I and my pal Makarand are complete book worms in case we get hold of a good book. It so happened that it had been a very long time since we got a good one and his dad suggested that he should visit the Government Library and get its membership. Very glad to get such a suggestion, he went to the library and was very happy to see the huge collection and was patting his own back. But that happy mood was perhaps destined to last only for a jiffy because the first question he asked was where to search for the books and the reply came in the form of a wave of a hand towards a sprawling cabinet filled with the book cards (commonly seen in libraries) and he was told to search for the book's card and then they'll get it. Well even this was alright until he realized that there was no fixed pattern of arrangement of the cards and it was as random as it could be. So it remains to this day that he has not been able to find even a single book from the huge facility and curses his luck all the time.
This incident, though not a singular one, highlights one important point. Such a huge book list, if dumped in a computer, would prove to be an able ally rather than a formidable foe wouldn't it? Isn't it a very practical solution to the problem of finding a pin in a haystack? All it would take would be to put the title in a search box and the status of the book would almost instantly pop up on the screen. Easy to handle, easy to manage but still it has one disadvantage. It calls for an improvement in the existing technology and THAT, friends, is perhaps the biggest problems as far as making progress goes. Change, no matter where and no matter in what form is hardly ever accepted gleefully and particularly in government run organizations. Astonishing amount of space is still reserved for records of everything that can be recorded in an era where we can easily carry all the records in our pockets in an electronic storage device. Nearly 400 million tons of paper is wasted everyday in the world and yet we refuse to adapt to the latest trends that promise to change the scenario drastically.
How many times have we faced such problems in our day-to-day lives when we face any government office? How many times have we thrown up our hands in exasperation at the utter disregard of the technological advances that these offices reject on a daily basis? How many times have we prayed that the form filling procedures be made computerized and online to save the public from the long, tiresome and highly irritating queues? And how many times have we got an answer that this is how it has been done for many years and there is no need to change it? Why is it necessary that the age old and more importantly, outdated practices be still followed inspite of better alternatives being available? Why can't the procedures get simplified over the ages instead of getting more and more complicated and taxing on the time and energy of the general masses?
The fact is that change is feared more than advancement. We find that instead of accepting the mall culture and adapting or rather improving to its level, we see protests from the affected people. Any kind of development that has to be done must be done by replacing something that has been outdated and it is utterly impossible to do it if people remain adamant that they will not let go of it. When will people stop worrying about short term losses when a long term benefit is clearly visible? What is it about change that we are so afraid to accept it? In a universe where the only constant thing is change, we tend to reject that same fundamental principle and turn a blind eye to the progress being made.
History says it all, they say. There was a time that was being termed as the Golden period of science and it was proclaimed that everything that could be discovered or invented had been done and there was no more future scope. There was a time when everyone KNEW that 80kmph was the maximum speed for any motorized vehicle. There was a time when trying to think of finding ways to fly was to interfere with nature's laws. Are we moving in the same direction with only the circumstances being modified a little? Yes, the youth are surely moving forward but is the so-called "system" still holding us back? We make intercontinental conversations at negligible prices thanks to the chat applications. We design AI. We plan to send man on Mars. We sacrifice goats to make rain appear. We oppose even the slightest widening of roads. We oppose moves to improve the power situation of the country and at the same time, we lament that the government is doing nothing to tackle the solution. Perhaps the most educated person in the Lok Sabha remains silent while others shout at the top of their voices opposing the decisions taken by him. Technophobia rules everywhere. Government employees asked to acquire basic computer knowledge go on a strike protesting such a decision. When are we going to get rid of this self-induced phobia? When will we finally understand that technology is the magic of the present day and that there is no way we can turn our backs to it? When will we do away with the old and rotten systems? They say Old is Gold. I agree. Old is certainly Gold but not all of it. What is not Gold has to be done away with and replaced.
This incident, though not a singular one, highlights one important point. Such a huge book list, if dumped in a computer, would prove to be an able ally rather than a formidable foe wouldn't it? Isn't it a very practical solution to the problem of finding a pin in a haystack? All it would take would be to put the title in a search box and the status of the book would almost instantly pop up on the screen. Easy to handle, easy to manage but still it has one disadvantage. It calls for an improvement in the existing technology and THAT, friends, is perhaps the biggest problems as far as making progress goes. Change, no matter where and no matter in what form is hardly ever accepted gleefully and particularly in government run organizations. Astonishing amount of space is still reserved for records of everything that can be recorded in an era where we can easily carry all the records in our pockets in an electronic storage device. Nearly 400 million tons of paper is wasted everyday in the world and yet we refuse to adapt to the latest trends that promise to change the scenario drastically.
How many times have we faced such problems in our day-to-day lives when we face any government office? How many times have we thrown up our hands in exasperation at the utter disregard of the technological advances that these offices reject on a daily basis? How many times have we prayed that the form filling procedures be made computerized and online to save the public from the long, tiresome and highly irritating queues? And how many times have we got an answer that this is how it has been done for many years and there is no need to change it? Why is it necessary that the age old and more importantly, outdated practices be still followed inspite of better alternatives being available? Why can't the procedures get simplified over the ages instead of getting more and more complicated and taxing on the time and energy of the general masses?
The fact is that change is feared more than advancement. We find that instead of accepting the mall culture and adapting or rather improving to its level, we see protests from the affected people. Any kind of development that has to be done must be done by replacing something that has been outdated and it is utterly impossible to do it if people remain adamant that they will not let go of it. When will people stop worrying about short term losses when a long term benefit is clearly visible? What is it about change that we are so afraid to accept it? In a universe where the only constant thing is change, we tend to reject that same fundamental principle and turn a blind eye to the progress being made.
History says it all, they say. There was a time that was being termed as the Golden period of science and it was proclaimed that everything that could be discovered or invented had been done and there was no more future scope. There was a time when everyone KNEW that 80kmph was the maximum speed for any motorized vehicle. There was a time when trying to think of finding ways to fly was to interfere with nature's laws. Are we moving in the same direction with only the circumstances being modified a little? Yes, the youth are surely moving forward but is the so-called "system" still holding us back? We make intercontinental conversations at negligible prices thanks to the chat applications. We design AI. We plan to send man on Mars. We sacrifice goats to make rain appear. We oppose even the slightest widening of roads. We oppose moves to improve the power situation of the country and at the same time, we lament that the government is doing nothing to tackle the solution. Perhaps the most educated person in the Lok Sabha remains silent while others shout at the top of their voices opposing the decisions taken by him. Technophobia rules everywhere. Government employees asked to acquire basic computer knowledge go on a strike protesting such a decision. When are we going to get rid of this self-induced phobia? When will we finally understand that technology is the magic of the present day and that there is no way we can turn our backs to it? When will we do away with the old and rotten systems? They say Old is Gold. I agree. Old is certainly Gold but not all of it. What is not Gold has to be done away with and replaced.
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