MiddlePen

sebastian-molina-fotografia-100061-unsplash James Bond movies introduced us to the first smarty-pants spy who sneakily recorded evidence. He used a micro camera enabled with voice recording cleverly embedded in his fountain pen to relay back information. His impressive use of secret gadgets made him stylishly invincible. In modern times, everyone is invincible! Courtesy, easily accessible and affordable high-tech gadgetry. Spying is no longer a matter of intrigue. The smartphone is the single most potent tool to encourage the spy within us. Screenshots, voice recordings, geotracking, confirmation of messages seen and a million apps have unconcealed  human activity . Add to this, the all-powerful CCTV with microphones that not only capture every single movement and expression of the employees at workplace, but capture their audio conversations too. Its a matter of debate if this prying has added to increased transparency in our relationships or depleted mutual trust. A

Photo by Guduru Ajay bhargav from Pexels Its pitiable to see the poor sleeping on an empty stomach. Famished, malnourished and gaunt little kids prance around with hope at the traffic lights  waiting for their next mouthful from a generous donor. Millions in India, depend on begging for a square meal.  The brutality of hunger is a systematic conduct in a country which sets new records in grain production every other year. As per United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), “produce worth $14 billion is damaged annually, even as 194 million Indians go hungry every day” .   Travelling by road, its common to see warehouses overflowing with grain. First the wheat rots and then the rice rots. Again, the wheat rots and then the rice rots. The cycle goes on forever. Both, the grain waiting to get packed after harvest and that packed in gunny bags lies exposed to the vagaries of nature. Rain, birds and rodents have an open invitation. The poor clamor for fo