Orkut

Here are some characteristics that I found at majority of the desi Orkut profiles (note: you would understand and relate to the foll. stuff much better if you have been to Orkut before, not that I encourage such a suicidal step of getting Orkuted):

• You have to tell about your status in your profile name. For instance, I am on vacation.. so my profile name becomes “Pavan-in-Vegas”.. or if you got placed at Infosys.. your profile name becomes “Got-job@Infy.. Yippeeee” I cut down the number of “e”s due to lack of space here. Luckily, I never saw a profile with “me-went-to-loooooooooooooo”. I aint interested in any realtime feedback or status report.
• Your photo album has to have a minimum of 6 pictures: one depicting your graduation.. so that people know you are educated; one showing you in western clothes at a dance bar or pub (which shows the western side of you, the “modern” you); one with you wearing traditional clothes at some temple you visited when you were fresh off the boat (a while back) so that people know you still have an iota of Indian-ness somewhere inside you, one with a large group of the same gender (which shows that you are extrovert and get along with people really well), one with somebody of the opposite gender (so that people get an impression that you are.. you know.. straight), and last but not the least the one with many amroos around you (which certifies that you are indeed in USA). If you dont believe me, check any random desi profile, and let me know.
• By mistake, Orkut has a section asking you about your fav movies, or how your perfect date should be.. and people keep going on and on till their keyboards break down or Orkut’s servers crash
• There are more communities at Orkut than the number of trees all over the earth. There are diverse communities ranging from “I love Sonali Bendre” (of which I am a member) to “I hate Ekta Kapoor”, from “I like farts” (its there.. true) to “Telugu Brahmins with 4 eyes, curly hair and a Master’s degree staying near M.G.Road”. You name it, they have it. Ok, the last one was made up. But hey, I could create one!
• Scrapbook: Graham Bell would have committed suicide if he was alive today. People communicate via a scrapbook mechanism instead of the good-old phone or IM or email. Somebody calls me and says, “dude, I left a scrapbook entry.. you didnt respond?”. If you are curious as to how I reacted, please send me a scrap @ Orkut.
• There are Orkut rehab centers all over US: Orkuts’ Anonymous. Yes, some are so addicted that they spend about 1-2 hours everyday on it. Now, is it their interest or the slow servers?

• Orkut is a verb!! “So, do you orkut?”..tch tch Bad Pavan.. no donuts for you (TM)

On a serious note, the things I mentioned above are true.. I have been noticing the influence of online(virtual) life over the real life (in a social context). It is interesting. Any thoughts?

Belated Friendship’s day quote, found somewhere online:

Dosti ka safar lamba hua to kya hua, thoda tum chalo,thoda hum chalenge, fir…………………………. …………………….. ………………rickshaw Kar lenge.