Ever wonder what a blessing it is to have grown up children who are not only obliging but also highly tech savvy?
Take my case for instance, last evening my daughter returned from a concert called "Dastangoi" which turned out to be a delightful narrative session of stories in Urdu. This performance was an attempt at reviving an ancient form of storytelling by a couple of Urdu scholars and story tellers. My daughter was charmed with the performance and we sat up and talked about it till late into the night.
During our conversation I happened to mention that way back in 1988 there used to be a very good TV serial based on the life of Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib directed by Gulzar. The lead role was played by veteran actor Nasiruddin Shah. I felt nostalgic and said I wish I could see the serial once more if only to listen to the Urdu dialogues. You don't get to hear such chaste language anymore- the era has faded away into the mists of our collective memories and no one wants to see such programs on TV anymore.
Even as I spoke I could see my daughter turning back to her laptop and beginning to work on it. I thought with a pang that she must be bored with my reminiscences. Kids nowadays don't want to even listen to you! But to my utter surprise and unbounded joy she turned the monitor towards me and I could see the first scene from the show Mirza Ghalib downloading on the screen! Imagine! Here I was sitting and wishing in vain to revisit a long lost era and in no time my young daughter has managed to bring it all back to me!
Thank God for the Internet and thank god too for the smart, tech happy generation who have the means, the skills and the enthusiasm to preserve some of the gems of the past.
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