Saturday, June 15, 2013

Talking Beyond Time ~ The WeChat Way

One fine evening as the newbies on the Bollywood block, Parineeti Chopra and  Varun Dhawan  croon the famous Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh song from the yesteryears. I take notice.


 Is it one more mundane, yawning addition to the ever growing list of “Official” remakes hitting the silver screen every week? No, it’s a commercial for a new chat app “WeChat”. 

A new chat app, seriously!! In a day, I wake up to messages, and PINGS!! in BBM and am thoroughly entertained by jokes, creative messages in WHATSAPP. Skype gives me company during the boring office hours and finally I end the day with Viber. Do I need one more?

But the chatting bug in me is hard to be satiated. So I do download the latest offering in the ceaseless list of Chatter Apps. WeChat is cool, and what makes it stand out from the rest are some new, innovative, cute emoticons. It can be registered with both your phone number and a user id, which means I can log in to the same account from my blackberry and an iPod too, unlike Whatsapp. Video chatting and the best part, Voice chatting. Yes, from now on, I don’t have to type in to send across a message, I can just, Say it!!

I am now part of the WeChat family, but who are the “We” in my family. Whom can I add? Friends? Celebrities? Sportsmen?  Can I add dead people? I don’t want to see Dead People, not looking for that kinda Sixth Sense, but surely would like to hear or talk to them. What about a human personification of things I like. I ruminate over the fact that with the advent of smart phones and WeChat like applications, so much has changed in the field of communication. Why don’t I add people from the past and the present and ask them how they communicate with their friends. So I Look Around, Yes one more feature of WeChat to find new friends.

Emperor Shah Jahan, a fascinating prospect indeed, chatting to a dead Mughal, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal. 
Me: Salaam Alaikum! Shahenshah, welcome to WeChat
Shah Jahan: Wa Alaikum Salaam, great to feel alive after ages.
Me: Zille Ilahi, how did you communicate in your era ?
Shah Jahan:  My Pigeon, Shaheen was my cupid, she helped me to woo my begum, Mumtaz. She also brought peace with the Maharajas of the West.
Me: What do you think of WeChat?
Shah Jahan : Subhanallah!! Anything that brings love has my support.  


That was very romantic from the great Mughal, felt like saying Jahanpanah tussi great ho!!! 

After The Great Mughal, I search for other greats of the bygone era,  and find a senior, early 20th century British Admiral. A British officer, sounds interesting, I add him up.

Admiral (in a coarse voice): This is Admiral John Walkin. I lost my life in the services of King George. Awarded the Victoria Cross, for my heroic valor aboard the Royal Navy fleet. Who is this on the other line? Over!!
Me: Already on a back foot, I timidly reply, “Sir this is Tatha, I wanted to know in those days, how did you communicate with your friends and family from far of lands?”
Admiral:  Friends!!! We were perennially at war, Son! We had no time for friends. With fellow officers we did communicate in Morse Code. The best and the most secure mode of communication, helped us in winning many a battle against the German and the French Navy. Over!
Me: Sir, what do you think about WeChat?
Admiral: WeChat!! This is atrocious!! A blemish on the youth of the 21st century!! An utter waste of youthful vigor and energy. This is not the world for me, Over and Out!! Beep beep..beep beep beep…beep..

Oops, that wasn’t a good conversation; he must have been a hard task master. A lover of the beeps. What now? A friend request!! Gajodhar Chacha!


Me: Hello Gajodhar Chacha, how are you? 
Gajodhar Chacha: Kaise ho beta!! Sab kushal mangal hai na??
Me: Haan Chacha, aap bataye, aap chachi ko, ya apke doston ko sandesa kaise pahuchate the?
Gajodhar Chacha: Humare Zamaane Mein, phone to thi nahi, to hum chithiyan likha karte the beta
Me: Aapne chatting ke barein mein suna hain chacha?

As I wait for an answer, here comes one more friend request, Its Mr Alexander Graham Bell. Wow!! Surely I need to chat to the greatest of inventors, that of the Telephone.

Me: Sir, thank you for adding me as your friend in WeChat.
Mr Bell: It’s nice to hear from the eager minds of today.
Me: Sir, your invention has changed the world. Telephone has revolutionized our lives and we can’t think of a day without our mobile phones. We can safely say, applications like WeChat are here because of your invention.
Mr Bell: The utility of telephone has been accentuated by the other inventions of the last century. Mobile technology gave a whole new dimension to the telephone. Don’t forget to thank Mr Martin Cooper, the pioneer in wireless technology. Nice to talk to you lad, have a good day.

That was an experience of a life time, such a great man and yet so humble.

I look into the other open chats, still no message from Gajodhar Chacha.  Its late, may be time for one more chat, with a girl preferably. I Look Around again and find a certain Miss Pooja, with a typical teenager pose as a profile pic


Me: Hi Wassup!!
Pooja: Hey There, How’s you. WeChat is so coooool na, Awwwww I just love it yaa, I can make new friends everyday..blah blah blah..

Duhh, such a sissy, I can’t listen to such crap so late in the night, need to doze off. Gajodhar Chacha too must have slept long back. 

WeChat will surely be the next “In” thing. With voice and video chats and add to that, the group chat facility, will make chatting really interesting. Till then happy WeChat ting Anyone, Anywhere!.

For more information on WeChat, follow the link


1 comment:

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