Fountain Pen

So, they say it is a mobile revolution in India. To give you a perspective of how things have changed in the last 3 decades – Overall tele density in India was 0.6% in 1990. Today it is a whopping 89.9%. Mobile telephony when it was introduced around 1995 was considered a luxury item then. Incoming calls were charged at the rate of Rs.16 per minute.

Emails and internet also started to gain some traction, roughly about the same time. 

Slowly things started to change. Somewhere we saw a convergence of Internet and Telephony. That was the beginning of a new era. The Millennial era!

Rest as they say is history.

New Telecom operators were born. Initial thrust was to increase telephony presence. Call charges dropped. Incoming calls became free. Outgoing calls were charged under a rupee. That was the real beginning of the “mobile revolution”.

What did it do to the psyche of people? Mobiles shifted from being an aristocratic luxury item to be a common man commodity. Missed calls became a phenomena. SMS lingo were invented.

Then started the data penetration.  Tablets, smartphones came to existence. Apps and social media became a part of life. From cameras to address book, Computers to wallets, shopping to books & music - everything got encapsulated in the small device.

But as in any new technological development, there were collateral damages. Slowly but surely people started losing some of their life skills. For example – people started being more comfortable texting than talking. PMs meant Private messages and not Private Meetings. They were more comfortable in their virtual world of social media. Group chats took the place of group meets. Not to forget, Mute buttons in group chats got more importance.

Does anyone remember any telephone number now, apart from their own?

Writing with one’s own handwriting – that has definitely taken a beating. Either it is typing on the computers or extensive usage of thumbs on the phones. Thankfully the new smartphones have made it easier for the thumbs.

Now even the doctors have starting typing their prescriptions. As the joke goes, deciphering what the doctors wrote in their handwriting needed some skill!  

Would the thumb have actually liked to provide the good supporting role that it used to do while holding that mighty pen? Remember the days when the thumb would be soiled with ink from the fountain pen?

With the latest thrust on data penetration, spectrum availability for faster speeds etc – the good old voice calls have now become free. Yes, all incoming and outgoing calls are free. There’s one silver lining there. Move on from missed calls and short messages. Take the telephone and speak. SPEAK. Let your voice be heard by the other person. Lest, that life skill would be lost too.

With technological advancements in SMAC & IoT, looking forward to some interesting applications which can enhance and utilise the life skills of people as well.

Can there be a laptop without the key board – but have a writing pad wherein one can write with one’s own handwriting? Artificial intelligence(AI) can take care of deciphering the letters and words. With the option of displaying in the original handwriting as well as a digitized version. After all, AI can now identify human faces faster than humans. 

The day may not be far when the traditional paper back note book be connected to the cloud? Whatever one writes in the notebook, (which would perhaps be sporting a printed antenna built-in on that paper), gets stored in the cloud too.  A few years ago – the laptops were named Notebooks and had tried to take over the traditional note books. There will be a time, when the traditional paper back notebook takes over from the laptop with even better technology at a fraction of cost.

The fountain pen hopefully will have a rebirth with an embedded chip inside, coupled with AI and to connect to the cloud.

Lovely name – Fountain pen. Will the new fountain pen spread data and connectivity in all directions just like the fountain? Will it have music too?