In the late seventies, equipped with jazzy management degrees, when a couple of us twenty something joined service, seniors (officers) would be awed into silence, by our wunderkind management jargons, unheard of by them. They would feel subdued and make fizzing sounds. But then they would soon console themselves by arguing that, by the time we guys were of their age, we too would be filled with awe when some newest of the new generation whiz kids showed an extra ordinary proficiency in the use of the very latest techno speaks and gadgets.

With Bill Gates' microprocessors having become an in-thing in the offices/homes of high profile bureaucrats, business executives, schools and colleges, it happened to catch my fancy as well to have one such gadget on my table top. I had the visions, perhaps of, it giving me a sense of one-upmanship over many of our relatives and friends who were not in possession of one, and then guests admiring the gizmo for adorning the small library at my home. Despite wife voting nay and opposing tooth and nail, the buy was made. Kids, particularly my teenaged son was on top of world, on cloud nine. The geek taught the tidbits, which my kids alone could understand and remember.

For these Gen-x kids are weaned on MTV, high tech video games to become freedom minded, individualistic, and self absorbed, from that day onwards it is they who keep on calling the shots. Without any formal training in computers, these fellows click on the mouse and move the cursor with such an extraordinary proficiency that I feel to throw in the towels before them every now and then for assistance. Given the chance, these young Netizens would surf the Net nonstop for hours together and chat with fellow Netizens across the globe with zero inhibitions.

But then in their frenzy to get a hold onto the system, a click, by the kids, on a 'Delete key' or the like would find the whole system washed off. Nobody owns the responsibility. In effect, I have to make obligatory rounds of the much-sought – after computer whiz kid, to reset the system, and pay fees as per his diktats. Wife, who is not till date reconciled with the 'laash', as she calls the PC, gets a chance to vomit lava. The very idea of buying the computer is pooh poohed. She alleges that it is because of the gadget that the children are wasting time and not paying attention to their studies and household chores. The net effect of all this is that the 'martal law' gets declared/imposed sine die. No body is allowed to touch the system let alone talk about it. Keys of the almirah (sometimes even of the library) are seized and hidden without leaving a trail behind.

.

Tags & Keywords : taj