These days I get repulsed by the fact that the modern world is increasingly becoming small and noisy.
Let’s face it: There are so many people (and their polluting vehicles!) everywhere, and post the Economic Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization, an explosion of more poor souls, has been adding up to the exhausting Rat Race of our proud collective called Human Civilization! The Lord God Almighty bless us all.
[Side note Warning: This essay (or lack thereof!) is, I’m afraid, not going to be a pleasant read... But being an incurable pessimistic optimist, I have to get a load off my mind, so reader discretion is encouraged.]
Modern life is awful; it irks me to no end. That is why I prefer the time-tested traditional or the simple life of older generations (against which modern life can be (or should be) tested). I don’t know; I feel a lot unhappier today than I remember I had ever been previously so much, say during the 1980s/90s when my life was simpler, leisurely, and homelier than it feels now. But of late, and not surprisingly, I encounter pithy emotions such as misery, envy, resentment, and even humiliation almost every waking hour of my life. Human life is full of such zombies. The good news is I try not to get emotionally upset or dramatic, hardly if ever. But I do get butterflies in my stomach from time to time!
If all this is supposed to be a normal reaction on my part, then I believe I am all right; doubtless, Pandemic blues are wreaking havoc on me. (Half the world is depressed now; please excuse my rant. We are not even out of the woods yet.) But if it isn’t the case, then what? Seeking out some bulleted-points self-help manual (by brain experts), claustrophobic N95/Surgical mask, and sanitizer solution, will help writhe me out of this delusional paranoia. Or hitting the bottle of choicest ‘poisons’ accessible at home or waiting it out (existing as I am as just another individual statistic in this allegedly modern world of Deep State and Dark Web) becomes a compelling necessity no one can afford to pass over if they want to live just as before. Humankind is doing badly now, what with the unending stress, lockdown, social distancing, and general uncertainty of this dreadful situation amidst us. The novel coronavirus isn’t novel anymore! I think I understand now why people take to the bottle. F**king modern life does that to you. Doesn’t it?
Speaking nicely, that’s my two cents worth viewpoint. Different people have different opinions about the modern-day world. Mine, I concede, might seem a little nit-picky - even yawn-inducing, not actually Noble-prize winning (good heavens!), much less hand-towel wringing - in contrast to their superior best. Every opinion - regardless of whether good or bad, positive or negative - counts as it carries a goodly chime of ‘freedom of expression’ with it, and opinions such as mine and yours and every other person’s, are a unique little thing… beautiful thing. Traditional life with a modern outlook, anyone?
I particularly loathe that we rush to fill our plates with lots and lots of goodies we do not appear to need. No wonder we get caught up in the instant self-gratification trap and all that. For example, being reliant on a zillion apps for the sake of conveniences and comfort; the outrageous, salacious, and inflammatory revile of online social (read anti-social) media platforms, and all the proliferating others; and the Coronavirus (Covid) pandemic that nearly killed humankind. I am no fan of the daily lethal assault of exaggerating and a largely hyping scroll of breaking news. What we see today is that a bellwether of noxious trends gets peddled day in day out. Besides, loot and scoot scammers, male gaze, feminism fuss, techno twattery, the selfie syndrome, and all that information/advertising bombardment that never ceases to pop up no matter wherever you go and whatever you do in life. Our mantra: An App Can Change Your Life! We drive recklessly and too fast, we smile rarely, we grin sarcastically, laugh too little, get angry on a whim, read nearly nothing, and hate too often. No big surprise, our social morality is on a terminal decay; and talking about true spiritual awakening in the glittery glare of the double-edged sword of cutting-edge technology... indeed, the less said, the better. Modern life sucks more than the new Star Wars picture.
All this extraordinary tamasha of the world impinges upon one's feeling of appreciation and gratefulness about being alive in the world. And when one looks back on those innocent, free days of the 1980s/90s always filled with the joys of playing marbles, impromptu cricket, I Spy, jump rope, carroms, watching Doordarshan TV channel (Oh! those 9'0 clock serials), touch-me-not games, watching movies on VCR, hop-scotch, playing card games, one feels helpless and lost in the present time.
With so many of us humans jostling for space in the world, life has turned out to be too mechanical and routinized that always-connected/hooked “on the go” habit-forming technology-addictive laptops, smartphones, tablets, and more, have stealthily kissed our days of happiness and leisure goodbye forever. We are angry, cheerless, and sarcastic - and all of these socially unhealthy blunders continually occur all the time, tragically.
I feel overcome with empty forlorn feelings - and scarcely would I able to explain this by using appropriate words, but I'll try - all the time thinking that things are not in good stead after all. In a world that causes instant unhappiness and the despondency levels are reaching sky high, it certainly has an uncanny tact for unleashing wuthering heights of negative emotions. Oh! Take me back to the aura of the retro era. I want to relive my earlier life, escape. I miss my childhood days so much. Would anybody be able to grant me a boon to fulfil my one solitary craving?
Looking at the rubbishy consequences of the modern world around me, I find myself in a nonstop hateful mood. Being positive help but all this relying on mass media/apps that meet your urban modern life’s conveniences and infotainment needs are making us function well in isolation only; Pandemic: the new rotting normal or not normal, a nightmarish shitshow, general negativity everywhere (TikTok included), and above all what is currently going on in the world - all these seem like a dark and dangerous world eroding our happiness and well-being. In this so-called Age of Communication, feelings of exclusion and alienation will never help you achieve the outlier success that you so desire but get you an outlandish failure.
In today’s world, there’s so much noise, yet so little intimacy.
Think about contemporary events such as Pandemic, Terrorism, Earthquakes, Rogue nations, Floods, Climate Change, and so on. Are these going to go away as time passes? A big NO is the shortest answer to that question. Get this: Our world, as we know it, is damaged beyond redemption! It has fallen apart. The World Has Fallen: is the new normal. So admit it, mask up, and move on.
Finally, our life in the present time is so different from all the previous ones. Sounds hypocritical a statement to make? I am sure it does. It is simple, my dear, to pass judgments and act holier than thou. To rephrase Charles Darwin’s saying: Survival instincts count for the one who is the fittest, and to that, I add: And who has once been the fastest coming into the world!
Modern life is more painful than stepping on a...on a...Lego!
By Arindam Moulick
End of part 1 of 4
Post Script: The above essay is a satirical take on modern life or the modern-day world, so no hard feelings about its subject matter. A personal freewheeling thought experiment; that sort of thing.
Discarded titles for the essay:
Modern Life and The New Age Mulch; Modern Life Is in Eclipse; Why Is Modern Life So Awful?; I Am Not Kidding When I Say Modern Life Is So Awful; The Ugly Truth About Modern Life; Modern life: Do You Really Need It? This Will Help You Decide!
and,
Why Modern Life Is Hotter Than Jennifer Lawrence!