In the era of Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, it’s not only imperative to be socially active but also to be aware of their terminology/ abbreviations/ shortcuts.
If you are not familiar with these shortcuts, then you are considered outdated, isn’t it?
But these shortcuts have impacted our lives in ways that we have failed to comprehend.
I’ve penned this poem to look at the other side of using these shortcuts, in a humorous way!
I have written it in my native language, Hindi and have also provided the translation at the end.
Also, linking to dVerse for Open Link Night.
कविता: Shortcuts की दुनिया
ज़िंदगी की भागम -भाग में
इस क़दर मसरूफ़ हैं हम
जहाँ भी वक़्त बचा सकें
कोशिश पूरी करते हम
बात करना ज़रूरी हो तो
Good Morning को GM कहते हैं हम
ख़ुदा हाफ़िज़ में वक़्त ज़ाया न हो तो
TC ही लिख देते हैं हम!
इस shortcuts की दुनिया ने तो
हँसी का भी shortcut ढूंढ लिया
हंसी आये तो LOL या ROFL
क़माल है ! इन्होंने तो हँसने का वक़्त भी save किया !
शुभकामनाएँ देना भी मजबूरी सा लगता है
जब “हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ” बोलना तो छोड़ो
Congratulations को भी ये ज़माना
Congo कहता है!
आशीर्वाद के नाम पर हम
लिख देते हैं GBU
Be Right Back को BRB
और By the Way को BTW!
“जहाँ तक मैं जानता हूँ”
कहते थे हम इतरा कर
मगर आज कल तो AFAIK
is part of sounding cool!
“जन्मदिन मुबारक हो”
सुन कर लगता था दिन ख़ास है
मग़र HBD for Happy Birthday
इन shortcuts की सौगात है
पहले प्यार से पूछते थे हम
“हाँ जी, कहाँ हो ?”
मगर WRU से ही अब
दिल का हाल बयाँ हुआ
I don’t care और No big deal
तो cool dude की पहचान ही थी
मगर IDC और NBD ने
इनको भी replace किया !
B4N, TTYL
लिख कर friend offline हो गया
पंद्रह मिनट wait के बाद शक़ हुआ
मतलब Google किया तो सर पीट लिया !
चलो इन shortcuts को अपना कर ही
पीढ़ियों का फ़ासला shortcut करें
“एक ही ज़िन्दगी है, बर्बाद मत करो!” कहने की जगह
YOLO कह कर ही कुछ बात शुरू करें !
English Translation
We are so engrossed
In the race of life
We do not spare a chance
To save some time
If greeting is essential
We prefer GM to Good Morning
“Take good care of yourself, dear” takes a lot of time
So writing TC is also conforming!
This world of shortcuts is so amazing that
It has a shortcut for laughter too
LOL or ROFL, giggle all the time for you
Incredibly, this world wishes to save laughter time too!
Felicitation also seems an obligation
When in lieu of applauding “Hearty Congratulations”
Congratulations itself is condensed to say
Congo by this shortcut creation!
Offering blessings is nowadays
A mere GBU
Be Right Back is BRB
And By the Way is BTW!
We used to take pride in saying
“As far as I now”
But AFAIK is nowadays
Part of sounding cool!
“Wish you a very Happy Birthday dear!”
made us feel so special
But HBD for Happy Birthday
Is an offering of these shortcuts!
We lovingly used to call to check
“Honey! Where are you?”
But WRU is enough these days
To reflect your love and care!
“I don’t care” and “No Big deal”
were always signs of a cool dude
But IDC and NBD
Have replaced these slangs too!
A friend wrote B4N, TTYL
And soon he went offline
I got suspicious after waiting 15 minutes
And mocked at myself when I Googled online!
Let these shortcuts only guide us
To shorten the generation gap
Instead of “You have only life, Do not waste it, for God Sake!”
Let YOLO help us initiate the talk!
बहुत बढिया लिखा है। अब तो ऐसी शोर्टकट स्थिति होगयी है कि एक ही घर में रहने वाले लोग आमने-सामने कोई भी सुभेच्छा देने की जगह मेसेज का
शोर्टकट उपयोग कर लेते हैं।
बिल्कुल सही कहा आपने। अब बात काम और मैसेज ज़्यादा होता है। टेक्नोलॉजी ने दूर वालों को पास को दूर कर दिया है। धन्यवाद।
It is a worrying thing, perhaps as texted speech abbreviations become the norm, eventually we will relinquish the power of speech.
I never text, preferring to speak instead.
Anna :o]
I agree. The abbreviations are not restricted to just messages but have become part of speech. And more and more people are getting used to them day by day. Thanks for your insight Anna!
I think it’s also a part of separating the ones that know from the ones that don’t
IMHO 🙂
I believe so too 🙂
laughing, I loved this cuz it’s so true. But the tiny little phones with their tiny little keys – it is so much easier to tap out an acronym than to type out words. Me? I’d rather meet up for coffee and a chat so I don’t text.
Well, I know it’s much easier..they save time, effort and that’s why they are called shortcuts but somehow they seem to create a distance..as if the person isn’t really interested in a discussion and just doing it out of obligation…or maybe I am being too sensitive 🙂
And, yes nothing compares to a chat over coffee 🙂 I am glad you liked it!
I find it’s not so much that text/email creates a distance as texts are shallow by default. Texts need to be short, light and breezy because misunderstandings happen more easily in text and texts have character limits. Talking in person, you have tone of voice, eye contact and body language as part of the conversation. Writing out Happy Birthday instead of HB isn’t the problem really. Shortcuts actually lets people say more because texts have limits. At least they thought of you on your birthday. Problem is really if the person feels texting is enough without spending the time with a person close to their birthday. I don’t text local friends except to make plans to meet. You cannot have a good discussion in text even with the help of shortcuts. We will talk when we see each other. That reminds me, it’s my friend’s birthday this week, I better text her to see if she wants to go out to eat together.
Replacing texts with personal conversation is something I do not like doing myself. Reactions to one’s words can only be judged by meeting in person. Have a great weekend dear 🙂
Some of these abbreviations I know. I didn’t know Congo and a bunch of others.
Oh there are hundreds of these..I googled and the list was long 🙂 Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend Frank!
This new generation drives me mad with their acronyms. I have to Google most of the time 🙂 Thanks dear Smitha. I truly appreciate your effort of reading, commenting and encouraging 🙂
I use it only for text but use formal and complete sentences when its an office email or talking to a loved one. A little effort goes a long way.
Yes. A little effort goes a long way! Sometimes, our loved ones need to hear loving words which these shortcuts may not be able to fulfil! Thanks Grace