How Life Moved Fast...

There was a time when we all used to remain in a queue for hours together, for getting some essential work done, in our daily life. But people’s life moved very fast over a period of time, with technological progress in every field, seen all over the world.

Vast changes have been taking place in technology, since the 1980s. Adding machines and calculators entered the list first, followed by many others. I remember my initial office days, where I had to wait for my turn, to use the big-size calculator, connected to the power plug, to do some complex calculations, like converting the foreign currency amount into Indian Rupees and vice versa, to undertake some export and import transactions. It was almost a difficult task to do it manually, when the indirect rates were prevailed upon, in those days of late 70s and 80s.   

The complete scenario of the working style in the offices has changed since then, with the use of Personal Computers.

In earlier days, all official letters were typed in a typewriter and had to be retyped again for any correction or to incorporate any points missed out in the draft letter. There was a huge wastage of manpower, time and stationery then. I had to insert the required number of carbon papers manufactured by “Kores”, between each pages, for extra copies, while typing. The funny thing was that to attach a copy of the previous letter, in the current letter, the same had to be typed again first and then compared with the earlier copy. With the arrival of the photo copy machines, we could say goodbye to the process and save a lot of time, with a nominal cost. It has become a history for the present generation.

After the invention and regular usage of the internet and e-mail, typewriters became obsolete and people almost stopped writing physical letters. The usage of Telegram and telex had also become a thing of the past. Whenever someone wanted to congratulate or wish anybody or even to inform the birth or death of the dear ones or to pass important, urgent information, the only medium for communication used was Telegram. I too visited Central Telegraph Office, commonly known as CTO, near Flora Fountain, Mumbai, many times for sending telegrams.

The cutting down of trees for paper manufacturing almost reduced substantially, with all communication changed to electronic medium. With the usage of SWIFT machines, telex became out-dated, mostly in banks.

Writing letters was the most common practice for almost communications exchanged between individuals and business partners. Whenever postman delivered a whole lot of letters in the office, in 1980s and early 1990s, I used to rush to the desk, to see whether any of them were addressed to me. However, the numbers of letter, a postman carries now have reduced to a minimum, since almost all official and personal communications have been switched over to electronic medium.

The new communication channel paved the way for closure of Telegraph Offices and a few post offices. Post offices changed their strategy by doing other businesses, for its survival.

ATM has become a convenient mode for banking transactions, for the last two decades. It is a fact that people suffered a lot when banks were closed continuously for three-four days, when ATMs were not common. I cannot forget the day, I had suffered a lot, for want of cash at the required moment, when my wife was hospitalized for surgery.

Pager service vanished with the arrival of mobile phones in the late 1990s. Fax machines had also become obsolete with the invention of camera-based-phones. With the invention of Smartphones, people could do almost all activities, which otherwise have been done through a PC. With the usage of laptops, desktops too, are losing their earlier value. But still I prefer to use a desktop PC rather than a laptop, for my convenience.

People started preferring to make payment of all utility bills, using internet, which saved time, energy and money. I had to take leave and stand for hours, for making payment of electricity bills, till the time I married. Only after 2000, the MSEB started introducing its online platform for collection of consumer bills.

Travelling has become quite easy now, since people can book and cancel road, railway and air tickets, through internet, sitting at home, at their convenience. I had tough times to book a railway ticket in the late 1970s. Many times I thought of dropping the idea of going to my native place, for want of a reserved ticket. 

Software platforms like Uber and Ola have now captured the market, making very convenient for increasing number of travelers.

Hotel booking also has become quite easy. People can freely select and book the hotel rooms of their choice with their convenience. Whenever I planned a trip now-a-days, I do all bookings on-line, well before the journey starts. With the availability of Google applications, for everything, life has become easy for all, for which we have to thank the scientific community for their research work. 

We can now place order anything through online purchase facility. Various online platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Swiggy etc are the most common. Many retail shops have already closed down their business, as sales have dipped or no sales at all, is yet another issue.

Educational institutions now manage all their admission process and other daily activities only through on-line. “Computer and its applications” has been made as a compulsory subject in the curriculum, from the school level itself, since the last three decades. This helped the younger generation to adopt the sudden changes in the technology, without any difficulty. I feel, my son can do the things better through Smart phones.

Digital photography compelled to close the manufacturing of film based cameras. Kodak had to shut their shop. In the medical field also technological development has taken place.

Actually, at present, there is no field where technology is not used. Tremendous progress is happening daily in the field of technology. Despite having some draw backs, we have to embrace technology in our daily life. It is a boon for our everyday life.

However, we have to be much tech-savy and extra alert while using any new technology or machines, for not becoming a victim of fraud or mistake.