THE INTERNET JUNGLE

Largely ignored and rarely noticed,the village lived on.Abandoned into abyss of oblivion ,by government and the world alike,the forsaken land remained peacefully severed from the hustle and bustle of city life.Only the weekly shuttle bus service run by the govt found its way to the secrecy of the unexplored and hidden treasure of nature.The people of the village were happy and content with the way life treated them,they had no bigger dreams than living a day peacefully.happiness and mirth intoxicated them and sorrows emblodened them.living through the various twists,turns and caprices of fate,at the end of the day only smiles persisted on their faces.affection and innocence bound them together..they never complained.....As if symbolising the spirits of the village folks a lively and teeming river ran through the heart of the village seperating it into two shores.The shores stretched out ,seperated by a brilliant and serene gush of pristine water ,like two lovers separated by destiny .80 percent of the villagers were farmers...the proximity of the river increased the generosity of the soil..anything and everything grew there adding up for its ecological opulence.Rare varities of avian family vacationed there impressed and bowled over by the hospitality of nature.The village was a beautiful watercolour painting done by the god himself........thus,with all its beauty and unharmed virginity the village moved on
As a part of the govermental campaign for spreading e-literacy ,Internet arrived at the village amidst much fanfare and celebration.A computer centre was inaugrated with 5 computers and two instructors.The villagers greeted the arms of technology with the same frenzy and excitement they shared when television first arrived on their village.Like the falling autumn leaves they surrendered their will and whims to the winds of sophistication. The innocent villagers flocked to the center in large numbers.A touch on the keyboard made them get goosebumps.in disbelief and wonder,they gasped and gaped at what they saw.As time flapped its wings and flew away, changes began to creep into the village .The conservative mindsets of the people opened up to the open sky of oppurtunities.the literacy starved villagers were soon driven into greener pastures of knowledge.As tecnolody gobbled up the village.the need for basic english education seemed inevitable.upon the request of the people and after a heated discussion in the panchayat it was decided to start an english learning centre.which only the communisits opposed.the syllabus and timetable of the panchayat shool was revised with a compulsory english period.New books on basic english literature smiled from the bookshelves of the panchayat library.slowly and gradually,like how a drug finds it way through the nerves,the village resonated with the chants od development.'operation castlead' and 'global meltdown'replaced the routine topics of discussion at the village tea shop where elderly village men assembled for their early morning and late evening sessions of gossiping over a hot cup of tea.pants replaced dhotis and the village women bartered their sarees and robes for churidar and salwar. pics of Paris Hilton and Aiswarya Rai replaced the amorous pouts and temperature heater voluptuosness of semi clad b- rate actresses that hung on the barber shop walls.within 2 years two english medium schools offering state of aart facilities sprang up at the outskirts of the village.The children who whistled and frollicked their way to schools were jampacked into tempos and shool buses,with ties hanging around their neck like noose and truck loads of books weighing down their shoulders.......as was their habit, they never complained
The impending lok sabha elections and advent of mobile phone technology did the rest of the job,what became 'wat' ahd how are you became 'wassup'.......as if woken up from their slumber the politicians returned to the village..massive plans were drawn up for reconstruction of roads and facelifting the village.a two lane bridge was built across the river and finally a web site was opened in the name of the village for exploring and exploiting the tourism oppurtunities ,the village offered and the heaps of fortune that it would usher in.As if registering their silent protests,the nature reacted,the flow of the water diminished,birds stopped their seasonal visits and increased activities heated up the village.The party that won the elections promised an IT Park for the village, flaring up the development turmoil.The monstrous and savage shadow of urban civilisation and status loomed large over the lives of the innocent villagers,crime rate peaked, destroying the peace and tranquility of the place...real estate prices soared up and mobile towers fenced the village........within 5 years the village became a township
Among the many things that the village lost in the onslaught of development....it lost its identity and innocence.....memories and nostalgia remined their final hope to connect with the village of their dreams...........n all because of the internet