Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Mobile and My Mother

Image from goggle

“Since the mobile came into my hand, I have had no peace. I fear of losing it when I am drunk and the song (ringtone) disturbs my sleep. Why did you send me?”

My mother condemned me yesterday. She said that the mobile was giving her lots of troubles. She asked me to take it back! I had to request her to keep it so that I could contact her when I missed her.

But she would go on refusing. At one point, the mobile was switched off due to low battery. Shingkhar Lauri is still not connected with electricity and mobiles are charged using solar panels. My mother doesn’t have the luxury to afford panels. She has to go to a neighbor (who have panels) and pay a little sum (Nu 10 to 20) to charge for an hour. Not knowing that the mobile was switched off and would function once it is charged again, my mother slept that night sad. She regretted so much thinking I had paid a huge sum of money to buy it.

Early morning, she approached a student in the village to mend it. And he had nothing to do but to charge the mobile. The student taught my mother the word, “switched off” and today she somehow pronounces it.

The next thing she was worried was about which button to press while picking the phone. Although she was tutored by her grand-daughter, she still had doubts. I had to give her practical examinations from Thimphu while she resided in the far corner of Shingkhar Lauri. I told her to press any button on the mobile, other than the red, while the phone is ringing. She, after four practical calls, did it successfully. Now, she knows which button to press.

Since these technologies are new to her, she feels uneasy handling it. But with time she is learning, just as in the case of words such as 'hello', ‘switched off’, ‘call’ and ‘balance’. I am happy that mobile came as a teacher-in-disguise to my mother.

Thank you to mobiles, all Shingkhar Lauripas are learning English at the fast rate. More often, I have seen them using English words during the conversation, although their pronunciations are sometimes best medicines that would eject laughter. As long as there is no equivalent Dzongkha words developed and used, in the place of English words, Lauripas will continue speaking English. 

10 comments:

  1. Aiie. A nice post la. I enjoyed reading it as we come from similar environment. My father enthusiastically learnt how to use it after my elder brother gave him a black and white nokia. Now he is quite well versed in the basics of using it. If you have time you may read it here: http://www.langatenz.in/2011/06/enthusiasm-to-learn.html Keep writing.

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    1. Thankyou for going through my write up. I also read your post and enjoyed thoroughly. It is very touching and inspiring bro...keep posting more....

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  2. very touching post you brought in here. It instantly made me reflect on what my own mom did before. It brings mixed feelings. Our village too got the facility of electricity only on December last year. And it brought lot of comfort in my village. Thoroughly enjoyed the post. Keep posting.

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    1. Yes it is very interesting to observe how our parents are learning new things at this old age....i assume your mom is used to with the new equipment now....thankyou for going through my post la,....keep reading..

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  3. It is interesting and it drew me to your post too......it reminds me of my father who became well versed in black n white Nokia after two years. But then, being an electronic equipment, it has its life span too and it was replaced with simple newer version phone with slider, which proved too much for him. ....Enjoyed your blog.....keep posting!

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    1. Thankyou for going through my post. I am glad that you were reminded of your father owning a mobile for the first time and becoming well-versed even to own a more sophisticated one. Keep reading la....

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  4. Nice post Tempa... Like any other readers, i never failed to enjoy reading your posts. Lauripas will learn English, so did some of my Kangparapas haha.. At the same time, if they are not informed about the darker side of it, they may lend up in thick soup. The so called 'lucky number' gives more problem than benefits. Instances of calls from Tawang (Arunachual Pradesh) proposing for marriage has once become a heated talk in my locality.
    The risk of getting 'unlucky numbers' are as good as getting 'lucky numbers.' I feel it is important that you educate them on these issues as you teach them the basic operational knowledge, especially our youngsters...

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    1. Thankyou Pelgen, I definitely second you when it comes to dialing so-called the 'lucky numbers'. Recently, an old man, almost in his 50s, had come to my village to marry a women (with a child). He had proposed her in the phone and as they met last time, the women did not like the man as he was old. So he had to return home after wasting a huge amount money travelling from west to east. This could have been avoided if there was no phone and the habit of dialing lucky numbers haha...

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  5. True in fact. Last time a college girl in India got fainted in front of police when the boy she was to marry turned out to be 75 years old man..

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    1. hahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa........great man...

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