The Perfect New Year Gift

With the New Year come new resolutions. One major resolution we all need to make as we step into 1997 is how to best make the year beneficial, futuristic, educational, and yes, even environment friendly.

Recently, Down to Earth, a science and environment fortnightly, published a report on vehicular pollution which was extremely alarming and shocking. The report indicated that the major polluters were no, not industries and factories, but in fact vehicles, particularly two and three wheelers. These vehicles were blamed for extensive pollution which is choking New Delhi’s one crore plus population. 

What is even more disheartening is the fact that a significant population of the two wheelers are in fact the property of college goers and even outgoing school students.

It has become trendy today for youngsters to ask their parents for a motor bike on the successful clearance of their examinations. And parents who can afford it, don’t mind giving one as a gift to their offspring. Let there however, be an alternative reward. Give you child a computer with an Internet connection.

After all, look at the advantages of a computer vis. A vis. A bike. With  motorcycle you ride to college, to a library, go to the theater or other entertainment venue, etc. Each time you travel, you consume fuel, you polluted air, you inhale that highly polluted air, and also face the probability of an accident with a Blue Line bus!

It is possible to enjoy many of the suggested joys without actually leaving the front door of your home. Your desktop, with an Internet connection, can serve as the window to the cyber world outside. Through an Internet-enabled computer, a student can go to any library n the world, preview any film, and even talk to anybody on the phone (all at the cost of a local call). The list of things to do on the ‘Net is endless. A computer with a modem and an Internet subscription today costs no more than Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 50,000. On the other hand, a scooter or a motorbike, with its cumulative cost of fuel and maintenance, will cost more than the information appliance.

So give the computer a chance and gift it to someone you love!