The blue of the rivers has been replaced by the blue of the Pacific Ocean and the blue of the screen-time on electronic devices, rues Dr Parneet. An exclusive for Different Truths.  

There was once a time when a retreat was defined as a dive in the fresh flowing waters of the Ravi, the Ganga, or the Yamuna.  A swimming relay in the local narrow canal would also make a bombastic weekend, draining all the naughty energies in the gushing waters.

Eating vegetable patties or the unparalleled Indian samosas on the riverbank would free the tired nerves of all fatigue accumulated through the week and transform one to a fresh, rejuvenated Superman ready to fly high in the huddle. Children would clench hands to form a chain collaborating in a variety of shenanigans – shooing the birds, blowing soap bubbles, plucking flowers when the gardener was away for his desi meals. The youngest toddlers would be the merriest with the waters oozing out of a lawn pipe, wetting their squeaky booties, much to the angst of their mothers, who would be busy gossiping with their close-to-heart sahelis, who topped the list of favourites amongst all other Bollywood heroines. The blue waters drenching the toddlers gave them the most natural gaming on earth, no matter how crazy the mothers went in changing their attires several times a day.

Today, we are still glued to the blue.  The blue waters of the Pacific lure the eyes like never before but the blue screens add much colour to these waters. The brown turned blue waters of the Ganga concern us every now and then as the news channels prick our long-preserved conscience.  Our kids play with the waters that games hold. We visit the retreats our mobile screens take us to. Our ten-year-olds are earning hundreds of coins in the Temple run, while they look allergic to the real temple.

Our teens may not solve a single problem in their real lives but are the best fighters and firers in PUBG. Friends are now Insta-friends or Facebook-friends. Chatting is now a WhatsApp chat. Even games like ludo, tombola, and card games are now online assemblage. Even chess is being played with a computer on the other side. I was aghast when I saw two young brothers sitting in different corners of the same room playing games with a computer as their competitor.

It is quite understandable why our children are cold, indifferent, and insensitive to many emotions, why society is in dire need of compassion and empathy.  The blanket of emotions is now replaced by a cold gadget that does not know the difference between joy and gloom.

The eyes open to the blue and sleep with the blue. The mind is glued to the blue.

Visuals by Different Truths

Dr Parneet Jaggi

Dr. Parneet Jaggi is Associate Professor of English in Rajasthan, India. She has four collections of poems in English and two research books to her credit. Her historical fiction The Call of the Citadel (2020) is well-acclaimed. Her poems have been anthologised in various journals. Her name appears in the Directory of Writers in America’s famous magazine Poets and Writers. She is Associate Editor of International Journal of Education and English Literature, Montreal, Canada.