I #ChooseToStart with MOTO E

Years ago, when I was a little girl I used to be very adamant because I was way too pampered. Those were times when my sister wasn’t born. I remember one particular day from those times.

            It was a weekend when mom, dad and I had gone for shopping in T Nagar. I was studying LKG at that time. We were walking in the pavement. There weren’t much of taxis back then. We were walking to reach the railway station. I saw a road side vendor selling ice cream. I asked dad for it. He said it isn’t healthy. I started to cry. Mom said in my ears that she will get me a bigger ice cream when I reach home. She was carrying me at that time. We moved a few steps ahead. Dad and mom signaled each other.  Dad raised his eye brows, mom nodded. I saw this happening right in front of my eyes but did not understand what it meant back then. We halted in front of a hotel. We went in and settled down in a window side table. The waiter came to us asking for our order. Dad checked his pocket and said ‘One ice cream.’ I giggled. I was so excited that I was getting what I wanted. I ate the ice cream but did not read too much between the lines back then. But this incident remained as a strong imprint in my memory for long.

            After I grew up, one day, I went through the same hotel and got reminded about this. While coming back in the train, alone, I kept thinking about that scene. As I was matured enough while I recollected the past I decoded each line of the scene. I wanted an ice cream. Dad and mom wanted to get me one but did not want to get me a low quality one. So they decided to take me to a hotel nearby and get me the ice cream I had wanted. But those were times when there were no ATM cards. People had to carry cash. That day our purchase had gone beyond what dad had planned, I guessed. That’s why after we went to the hotel he checked his pocket if he had enough cash. He just had enough to pay for my ice cream and get back home. So parents had decided not to have anything after the tiring shopping. From then till now dad and mom always carry extra cash though there are ATMs today.

            When I started going to college, dad got me a Motorola flip type phone. He took me to the shop and asked me to select the phone I wanted. I chose the costliest offered to me. This was pre-touchscreen era. He smiled and paid without a word. He did not ask why I chose it and what I knew about mobile phones.

When I was in final year of engineering, I was sent to Singapore for a technical conference by my college to present my paper. My dad was really happy and took too much pride out of this. He thought it was really a big thing. He gave me 10,000 rupees, which was a huge amount that time, exclusively for buying a smart phone. We weren’t even aware that it was called a smart phone back then in 2010. He said buy a phone in which you can check and send emails, browse and use internet. I got a phone which was 16,000 rupees at that time in India from Singapore for 10,000 rupees. I was excited about the discount I had got there. I loved my smart phone.

            Later in life, I started working. Things started to change. Parents started depending on me for advice regarding what they need to buy; be it landline connection, tv or even a dvd player. They thought since I am a computer engineer I would know it all, the best. (Let’s not talk facts here about engineers in India and what they know) At least my parents think I know it all better.

Whenever dad and mom looks at me typing in it, they would ask if they can just see how it works and give it back. They would try typing a few letter. I knew it was just the same restaurant story repeating. Though they were hungry they didn’t want to spend money for them but just for us (Me and sister). They would say it’s more than what they could afford for themselves but if I had asked for a costlier one, double the time costlier, they would happily get me that phone as well. They are like that- they never spend for any of their luxuries calling them unaffordable but in real they can afford them all if we say it’s for us.

           

            Years passed. It became an era of smart phones. You can’t find many people without a touch screen mobile these days. I thought it was high time for them to buy smart phones. I got dad a smart phone on his birthday two years ago as I thought it was more useful for dad at that point; to check mails and be active on facebook. Mom never finds time for social networking. When I said the cost of the smart phone, even the cheapest, mom would say that the cost is not worth her usage.

            Whatsapp came into existence. The entire family was on whatsapp and we created groups. I want my mom and her siblings to stay in touch with each other like we do. Even dad’s siblings. All of us, the cousins, are so much in touch with the help of whatsapp and facebook. We share photos on occasions, our next generation’s naughtiness and even what we cook on a daily basis. But most of us get lost at work and don’t even have the time to read each of the message and look at each of the photos and videos. Who actually enjoy all of these are the previous generation- my parent’s generation. My mom and aunts would surely love to share their recipes. They would love to look at their grandchildren’s photos and videos. My parent’s generation always feel awkward when their grandchildren use touch phones and laptop. They feel inferior. They don’t know all these technology because these were never existent in their times and they are not given a chance to learn these.

            All they need is a smart phone at a cost that would convince them that it’s worth their use. Moto E will surely convince them. It’s again the restaurant situation but I am at the other side now. I know they want a smart phone but I am not ready to settle with a not a good quality product. I want to give them the best quality and with good features at a rate that fits in my pocket. Moto E is definitely my cup of ice cream from the hotel for my parents.

            I have started a topic in our whatsapp group about getting Moto E for all our parents and including them in our group. Cousins have said ok.

Including the previous generation in our circle technically, virtually, is what I #ChooseToStart  with the new MOTO E.

Written for http://www.startwithmotoe.com/ contest by indiblogger.