Day 15 - Tech Touch

It was a square corridor with an open plan. Yet it seemed dark and dingy. There were two people bent over stretched pieces of fabric, working their magic with a needle and thread. They were embroidering intricate designs which would one day complement a beautiful woman.

There was an old man and a young boy. In between them were two empty looms and a tangible generation gap.

It was the young boy that caught my attention. When somebody enters a room your unconscious response would be to look up. When I entered the room and even when I stood next to the boy, he did not respond, neither consciously or unconsciously.

He had his chin planted firmly on the wooden slat used to stretch the fabric. There was a mobile phone next to him. He was listening to FM radio on his phone. He seemed to be in a world of his own yet completely disconnected from the world around him.

Not once did he raise his eyes to see what was happening around him. His eyes were fixed on the needle that was pricking a beautiful design on the fabric and his ears tuned to the songs on his mobile.

Yet, somehow I did not sense arrogance or defiance in him. Instead I sensed defeat. The boy seemed to have already given up on life even before it could begin. He seemed resigned to his fate. It seemed like he wanted a different life, maybe go to school, and get a different job. But he seemed to have given up on all his dreams and embarked on a path of living life as dictated by family, circumstances and society.

And it seemed that the only thing that brought him some joy was his mobile phone. Because he could listen to songs and pretend to be someone else. It helps him create a world of his own so unlike the one he’s living in.

Apparently, it seems that the much maligned mobile phone, which is blamed for people becoming less friendly and human, is in fact the only thing that’s making this boy less robotic and more human. Technology has its uses, I guess.