social media or human touch

Didi Ji kya aap face book par ho?" and without even waiting for the response, my helper at home continued in a tone of excitement 'ye to kamaal kee cheej hai didi, apne paros wali spana didi meri friend list mei hai aur kya mast photos dali hai unhone apne aur jiju ki'. Par kya tum padh leti ho? And to my astonishment she giggled 'no no didi! like karne mei angutha hee to dikhana hota hai. Meri beti ne mujhe samjha diya hai'. This need to connect, to share, to appreciate and be appreciated, to know, to be liked has always been a want of human nature since times immortal, though FB moulded the expression in an e-way and competition among cellular companies has made technology accessible to every individual. But even the times when technology was not so in-handy there were other things like real friends to play with, books to read, parents who were willing to listen with an open heart and plentiful of time. My childhood is filled with such nostalgic memories which even today brings a smile on my face. The best part being my Nanu who happen to inculcate the habit of writing letters within us when we just learned to write. And further there always use to be a new word which was a task for us to find its meaning and respond back with a new word. Almost every fortnight my younger sister and I desperately waited for our individual letters. Every shared emotion, appreciation, encouragement, guidance was silently received and responded back with equal buoyancy was something that made us write back to him. Years passed by but he never quit writing to us even from his deathbed. It's been 16 years since nanu left us but still I cherish and silently feel his soulful presence at every moment of my life. Some people wonder to the existence of paper and writing in this touch screen tap- tap era but then this metamorphosis is an essential need of times. Though this virtual presence, this texting style, smileys instead of written expression, these copy pasted googled emotions, this need to be connected 24/7 with the world without even realizing what's happening next room or next door and this self obsession is driving everybody crazy. But then it's high time now to realise the importance of equilibrium thereby not to let ourselves vault into an altogether e-world but focus on some very basic things like- to care, memories to cherish, to empathise, to respect, as nothing in the world can ever replace a warm handshake, a hug and a pleasant smile..