Girish's Misadventure

Girish’s world came crashing down in an instant.

A minor tweak in one line of a software program done by a geek in the remote interiors of Finland had triggered this crash. He became the butt of ridicule in the medium-sized town of Nayanagar where his family had been residing for generations. He had to endure the agony and ridicule of the sarcastic remarks passed by once swarming legion of devoted fans.

He had been an average student during his school and college days. This had left a deep scar on his psyche as he was envious of the attention garnered by Sharad who was the class topper and thus, the favorite of the school teachers as well as the parents of all his schoolmates. He also aspired to be a diligent student. However, his easy-going attitude often got the better of him and he remained an average student.

Time passed by and he grew up to doing odd jobs around town and because of his helpful nature he was generally liked by everyone in his town. However, he always dreamed of being respected for his knowledge and wisdom.

His wish was answered by a technological development by a group of 19 software engineers in Finland.

He became an overnight sensation in his town. He was on his way to realize his long-cherished dream.

Due to his inquisitive and forward-looking nature, he was an early-adopter of technology. His family was the first to get the landline telephone, colour television and subsequently the first mobile handset in their town.

This technological development opened up the entire world to him. He was updated on the latest developments from all across the globe. The Arab Spring revolution, the JNU imbroglio , the general elections of 2014, the video of a five-headed snake from Western India, religious speeches, self-help videos, 9 ways to thwart bad omens , the videos or images of natural scenery. Most important was the profound words of wisdom by famous personalities from antiquity till today. You name it, he had it on his wonderful gadget, his smartphone.

He became the toast of his town. People used to queue up at his house and be awestruck at his ability to share his wisdom on such diverse topics.

Over a period of time, the other residents also bought their mobile phones graduating from a basic handset to an entry-level smartphone.

But Girish continued to be the undisputed disseminator of information from across the globe. His face acquired a fresh glow and he walked around with a spring in his step.

Once the town’s residents bought their latest smartphones, Girish introduced them to this wonderful development.

His family was upset with the constant stream of visitors and then having to exchange pleasantries as well as ply them with tea and snacks. His wife was a pious, gentle soul and a grounded person. She always used to tell him to be genuine and not pass off the information he received from others as his own.

Unable to bear the rising expenses of tea and snacks for his visitors, he decided to introduce them to this unique technological development.

He had a friend of his who worked in the newspaper which was published in the neighboring district. This friend had included Girish’s number in a few groups through which Girish was being updated.

The other residents of his town were not as resourceful as Girish and hence though they had access to technological development, they had to rely on Girish to share the information with them.

Meanwhile, the team of engineers in Finland were tweaking the software, little knowing that they were triggering Murph’s Law for our beloved Girish. “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”.

As per his usual schedule, Girish was merrily sharing his information when all of a sudden Ramesh walked into his house. He was furious with Girish. What is this new ‘tag’ on the message which Girish had sent him? Girish was caught off-guard. He was trying to think of a logic to explain this when a horde of recipients of Girish’s message swamped his house. They were loud and demanding. A few disgruntled elements were always jealous of Girish’s popularity and they knew this was an opportune moment to knock him off his pedestal.

Girish could not explain the ‘tag’ and he was instantly exposed. All these years of carefully cultivating his image as an authority of information from across the world as his own creation now laid unveiled.

Acceding to the Indian Government’s request to rein in the rising instances of fake news, WhatsApp had introduced the “Forwarded” tag for users to be aware that the message is a forwarded one.

This one action by WhatsApp has taken the sheen of many such self-professed purveyors of information.

We come to the end of an era of dissemination of knowledge.

Last heard, Girish was thinking of taking WhatsApp to court for having brought infamy and disrepute to his reputation.