BENGALURU: From the 1990s to the turn of the millennium, and beyond, I witnessed technology evolve. Here, I wish to primarily refer to tech at home, one that entertained, was convenient, and integral to my life.
History books retell the discovery of fire and the invention of the wheel, which sparked humanity’s quest to reach the zenith of technological advancement. The Paleolithic Period saw the onset of cave paintings, one of the earliest pastimes, perhaps? Fast-forwarding to the ’90s, it was practically a ‘decade of gizmos’. Indian households craved the best devices that offered entertainment and comfort, with an element of prestige. Purchasing power was growing, and so was a travelling, discerning consumer.
I lived in Oman, where I received my first pet. This pet was no dog, cat, or parrot, but a ‘Tamagotchi’. This ingenious Japanese handheld digital pet had become a rage in the late ’90s. My Tamagotchi featured a dinosaur. It was a small pager-like device, with some buttons and a monochrome screen. It played out like a handheld gaming system, with the dinosaur character taking birth from an egg, and beeping to let you know when it was hungry, needed a bath, was sleepy, was ill, or wanted to study, until it grew old and died, with the cycle repeating again. Subsequently, I possessed a Tamagotchi featuring an alien character, and one with eight different ‘pets’ in one device. Then there was the ubiquitous Brick Game, to binge on Tetris.
A part of post-homework fun would be in front of the 8-bit gaming console, a treasured possession for kids of that era. It would be a boys’ hangout with Super Mario Bros, Contra, and Duck Hunt. Connected to a box colour TV, with the large boxy console hosting a much-coveted cartridge, and gamepads in hand, time felt frozen. The familiar jingles that played along these delightful games are eternally recorded in my head. For gaming with more effects, the arcade was never far away, where young and old became car racers, bikers, pilots, elite soldiers, and oarsmen, a token at a time.
The TV set was a literal crowd-puller, ask any wandering cricket fanatic of the ’90s. On match day, with Sachin at the crease, any shop with a TV would turn into a flash mob, with tens of passersby gathering in front, anticipating a nail-biting finish. Roads would empty out, and people would sit tight together in the homes of friends, turning the moment into a medley of emotions. The box TV, or CRT TV, held the pride of place in one’s living room. In due course, it metamorphosed into the flat screen, becoming ‘smarter’ in decades to come.
This was also an era when Bollywood and pop music boomed, and Indians had their favourite vocalists and albums. The ‘music system’, a large contraption usually involving a cassette deck and a CD player, connected to large speakers, was a music-lover’s dream. Attach such equipment to a TV, it’s a ‘home theatre’! There were also VCRs and DVD players for that personal cinematic experience, with libraries renting out movie titles. The ‘Walkman’ was highly prized, which was succeeded by the ‘Discman’, and then emerged sleek MP3 players. It was music anywhere, everywhere! But there were also older folks who still loved their transistor radios for their daily dose of yesteryear classics and news.
The pager, previously mentioned, experienced a similar transformation. This handheld, compact communication and messaging tool was revolutionary, at a time when cordless phones and fax machines were already disrupting the market. In due course, the cellular phone arrived. With its miniaturised cordless phone appearance, antennae et al, this marvel was called a ‘mobile phone’ for a reason, allowing text messaging and calls literally on the move.
It was an early precursor to the modern smartphone, which would converge most of the above features, the power of gaming, communication, audio-visual entertainment, photography, and almost every form of human tech need in one small device, to fit in the pocket, and driven by the Internet.
From large PCs to tablets, and from film cameras to digital and phone ones, technology was built to suit, with convenience and ease of use at its core. It made the world even smaller, reachable and achievable. It reflected possibilities and made us happy, and I saw it happen, and still continue to see it!
(The writer’s views are personal)