Jan 23, 2008

maa, tujhe salaam!

there comes a time in ur life when u start feeling very primitive. very tech unsavvy. for me, d time is now. i'd heard that if u have to keep climbing d professional ladder, u need to stay abreast of technology. but this is not professional *those skills are still fine!* this is personal.

at school, at college... i was usually one step ahead of my peers vis-a-vis techiness. *ONLY that* while some dabbled at how to use a computer, i knew programming. while folks struggled with ppt, i was figuring out flash. when d phone lines were busy, i'd simply text home.

in fact, ma learnt to text when i was at MICA. *pa doesn't like technology much. and still doesn't use cell phones or computers!* those were times when texting was a lot cheaper than calling. *even incoming calls were charged!* also, i'm not much of a phone person, so texting was my thing. she, then, picked up abbreviations that not many knew. *mobile phones and texting were quite new in india, then. in fact, she still uses more abbreviations than most people my age!*

then, of course, i started working. and while others worked in traditional media/marketing firms, i started off with "new media". online advergaming was the way i earned my pasta & cheese. technologies changed, and i started working in mobile media. while my frenz were trying to figure out how their high-end cell phone worked, i could give u sermons on mobile VAS, tell u how to make ur battery last longer AND give u mobile market stats. this period kind of made my ma very tech unsavvy. there was no need to chat *since i didn't chat from work*, and since i lived in bbay, she'd just call instead of texting. she, then started texting my bro. *he'd shifted town by then* i r'ber once when bro called me and said "what the hell is 'hw ws ur day? v r gng out 4 dinr, wl cl whn bk.'" that was what ma had texted him. and he blamed me for it. *of course, i told him he was primitive! and EVERYone wud know that. but that's a diff story!*

this morning, i got two mails from ma.
one, with the subject line: "this is mom", informed me that she had a new gmail id, and she'd added me to gtalk, so we cud now chat. the mail was signed off, "cheers, mom"
and mail two was a picasa link to pics & videos of my bhabhi's babyshower!!! pics and videos??? picasa??? URL?? my MA!?! even V doesn't know how to upload videos & send URLs! of course, i logged in *i'm an obedient daughter*. my ma was online... WITH a status message & everything... and asked me to download "proper" gtalk instead of chatting from d inbox. so she cud voice chat with me. VOICE CHAT?! also, i now have to get a web cam. *she already has one!*


i, honestly, have NEVER voice chatted or used a web cam. and then, i realized. my mom is way more tech savvy than i imagined. and of course, more than i am. geez! i better roll up my sleeves and get started. but till i get there, kudos to her! for being welcoming to technology, and beating her son AND daughter at what is allegedly, their game!

wonder what next! blogging, maybe...? geez!

22 comments:

Savani said...

hahahahahhaha. I LOVE your mom. Tell her that will ya? dang. you have one cool, hip mom. My mom just uses email and msn..maybe I should send her to your mom's hosue for a crash course?

rayshma said...

sure will tell her! and of course... u can send ur mom over to my mom's... but are u sure u want urz to be more tech savvy...?! i mean, it's tuff u know.. to cope!?

Anonymous said...

Lol!!! Tech-savvy mommies rule :D

Umm...if your mom starts blogging, please do tell me the link :P

aMus said...

WOW!!! better catch up girl...and she sounds a super mom...hats off to her!...voice chat, webcam...i'm impressed...

now i know whr u got ure genes from :P

if she ever blogs..do make sure to let me know! my mom's still figuring out her cellphone!

Lavs said...

Here I have been trying to get my mom to switch on the computer for ages.sigh!!!

Aryan-Arjun said...

wow..you mom is cool..better catch up. I would love to see her blog..
Aryan's mom

HAREKRISHNAJI said...

nice blog

Pixie said...

LOL!!! moms sure rock!!!
even i haven't chatted ever with a webcam... *sigh*

La vida Loca said...

My ma has to take a leaf out of your ma's book :D

Dino Sevia said...

Look at that, you reading my blog when m reading yours! How often that does happen?

I am a certified geek. I make no sense in almost any social situation.

rayshma said...

taureau: holy frikkin coincidence, eh!? i don't make sense in social situations either... but i restrict my geekiness to basic chat & mail & texts. how d'u voice chat!?

loca: u want a geeky mom at this age?!

pix: i know!

harekrishnaji: thank u! and welcome to the madness.

aryan: i am just hoping she doesn't get to blogging!

lavs: give her my mom's number! or shud that be email id?!

suma: i'd taught mom to download content and her response was "useless! why do i need this?!" :( she was further horrified to know that her "educated" daughter sold RTs for a living. :(

alice: yeah yeah! u can't wait for her to figure out blogging, can u! :P

Preethi said...

:) my dad finally figured out he couldn't live without it.. so he is chatting too ;) My mom on the other hand was always 2 steps ahead.. When I enrolled into BE Computer Engineering, my mom figured I was gonna be talking a language she didn't know.. so She studied (yes enrolled in a university et al and studied) PGDCA (Diploma in Computer Applications). Then when I started working for a top IT firm in the country.. she enrolled for MCA!! She knew more Java than I did!!

plush said...

hehe...hellooo to mama kewl!

Unknown said...

YOur mom sounds super duper cool...in fact, I realise I havent used a webcam ever...LOL. Am truly a dinosaur.

Suruchi said...

wow! thts super cool...will call her up and ya will add her to my gtalk as well.

Vikas ( Vicky) said...

hey carzy super moms.... first i read yor blog...the was just goin through cmmnt... mail/chat/webcome/voicechat/PGDCA/MCA... wats hapening.... i need to show all this to my darlin( mata ji)..she is still so busy in making spicy achar for me which i just love.

Compassion Unlimitted said...

lovely read,rayshma..I can see a beaming you in this post..catch up fast...lol
tc
cu

Monsieur K said...

awesome!!
my mom's used to emails - and she's now learning to chat n voice chat. but i am still not able to convince her in using a cell phone!
lets see. i am not gonna give up ;-)

Jaswandi said...

hey gr8!
all the best :)

rayshma said...

jaswandi: thx. i need it.

ketan: cell phones were taken care of. i called it professional hazard! ;)

comps: thank u :)

vicky: all u need to do if u want thy mata ji to get tech savvy is stay out of the country for a couple of years! and while u think abt it... pass on d achaar will ya?!
p.s.: welcome aboard! :)

suruchi: before u do that, plz keep a list of 'things-2-not-say' ready, will ya?! u're dangerous!

kiran: i haven't either! :( and i worked in digital media. :'(

plush: :P

preethi: OMG! u SO psyched me out! don't let ur mom near mine, will ya!? :D

Trishna said...

HEy gal!!!
I have to tell you this-I LOVE your mom!! She is way too cool!!!
And this is such a lovely post!

Unknown said...

So..You are your mom's girl.
Eagerly awaiting mom's blog. Imagine:)) She posts about bringing you up; she tags you; she scolds you when you are not posting regularly and bombards you when she finds u online late night!

Exciting;))