New Age

All dates as per the Gregorian calendar used internationally today:

Circa, Closing years of the third decade of the 16th century: The rulers and builders must reconcile to the fact that our fortresses are totally brittle and fragile, when up against the modern-day cannon-power of these new-age rulers, namely, Babur's Mughals. Gunpowder was fine, but these revolutionary cannons mean that Mughals are literally invincible.

Circa, Second quarter of the 19th century: Modern times have unmistakably arrived. Monstrous machines now transport people and goods over unthinkable distances. And they do it at an amazing speed too! Who could have ever imagined that, someday, water and coal would combine to generate so much power? The power of steam has, of course, been known for thousands of years. But such surreptitious, almost limitless, potential was unknown. The industrial revolution, which started about two centuries ago, is now at its zenith.

Circa, Middle-years of the fourth decade of the 20th century: This is modern-day competitive psychology. Sportsmanship means nothing to people who play the gentleman's game today. Physically injuring opponents, with something as lethal as a cricket ball, in order to win test-matches, is an unfortunate reality now. What was the likelihood of a batsman not returning alive from a cricket-pitch, or being seriously crippled for the rest of his life - even a decade ago? Bodyline bowling could never have been a thought even if they lost by world record margins. We don't seem to have the good old respect for worthy opponents anymore.

Circa, First decade of the 21st century: Though there have been very few spectacular inventions and discoveries in the field of Physics in the last 30-odd years, it is biology that is now at the centre-stage and has taken a quantum-leap. Biotech is the frontier-technology of the modern world. Could there be a bigger chance for human-life than stem-cells' commercial preservation and reuse?

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None of the above is specifically known to have been said, but it is my imagination that these, probably, would have been the expressions around these times. I do not intend to ridicule the proclaimed advent of modern-age, nor do I want to belittle the lament at passing-by of the good-old days. These have always been integral parts of human thought process. They convey the same thing: a New Age is here.

Modern times are never gone - they are never in short supply. All generations live in modern times. 'New Age' has just kept arriving, unabated, throughout the human existence, and one can promise, it will continue to do so in future. It is perhaps the most significant aspect of our psychologies, which keeps providing behavioural-coordinates and a sense of righteousness. And not in the least, it keeps energizing our souls.

How, for instance, would we feel if convinced that these are most ancient of times: We still manually type on bulky machines called computers: There is no 'personalized electron-charge' to read our thought and spread it on a virtual screen? We still need mobile-phones... how prehistoric!

Deja Vu? Just look back: A pigeon carrying a message tied to its legs... Feel good about the new-age cellphone!