Living Then and Now

We lived on farms, then we lived in cities, and now we’re going to live on the internet.

Although the statement speaks for itself, we cannot emphasize enough on how much change the world has endured in a short passage of time. The world has seen more advancement in the last 30 years than in the whole of the 20^th century. Perhaps the new millennium has really outdone itself and the cliché saying: “this is the 21^st century!” has really worked.

Growing up, I have loved listening to the stories of my grandparents and how the valley was back then. The typical Newari houses, some of which we can still see going strong, having to walk everywhere, the durbar squares having the tallest monuments in the valley, the unbelievable prices of basic goods, you just really cannot hear the end of it. Some of this lived on onto the generation of our parents. Our occupations were decided on basis of family backgrounds and businesses. A thousand rupee note was a lot of money back then and could buy months of goods because goods were bought on basis of paisa, if need be. The toles had common bathroom grounds that were used. If you have a look at the old pictures of Kathmandu valley, one can see how far we have come. Residential areas were only the main parts of the valley, where every tole had a name and people lived in a community, where everyone knew everyone. Majority of the land were used for farming and for providing to the residential.  

The change came gradually, slowly the open lands were turned into residential and business monuments. People started to expand. The city started to grow. Slowly, private schools were opened. People started knowing the importance of education and other opportunities. The next generation started looking into other fields. Exporting and importing began to take place. The first TV was brought in 1942 BS or 1985 AD. It was the big black box that people longed for. Radio was more common. And with the entry of TV and radio, international news and international lifestyles and tastes were much appreciated.

Although the internet was created in the early nineties, it did not enter Nepal until the early 2000’s. Who else remembers the dial up tone to use the internet? They had to be connected to the telephone line and almost everyone knew when you connected to the internet. That was because when they picked up the telephone to make a call the stagnant sound could be heard. That was how internet got started in Nepal.

I still remember the first mobile phone we bought for the house. I was in grade 5 at the time; and it was for my father. I could not resist the excitement! A mobile phone! It was a Nokia of course but at the time the mere presence of mobile phone could put you at awe; this shows how much of a long way we have come along.

And now, here we are, the era of the internet, the era this generation is living in! There was a time when we used to think of the things that the internet has made possible, now we have to think of something that is not possible on the internet. Businesses can be solely carried on the internet with a website and a page and even save on storage costs. One can order in grocery goods for home from their homes. We can talk to our cousins residing in the states and still feel like they’re right besides us: the power of the internet. Students can download their assignments and can take online classes or read eBooks on the internet. You can still know what is going on at your outlet even if you are sick, with the help of web cameras. The internet has taken over media and storytelling; we can see in our hands in seconds, what has just happened across the world. Very less people read the newspaper anymore because the internet is faster. We barely turn the dictionary anymore because google has all the answers for us! We know who is doing what and who is where despite barely leaving the house because of social media. Musicians and singers barely make audio tapes or CD’s of their songs anymore because everyone views and downloads for free!

I still remember the times when the internet used to be an escape from the real world, but now, it seems like the real world is an escape from the internet.

Hence, we lived on farms, then we lived in cities and now we are living on the internet.