44 I I MAR 19
wHy
wiLL neveR dRy
PUBG OR aNyThING TECh
INDIaN yOUTh OF
w
hen we talk of young India,
technology in hands is always
a matter of paramount
concern. At times, Indian
youth depending too much on tech has been
the subject of many criticisms looked upon as
a threat towards creativity getting grounded.
Discussing the same, expert panels’ opinion
was quite alarming and encouraging at
the same time as witnessed at the recently
concluded ThinkEdu Conclave. Taran
Singh, who is the founder of Melvano,
an app targeted to help IIT students and
teachers alike said, “The usual idea is that
technology will impede brainstorming. But,
on the contrary, it will help to brainstorm.
In fact, there are studies to show that video
games like PUBG help in improving the
visual-spatial ability of users and problem-
solving capabilities,”
Speaking on the same note was, Malavika
Banerjee, Director of Kolkata Literary Meet.
In her expert opinion, she laid stress on
tech helping to “Bridge the Gap” for many
recurring issues of Literary Meet held every
year in Kolkata. As such, parking of vehicles
is a persisting issue. To ease the situation, the
Literary committee resorted to live-streaming
which actually boosted the response towards
the Literary Festival, including from every
other individual who would shy away or look
at the meet as an area of disinterest. Imagine
people having a chance to listen to Bengali
poetry from far away in Norway. He further
laid added emphasis, “Nothing can stop
a creative mind from creating. There was
a store from Guatemala at the exhibition
that had their traditional designs on display.
Around seven to eight months later, weavers
in South Bengal were able to recreate the
design on a sari,” Malavika Bannerjee
said so while she recalled of an exhibition
organised in Kolkata that showcases weavers
and their creations from different corners of
the world. Now, all this, according to her is
the fine fruit of technology and would not
have been possible otherwise.
Citing Andhra Pradesh Government’s
initiative, Jayaram Komati, special
representative for North America, Andhra
Pradesh Government, said, “We have created
around 3600 digital classrooms where kids
will have access to technological tools right
from the beginning.” Such an effort not only
puts tech to good use but also emerges as
a harbinger towards the interest of resident
Indian communities across their home town
as well. The funds thus collected is further
being used towards the betterment of the
state-run schools.
However, on a closing note, it was declared
that although tech has many benefits to take
into account, there are also several such
pitfalls that the youth needs to check.
One such thing is declining human
interaction which is otherwise an ill offering
of technology arising out of too much
dependence, and only a balanced outlook
can eradicate such shortcomings.
CREATIVITY
CREaTIvITy