terrorism had raised its ugly head globally. The decade gave us iPod, Orkut, iPhone, Google, LCDs, Bluetooth and BlackBerrys, multiplexes, PlayStations, Facebook and YouTube. The ‘saas bahus’ along with the ‘crorepatis’ entered Indian drawing rooms. The millennium babies were photographed much more than those from the previous generations, thanks to digital and mobile cameras. However, the turn of the decade was not as eventful. For Kannadigas, the sudden death of one of the most loved screen heroes – Vishnuvardhan – just a day before New Year’s Eve of 2009, was a big dampener.
The 2010s was a seesaw decade. Facebook was an upstart in 2010 and so was Instagram. By mid-decade, WhatsApp had taken a grip on all our lives. For retro Bollywood fans like me, this decade was crushing, as we lost some of the brightest luminaries – Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, Sadhana, Vinod Khanna and the biggest shock of them all – Sridevi. A fair share of grief came from the West too – Roger Moore, Robin Williams, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Walker, George Michael and Whitney Houston passed away. Bangalore became Bengaluru, and the Metro chugged here for the first time.
Smartphone was one artefact that defined this decade. People gained a massive number of friends (and followers) virtually. It pushed some of our most loved items/gadgets into oblivion – cameras, alarm clocks, calculators, diaries, calendars, CDs and DVDs. The selfie changed the way people ‘looked’ at photographs. Literally!
Now, 2020 is here. Let’s welcome the new decade with optimism. Technology is certain to take bigger leaps. With free WiFi zones becoming more common, smartphone addiction is going to go up several notches. This decade, let’s try and keep this in check and ensure that we do not end up being slaves of this necessary ‘evil’. Make it a point to connect with real people as often as possible. On that birthday of your friend or cousin or aunt, remember not to wish them on Facebook or WhatsApp with a cake, gift or balloon icon. Call them and speak with them. Let’s use technology to connect with people, and not to distance ourselves from them.
(The author is a former IT professional who is following his dream of becoming a digital storyteller)