Thursday, October 13, 2005

The Mullaikodi Search

When you do not know of something, but have heard that that ‘thing’ can do wonders, you naturally expect the ‘thing’ to be supernatural, a remedy for all problems and a ‘do-it-all’. This is what exactly my mother made me realize today morning. The ‘thing’ in question is the Internet.

Her wish was simple. I had recently got installed, a connection through cable on my PC. Costs me mighty 400 a month. All she wanted me to do was to help her find her long lost eighth class school friend named Mullaikodi. She wanted to speak with her. Chat that is.

All simple wishes are simple only in their statements. The solutions often do not exist, or if they do, are nearly superhuman. It would take us the entire magic potion as in Asterix comics to execute such wishes. And sometimes, even this potion would fail, as I have a premonition now, in realizing my mother’s wish.

For all that I know and guess, Mullaikodi would have been married in Tirukkatipally (That is the town where my mother studied with her), with kids and happily playing the role of an ever-anxious grandmother. To expect her to have any iota of cilliteracy is but expecting to find the proverbial needle in a haystack.

There could, however, be a solution to this. I only hope, that, when I take my mother to a tour of South India (on pilgrimage, of course), and to tirukkatipally, we would find Mullaikodi on some local enquiry.
All that we brag about Internet is very dependent on both parties on both ends coming to it. Otherwise, it is as useless as - I am still thinking of the most useless thing in the world - I got it.. it is as useless as a ‘mind which cannot recall, on the fly, what actually is the most useless thing in the world.’

Written on 29th May 2005

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