It takes all kinds of people to make this world - not to mention a Whatsapp group. Recently, a friend asked me if I wanted to be part of a group that was devoted to discussion about nature in general and flora in particular. Horrified, I said NO, as if the Devil had offered to take me on an afternoon tour of the Hell. She sent back a smiley, assuring me that all the members in the group stick to the group mandate. Be that as it may, I said. It's best to be subscribed to just as many groups - like mutual fund schemes in your portfolio - as you can count using fingers of only one hand. Thumb rule of the day!
And I stick by the rule as if my life depends upon it. Surely, my sanity does. But even in such a small set of groups there is an amazing similarity when it comes to behavioral patterns. First, there are those, and I must confess they will be the death of me one day, who forward messages without ascertaining their validity. Recently, on one of the groups, a member forwarded a message that had 'HOAX' written all over it. I haven't been able to figure out if it is sheer stupidity or sheer laziness that makes these people do it. Eons ago, I used to assiduously post replies giving links about them being hoaxes. Now I choose the path of least resistance - ignore. Believe me, it does wonders for the blood pressure.
Next is the category that will send some message about some event that may or may not have happened in Stone Age and ask if that is true. Now an average Whatsapp group consists of mere mortals like you and me, who at best can be described as Jack of all trades and Master of none - with maybe a handful of experts thrown in, if any. How can any of us verify if the said event really happened or not? And why should I Google to find its authenticity if the sender could have done it with a few keystrokes - especially before posting it on the group. I have a repository of really caustic words for such morons at my disposal but have to refrain from dipping into it every time because who has got time and energy to engage in the War Of The Words all day, right?
And then there are those who will, for reasons best known to them and (perhaps) to God Almighty, send 'Good Morning' messages. You wake up, squint at your phone in a vain attempt to figure out the time, see a couple of messages in whatsapp, decide to hazard a glance at them knowing fully well that you cannot afford the time and chances are very high that one of the overnight messages are from these people. Sent at 5:07am or some equally unearthly hour! One of the members on my whatsapp groups sends 'Good Morning. Bharat Mata Ki Jai' at least once a month. And not on the same day every month, mind you! I have often wondered about asking him why he does that. Does he see Mahatma Gandhi, Jawarharlal Nehru or any other leaders from the independence era in his dreams the previous night? Perhaps he watches Manoj Kumar movies? There has to be some trigger, right? But, this, like many of life's other questions, is forever destined to remain unanswered. And I have to fight back a strong temptation of replying with a hearty 'Jai Hanuman' every time he does it.:-)
For now, the only surefire way of keeping myself sane has been to go on a Whatsapp Sanyas for 3-4 days a month. Siddhartha Gautama didn't have Whatsapp in his time. Otherwise he would have found himself fuming at some banal message or another - right under the Bodhi tree.
And I stick by the rule as if my life depends upon it. Surely, my sanity does. But even in such a small set of groups there is an amazing similarity when it comes to behavioral patterns. First, there are those, and I must confess they will be the death of me one day, who forward messages without ascertaining their validity. Recently, on one of the groups, a member forwarded a message that had 'HOAX' written all over it. I haven't been able to figure out if it is sheer stupidity or sheer laziness that makes these people do it. Eons ago, I used to assiduously post replies giving links about them being hoaxes. Now I choose the path of least resistance - ignore. Believe me, it does wonders for the blood pressure.
Next is the category that will send some message about some event that may or may not have happened in Stone Age and ask if that is true. Now an average Whatsapp group consists of mere mortals like you and me, who at best can be described as Jack of all trades and Master of none - with maybe a handful of experts thrown in, if any. How can any of us verify if the said event really happened or not? And why should I Google to find its authenticity if the sender could have done it with a few keystrokes - especially before posting it on the group. I have a repository of really caustic words for such morons at my disposal but have to refrain from dipping into it every time because who has got time and energy to engage in the War Of The Words all day, right?
And then there are those who will, for reasons best known to them and (perhaps) to God Almighty, send 'Good Morning' messages. You wake up, squint at your phone in a vain attempt to figure out the time, see a couple of messages in whatsapp, decide to hazard a glance at them knowing fully well that you cannot afford the time and chances are very high that one of the overnight messages are from these people. Sent at 5:07am or some equally unearthly hour! One of the members on my whatsapp groups sends 'Good Morning. Bharat Mata Ki Jai' at least once a month. And not on the same day every month, mind you! I have often wondered about asking him why he does that. Does he see Mahatma Gandhi, Jawarharlal Nehru or any other leaders from the independence era in his dreams the previous night? Perhaps he watches Manoj Kumar movies? There has to be some trigger, right? But, this, like many of life's other questions, is forever destined to remain unanswered. And I have to fight back a strong temptation of replying with a hearty 'Jai Hanuman' every time he does it.:-)
For now, the only surefire way of keeping myself sane has been to go on a Whatsapp Sanyas for 3-4 days a month. Siddhartha Gautama didn't have Whatsapp in his time. Otherwise he would have found himself fuming at some banal message or another - right under the Bodhi tree.
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