People Are Buying Shoes Online by Khurshid Alam

Editor's Line

People Are Buying Shoes Online  by Khurshid Alam

It is typical of human folk that we prepare our mind set in a certain way and that we refuse to jerk from such yoke easily whether the reason is genuine. I recall a very apt remark about this behaviour by Dr Dalip K Khetrapal, a writer, during a discussion with him over telephone when he said, “Actually we refuse to grow, so we cannot grow.”

Without doubt the Internet has added a new space to our life, but our behavior to the Internet dominated world has been very peculiar, though we are gradually moving to everything online. Twenty years back when the Internet was to be unleashed by the central government of India, some state governments started opposing it. They took the Internet as a monster which would eat up so many good things that existed. Some creative people represented the idea of monster Internet through their media. I came across many such creative pieces then. One story is still afresh in my mind that I read in a Bengali newspaper, and the story is retold in brief as:

Post Internet all people capable to do the good work and earn would turn to dead wood as everything will be operated by computers. Every office would be laced with computers. To protect such offices, dogs will be employed and to take care of the dogs humans will be employed. So the role of humans will change forever—would be worse than a dog.

But this story failed as the vision was lacking or I would say the writer refused to jerk from his own old mind set, so he refused to imagine the correct situation that would have unfolded. I am certain that even the persons of next generation of those who opposed the coming of the Internet might have been taking much use of the monster Internet now.

Then we started taking up education in computer science and soon we saw the boom of Information Technology. India is now among few leading IT-based services providers to the world and its revenue through IT is reckoning. Second there was a time, and it is still a reason of logical clash in many parts of the country, when some political leaders opposed promoting English language, and so in many states English is not a compulsory subject in the curriculum, it’s an optional subject. Remarkably the children of such leaders are enrolled in reputed English medium schools in a hope that they would successfully get good jobs when they grow. Once again English is that strength that supports us to be at the fore front of IT-based development in the world. India is regarded the best place to work with because its educated people are well versed in English than in its counterparts China, Japan, and Russia. Because we know good English, we are gainer and not a loser.

At one hand we are now shopping so frequently online— we began booking travelling tickets, cinema tickets, and so on— we buy shirts, pants, jewelry, home appliances, accessories, and we are buying shoes online, we are still hooked somewhere. We do not show due respect to the writings published online. Contemporary Literary Review India wants this mind set to change. For this CLRI has started to come in print edition as well. Each print edition of Contemporary Literary Review India includes unique blend of writings—some of the best published with Contemporary Literary Review India online, along with some pieces unique to the print edition. Such efforts are being made by many other journals, the best among them are the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net (Sundress Publications), and Best of the Web (Dzanc Books) etc. CLRI also intends to bring out an anthology of best writings published online in India annually.

For details, see the page link: CLRI Special Annual Issue 2013.

To download this Editorial in PDF, click CLRI March 2012

Khurshid Alam,
Editor, CLRI, March 2012.