Whose World Is It Anyway?

While planning a business travel to Mumbai, I was told by my young colleague to download the Digiyatra app to smoothen my entry to the airport. It is a 10 minute process and will be of great convenience, I was told. After three hours of nerve racking multiple digital debacles and a brain numbing cloud covering my mind, I gave in to stand in long queues getting my bio-metrics checked by a guard glaring at my blurry passport size photo and then at my sleep deprived face holding an AK 47, than try anymore!!

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And then as if with a 6/6 vision clarity I saw what had been staring right at my face. This was not my world I was living in anymore. The toddlers were being born with a 4.0 GHz processor and advance coding language fed into them. It was no wonder that they latched on to smart devices like fish to water. Like you do not need to train a baby dolphin to swim, you don’t need to teach your toddlers how to use smart phones; they will probably unlock many more features in your phone that you never knew existed. And that will be your Eureka moment, not theirs.

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While the world came to a stop during the world ravaging global pandemic, the digital clocks did not stop ticking! As a result, while I recovered from the bone breaking, sweat inducing, taste bud numbing Covid, I realized there was a feast of digital apps waiting to be consumed by me, or rather, there to consume me. The Government of India had gone on a double drive to make sure that while the country slept, India & Bharat awoke to a digitally matured new day. I could not step out of our own home without checking my health status on Aarogya Setu. This was the first setu, bridge, I had to cross to advance in to the new India. And then they kept hurling towards me like a tennis ball dispenser gone on high drive.

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My entire foundation was now on Adhaar. My income tax could be filed on Aayaker Setu. I had no need to fear failing memory as all my existential documents were now to be on DigiLocker. I realized the touts were no longer needed for passport renewal as I could do that through mPassport Seva. I could book my train tickets and complain about the in-train breakfast & omelette on IRCTC Rail Connect. AirSuvidha app, Voter Helpline, ePathshala, UMANG, BHIM, PayTM, RTI Application, Agrimarket App, eProcurement System……. This was indeed MYGOV and an Incredible India!!!

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It seemed I was left behind when the country boarded the time machine to the future. I was in a bubble when everything physical and familiar was demolished like the recent earthquake in Turkiye. The long queues in front of government offices, the waiting for babus to return from lunch breaks in banks, the running to ATMs to withdraw cash, the weekend waiting at my favourite restaurant to get a seat, haggling with the vegetable vendor to give extra chilies and coriander, even meeting my GP at her overcrowded clinic was suddenly history. They were all reduced to small stamp sized apps on my laptop ready to be clicked to come into action and start servicing my needs. It was like I suddenly had my very own Aladdin ka Chiraag!! And the Genie was only a single click away!!

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I still continue to pinch myself to go back to the familiar, chaotic, time consuming, human transaction laden processes. But then the doorbell rang and I knew that my Milk basket delivery was at my doorstep. The phone chirped to remind that the Uber had entered my society and the mask on my face as I glanced in the mirror on my way out brought me back to the ground. This was 2023. The world that I knew had shifted on the axis in 2020. So, Whose world was this anyway???

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#digiyatra #arogyasetu #adhaar #airsuvidha #paytm #digitalindia #epathshala