communication

Parvati, alias Betty, the grand old Lady of Kailash was in a bad mood. Lord Shiva had not yet returned – nor had he sent any message. Betty’s outgoing traffic system was fully computerized but the service providers of her mobiles were not able to cope up with the ever increasing incoming traffic....
Betty longed for the good old days when communication was more personalized. One booked a trunk call in the morning and, if the lines were clear, one could be connected by evening – one had to bear with the odd case when the called person was not available. Of course, if one paid extra, the call could materialize by afternoon.
There was also letter writing.
An art by itself, the subject was handled with equal seriousness both in the school and college. Students had to learn different types of salutations – addressing a letter to an elderly relative was not the same as writing a letter to a friend or an official letter to the Departmental Head requesting for a days leave. Alas, things have changed. STD has removed the concept of distance and SMS has spawned a new culture of abbreviations. Today, when one wants to open a Bank account, one has to give not just ones postal address but the e-mail address and mobile number also. These are the basic requirements of identifying an individual!
Suddenly she heard the ‘dum-dum’ of a damroo followed by the clang of the trident as it was flung into a corner of the verandah.
Betty heaved a sigh of relief.
Shiva, her Lord, was home – in one piece.
‘What took you so long?’ she demanded an explanation as he entered the room..
‘They have dug up the roads again,’ Shiva replied. ‘Last time it was to lay electrical cables. Previous to that it was for laying water pipelines. Even earlier it was the telephone department.’
‘Well – who is responsible now?’
‘Yet another telephone network.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well – with the advancement of the telecom sector and, with more and more players entering the market, more and more cables need to be laid to cater to more and more connections!’
At this point of time Betty heard a rustle of feathers outside. An owl perched itself on the roof whilst the most elegant of swans waddled into the room heralding the arrival of the sisters Sarah and Lakme. One was the symbol of learning, the other the symbol of wealth.
‘Kya baat hai!’ Shiva could not hide his surprise on seeing both his daughters together. ‘Normally we never see you together. Am I to conclude that education has now become a money spinning affair?’
‘There appears to be a communication gap!’ Sara alias Saraswati smiled at her father’s ignorance. ‘I would rather say that education now belongs to those who can afford it.’