I came early today, from school. I couldn’t believe those killjoys in class who said porn was banned.
Last night, as usual, I switched on the TV and then my laptop. I went online and clicked on one of my bookmarks. The website didn’t open. First I thought it must be experiencing heavy traffic. Peak time maybe I thought. Then I opened another bookmark. It said the same thing. One by one I went through 50 of my Favourites.
By the time I tried the 49th site, I was in panic mode. There was a thin film of cold sweat on my palm. Why would they do this?
I cursed myself for not buying some CDs from my neighbour. He’s in IIT and I remember him getting a bagful of shiny CDs – all neatly labelled in colourful jackets. I had laughed at him then. "Who buys CDs these days?!" I had joked. But that’s why he’s made
it to IIT. Because he’s smart and pragmatic about life. He saw it coming (that really wasn’t a pun) – he had the foresight to not trust our idiotic system, and keep some CDs ‘handy’.
I didn’t even have a pen drive. That’s how much faith I had in the Internet’s freedom. Some say it won’t be long before all the sites are back up. A friend suggested I get "fully loaded" pen drives online. But I don’t have enough money :( I’ll get more from dad next week, not before that. So for five days I have nothing. Not even that 50 Shades book that was being passed around in class. I should’ve bought a copy.
Sometimes I think my dad’s generation had it best. They didn’t have Internet, maybe not even many books. But you know what I realised? They had imagination, and they exercised it...
it to IIT. Because he’s smart and pragmatic about life. He saw it coming (that really wasn’t a pun) – he had the foresight to not trust our idiotic system, and keep some CDs ‘handy’.
I didn’t even have a pen drive. That’s how much faith I had in the Internet’s freedom. Some say it won’t be long before all the sites are back up. A friend suggested I get "fully loaded" pen drives online. But I don’t have enough money :( I’ll get more from dad next week, not before that. So for five days I have nothing. Not even that 50 Shades book that was being passed around in class. I should’ve bought a copy.
Sometimes I think my dad’s generation had it best. They didn’t have Internet, maybe not even many books. But you know what I realised? They had imagination, and they exercised it...
From HT Brunch, August 16
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