Instant Coffee was a charm
Instant milk was a novelty!
What a craze! When growing up…
Oh! Lest I forget the instant news
On an old black and white tv
Then came noodles…Instant noodles…
‘Ready in bas 2 minutes.’ the ad said
Now, everything is in an ‘Instant’…
Granted by CEOs who want to gift us time.
What a craze! As I grow older…
I do not crush fresh cardamom, or grate fresh ginger
I get Instant tea…from Indian stores
“Individually packed in plastic for freshness”
Not only, Instant dough/ tortillas/ bread …from Trader Joe’s
Again, wrapped in plastic, BPA free.
I have no need for flour in my home or
To walk to the “chakki” to get wheat ground to flour
Hey! I can bypass instant dough and
Get Instant food… by UberEats
Packed in Black plastic boxes, not recyclable.
What’s the need for Instant grocery … from FreshIndiaBazaar
Or my Instant pot, I ask you!
I do not have to go to the photo shop to get a picture taken
I have an instant camera…and instant photos…
We used to go to the cinema some Sundays,
In City light or Regal theaters,
After a stroll on Marine drive or Chowpatty beach,
Then there was Doordarshan and Cable TV
Now, I watch Instant shows ….
On my cell or
Streamed on my tv from Prime Video
And my neighbor asks “Do you not have Netflix and Hulu?!”
My tailor used to stitch my clothes,
We went to Amarsons to buy the fabric,
It took 2 months to get them from the tailor’s,
Now I have Instant clothes…
Wrapped in plastic,
All thanks to Macy’s
Gosh! I have no need to go out of my home
I recycle paper and plastic,
Collecting food scraps for composting
While saving loads of time with ‘Instant’ …
So what do I do with this time?
I go to the gym, the movies, the park and
Work, all hours of the day.
Many jobs
As mom, wife, sister and daughter,
Pediatrician, friend and so on…
What a craze! We are doing more,
Than humans did before the invention of the wheel,
Burning through tonnes of plastic, paper and money
Thoughtless destruction,
In our quest for ‘Instant’
There is no more William Wordsworth’s Daffodils
Just instant, an ode to the past!
And in this instant, I ask myself, is it worth it?
Poem by Hemal Mehta
Life, a daily exploration 