Monday, January 7, 2008

Are you logged on



BABA UMAR


There is a whole new class of enthusiasts cropping up in the valley whose lives revolve around social networking sites (Orkut, Facebook) these days. And they may be better called as ‘Kashmir’s Orkutians’. Young people who would earlier make friends in the school corridors or college canteens are now befriending people out in the open on the net. “It’s a mania! And I love it,” says Farooq Ahmad, a 25-year-old Copy Editor, who has become addicted to Orkut over the last two year.The social networking sites like Orkut, Netlog, Tagged, Zorpia, Wayn, MySpace and Facebook, are websites where you can place your picture, profile, videos and hook up with the friends online. You can send requests and reject requests. These online networking sites are the much loved things for the present generation of internet freaks. And it’s a growing trend among the youths here.
“I have made friends in middle east and Europe,” says Tamim Ahmad, who has built up a network of more than five dozen friends. “It’s an eon of multi-tasking and this is the least time-consuming way to keep in contact with friends.” The 'friends' — a blend of a few real pals, many temporary acquaintances, foreigners, and even people he hates in the real world.
In some cases, the addiction goes to such an extent that users feel locked in whenever the server crashes. “I get very disappointed when all of a sudden the internet stops responding,” Ali Malik pursuing Bachelors Degree in Computers says. “Then I keep on waiting till it starts again.” No matter how much the net cafĂ© charges, these freaks stay till the connection is back. “Internet shops around Lal Chowk,” Malik says, “charge us 20 rupees an hour, and sometimes it stretches to three hours.”
And as for the so-called fairer sex, they have also started to show their panache in the art of scrap (Orkut term) and making friends online. They declare they would overtake their counterparts very quickly. “We would outnumber boys in Orkut very soon,” chuckles Nadia Khan, a post graduate student in the Kashmir University. “Orkutting is my time pass where I hook up with my e-friends.”
Then there are more than 800 communities moderated by these users, wherein they discuss sundry issues mostly about Kashmir and their political opinions.Among the top ranked community moderated by any Kashmiri Orkutians is ‘Jammu and Kashmir’ having 4555 members followed by ‘Kashmir India and Pakistan’ signed in by 1526 members. ‘I love Kashmir’ is having almost 1441 members and the list goes on. Even there is separate community meant for Kashmiri scribes called ‘Kashmir journalists’ with 125 members in it.
But what is making such websites popular in Kashmir?
“People are stressing more and more on individualism, and the other reason might be the lack of time and space in a place ridden with conflict where people scarcely hang out with friends, discuss problems, and, give vent to their miseries,” opines, Dr Arshad Ahmed, a Psychiatrist.
About the communities created by Orkutians, he says, “these communities are the ingredients of modern societies and a part of neo culture run on the internet.”

(S)Now White Gold

Baba Umar


As a 2008 starter, the weather Gods finally sent down the much needed white gold (Snow). However, it was only after several years that valley received snowfall in ‘Chillai Kalan’-- the 40-day long phase when the probability of snowfall is highest and recurrent as well. The last couple of years saw snowfall only after the Chillai Kalan and somewhere around the onset of spring season. Director, Meteorological Department, T S Zutshi, calls the early snowing ‘a miracle of God’. “We didn’t see this thing happening during past several years.” He says it had snowed heavily in the past, but that was not a timely snow.
Zarief Ahmad Zarief, 64, a Kashmiri poet, says the snow has brought smile on the every face. “People like me keep on waiting for this blessing,” he says. “Now we can expect a good summer with a plenty of water and greenery.” Zarief recalls the time when people would stock oil, rice, salt, and other necessary household items before the onset of winters.“The snow level used to reach our first floor,” he recollects. “Even walnut shells, cow dung, twigs and plant shoots were maintained and used in the winters.” When he was a kid, he says, the winters were harsh and equally bone chilling. “But we used to enjoy those days. We would make snow man, snow dogs and several other figures, that would later freeze rock solid.”
He says present generation lacks those creative things.“First it hardly snows now and if it does, it is untimely, says Zarief. “Today kids remain glued to the video games and satellite channels. They lack the real fun of snow.”Chillai kalan used to be a treasure for Kashmiri literature and folk. Even the snow clad trees, heavy snowfall and chill of this period would provide content for many folk songs and poems. “Now it’s all over. Our jungles are being plundered; there is no eye on the looters, the Dal is drying up and the air is being polluted, I guess the time is coming when we have to create artificial rain and snow,” he laments.