I recently received a parcel from my sister, who had somehow managed to send it from Sydney, where she presently resides. It was my birthday present, which had unfortunately arrived two weeks ahead of my birthday. Except for the early arrival, all the other factors of the gift were well taken care of: inscrutable packaging, the anticipation before and during the opening, the surprise element and the gratefulness for the gesture.

I opened to find it was a watch. No, not a conventional watch, it was a Smartwatch, it was a “Fitbit Versa.” A watch that came with a charger, at that moment, I thought how technology-stricken our world has become. Though I am fairly up to date with the popular launches of hot gadgets of the digital market, I had hardly ever come across Smartwatches. Now that I had got one, I started my research, which is, essentially, watching a lot of YouTube videos on the gadget’s features and reviews. I was quite fascinated by the number of features it offers and their efficacy. It can gauge your heart rate, tell you how many steps you cover, how many calories you burn, it has an inbuilt alarm and a stopwatch, it has a sundry of workout regimes, it can store your music, it even tells you how well you sleep, all this in one little screen tied on your hand, very impressive indeed.

It is incredible how we are advancing in technology by leaps and bounds. Things we had developed as an extension of our necessities have turned into gadgets with myriad functions, many of them being extraneous though.

As I was toying around with my new Smartwatch, my eyes caught a glimpse of my Casio watch, kept at the corner of my desk. Analog display, round dial, stainless steel band, fluorescent covered clock hands, the ticking sound of the second hand, a tiny display for the date, nothing fancy about the watch, it is the most basic watch yet a magnificent one. Unlike how we have a sudden feeling of reluctance for our old things, on receiving newer, more enhanced ones, I realised I hadn’t lost an ounce of respect for my simpler watch, nor had I started getting any second thoughts about its limited usability or its lack of functions. It was kept there as elegant as it had always been. Seeing the new, more decorated watch had not made me think any less of my “Casio” even though it had to offer only two primary functions.

In the past few years, we have advanced to the extent that we hardly even need watches. Watches would have disappeared long ago if there were seen only as time-tellers. I believe, a person’s watch is very dear to him, and it states a lot about him. It speaks about his style statement, his level of sophistication, his preferences and of course his financial status. When a person looks at his watch, he sees more than just time; there is a unique, inexpressible connection. Watches have consistently maintained their significance on our hands and in our lives.

We may become wholly automated someday, start using only self-driven cars, might as well move to Mars, or even if there is an innovation that injects in our mind the ability to keep track of date and time, watches will never lose their importance. They will always be close to our hands and our hearts. Like time, time-tellers would continue to live eternally!