Shelf Life of anything

    

 These days I am wary of the word 'latest' as  I am only too aware that 'latest' is, more often than not , not the greatest .

    I am not against technology or progress, but then most of the latest gadgets, software, fashions, movies etc are just aimed to fill the coffers of the producers from the pockets of ever obliging consumers. If there is a tremendous rage for profits on the part of producers, so is the rage for consuming among the general public. So the consumer and the producer are merrily plodding along supporting each other even while leaning on each other like two big drunkards. Obviously , even they would not know Where they are  heading for.

    So we have  new launches for auto-mobiles, electronic gadgets every month, Windows version every two years, and a Bollywood flick every week. Is a movie or a car model , a perishable commodity ?  Microsoft has to come up with its latest version of Windows not just to boost its bottom-line, but also to help the hardware manufacturers as the 'latest' software needs the 'latest' hardware' . Had Microsoft been producing auto-mobiles, we would have been upgrading our roads and bridges every two years.

     If that is the state of consumer goods, so is the case of skills in every field. In the field of Sports, I grew up watching, or hearing about, the famous Vishy square cut, the shot the great cricketer kept working on to perfection from his first match till the day he finally hung up his boots. Today a cricketer has to reinvent himself at every stage as even cricketing strokes get obsolete ! A good teacher is struggling to come to terms with the ever changing demands of parents , School System  , the examination system, Technology and the whole environment of education and employment. So we have the Kota type coaching classes clearly scoring over teachers with decades of experience and may be even a Presidents Award. We need the latest method of coaching in tune with the latest system of examination and evaluation. Is education also a perishable commodity ?

        A whatsapp / facebook message is drowned by a barrage of other messages in minutes. There is a 'breaking news' every ten minutes. News of a Nobel prize or an Olympic gold medal may be pushed into oblivion if there were to be  a wardrobe malfunctioning concerning the latest cutest model in the same hour. The old adage that "This too shall pass " has never been more real.

    Housing, Food, Apparels ,Gadgets, Entertainment, Job Skills and even Relationships today, come with a clear and present danger of Obsolescence . The Expiry date or 'a shortening shelf life' is the ultimate reality.


    Is there anything at all which is bucking the trend, where the shelf life is actually increasing ? Ironically, all I can think of is 'Milk', the most perishable commodity of yester years has increased its shelf life from 6-8 hours to 6-8 days and actually 6-8 months in a tetrapak .