In this world of Internet, social networks have become a necessity for individuals, organizations and communities. Linkedin is used for professional networks, Facebook and Myspace is used to connect with new friends, blogging is being used to voice opinions and Twitter is used to announce updates in less than 140 characters.
In India offline social networks existed long before the advent of Internet. I still remember aunties sitting outside in my gali knitting and discussing every household. They were perfect source of any information in my society.
While in Sangla (will bore you to death with my experiences), I experienced another kind of social networking which I am sure is existing from centuries. An elderly person came to our bus conductor and gave him an envelope and told him to give to a shop near bus stand in a village which was some 100 kilometers away. Bus conductor accepted the package happily and delivered the package when destination.
This is not one off incident. This is a regular practice followed in villages located in hills. Newspapers, posts, verbal messages and important supplies are delivered by bus drivers and conductors. And everything is done free of cost. This may not be most efficient way of doing business but it has human touch, integrity, sense of community which is otherwise lacking in many efficient businesses.
by le embrouille blogueur , on July 1, 2009 11:51 PM
Adesh .... you are not boring anyone .. it is amazing how you link daily life experiences with daily life "cultures" ....!!
by Whats in a Name , on July 2, 2009 12:28 AM
Hey thats so true,...
Aunties in the mohallas used to be old time twitters which used to spread the news with atleast 14000 words...
:-P
Nice place this buddy..
Hope you dont mind me blogrolling you?? :-)
by rads , on July 2, 2009 12:32 AM
Aunties gossiping back then is the base of what twitter is today...it was actaully meant for that daily dose of gossip...and yea I agree with you that all the social networking websites today are an outcome of what was or had been going on before this easier means of communicating happened.
by Ramesh , on July 2, 2009 6:54 AM
Absolutely true. The medium might have changed, but social networking in its own unique ways in India is ages old as you rightly note. More such examples - the old man in the village receiving a letter from his son in the city and the postman reading it to him, The chai ka dookan which was the My Space of the real world, the sharing of the pages of the newspaper and discussing politics .....
by A , on July 2, 2009 1:32 PM
nice.. the way u linked the 2 concepts up..
by Adesh Sidhu , on July 2, 2009 9:11 PM
@ LEB & AJCL - Thanks.
@ Whats in a Name - 14000 words and still going strong :-) Thanks for visiting.
@Rads - And those gossips used to spread like fire just the way twitter does.
@ Ramesh - Yeah, all those oldies sitting and discussing everything under the Sun.
by Dhiman , on July 3, 2009 12:13 PM
One more mode of gather "breaking moholla news" is the "house-maid" or the "bai" ... they are the ones who know the "inside story" ...don't they ? Ask your mom or spouse :P
by Miss Kido , on July 3, 2009 4:55 PM
This may not be most efficient way of doing business but it has human touch, integrity, sense of community which is otherwise lacking in many efficient businesses
Very well written :) I completely agree with you :)
Have a great weekend :)