<p class="bodytext">I completed 70 years on March 16, despite my having developed a few chronic ailments. Witty writer Mark Twain’s words come to the mind. He said something to the effect of, ‘Do not complain about old age. This privilege is denied to many.’</p>.<p class="bodytext">I consider myself fortunate for having lived this long. Long ago I read somewhere that for most people success means becoming famous and well-known, but for a few it means never being found out. I belong to the latter category. I was leading life happily in obscurity and anonymity till the other day.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Since the advent of various social media platforms, I resisted most of them but finally gave into WhatsApp. Now for the last few years, birthday greetings are increasing. This year I received a record 88 greetings mostly from school classmates and professional college class fellows who are part of different WhatsApp groups. I feel like being subjected to false limelight and having become a fake sort of VIP for most of these greetings, as I understand they are sterile and perfunctory. I thanked them all, and I do reciprocate the greetings to them in a customary way whenever the need arises, but I feel like acting as if I were a consummate actor instead of a genuine human being with feelings and emotions.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I thank my friend from electrical engineering, Makhija, who initiated the process of greetings by embellishing my photo on this birthday with his software tricks. Before the day ended, I received the last message from Julka, a batchmate from electronics engineering, which I found a little amusing; it read: ‘Happy birthday, Osho ji & Good night ji’. I extend my sincere thanks to Julka for his ingenuity. Henceforth I will avoid sending personal messages which are devoid of sentiments and connectivity and expect from others that they don’t send messages just for the heck of it. However, I will keep this platform on my mobile, as it creates hell of fun and silly humour, mostly risqué, which I can’t help enjoying. </p>.<p class="bodytext">I think social media platforms are helping society to connect but in a superficial manner, and in a way they are making its large clientele more and more unsocial in a subtle sense. The analogy can be related to the writing by ChatGPT. The writing may be technically and grammatically correct yet lack a human touch. Likewise, personal messages feel rather impersonal on social media. A sensitive soul amid social media personal messages feels like lamenting, <span class="italic">Darichaa besadaa koee nahin hai</span>, a ghazal I heard a long time ago and often used to croon: <span class="italic">Main aise jamghate mein kho gayaa hoon, Jahaan mere sivaa koee nahin hai</span> (roughly translated, this means I am lost in such an indifferent crowd of humans that I feel utterly lonely). </p>
<p class="bodytext">I completed 70 years on March 16, despite my having developed a few chronic ailments. Witty writer Mark Twain’s words come to the mind. He said something to the effect of, ‘Do not complain about old age. This privilege is denied to many.’</p>.<p class="bodytext">I consider myself fortunate for having lived this long. Long ago I read somewhere that for most people success means becoming famous and well-known, but for a few it means never being found out. I belong to the latter category. I was leading life happily in obscurity and anonymity till the other day.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Since the advent of various social media platforms, I resisted most of them but finally gave into WhatsApp. Now for the last few years, birthday greetings are increasing. This year I received a record 88 greetings mostly from school classmates and professional college class fellows who are part of different WhatsApp groups. I feel like being subjected to false limelight and having become a fake sort of VIP for most of these greetings, as I understand they are sterile and perfunctory. I thanked them all, and I do reciprocate the greetings to them in a customary way whenever the need arises, but I feel like acting as if I were a consummate actor instead of a genuine human being with feelings and emotions.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I thank my friend from electrical engineering, Makhija, who initiated the process of greetings by embellishing my photo on this birthday with his software tricks. Before the day ended, I received the last message from Julka, a batchmate from electronics engineering, which I found a little amusing; it read: ‘Happy birthday, Osho ji & Good night ji’. I extend my sincere thanks to Julka for his ingenuity. Henceforth I will avoid sending personal messages which are devoid of sentiments and connectivity and expect from others that they don’t send messages just for the heck of it. However, I will keep this platform on my mobile, as it creates hell of fun and silly humour, mostly risqué, which I can’t help enjoying. </p>.<p class="bodytext">I think social media platforms are helping society to connect but in a superficial manner, and in a way they are making its large clientele more and more unsocial in a subtle sense. The analogy can be related to the writing by ChatGPT. The writing may be technically and grammatically correct yet lack a human touch. Likewise, personal messages feel rather impersonal on social media. A sensitive soul amid social media personal messages feels like lamenting, <span class="italic">Darichaa besadaa koee nahin hai</span>, a ghazal I heard a long time ago and often used to croon: <span class="italic">Main aise jamghate mein kho gayaa hoon, Jahaan mere sivaa koee nahin hai</span> (roughly translated, this means I am lost in such an indifferent crowd of humans that I feel utterly lonely). </p>
