From Smart Fridges to Shaktimaan: Teleporting Through Time

A conversation about smart fridges led us down memory lane—into Doordarshan days, superhero capes, and love letters. Here’s how one moment of tech talk turned into a full-blown nostalgia trip…

Illustration: A smart fridge meets Shaktimaan in a time-traveling tribute to tech and nostalgia

Teleportation may not be real yet, but conversations? They go places – fast.

It all began with a colleague asking if my new refrigerator was installed. Another one chimed in, saying her son had read about fridges that interact with users—warning them before running out of stock. None of us had seen one yet, but we nodded in agreement. With AI and APIs evolving, it's no longer impossible. A refrigerator might soon do more than just cool and store—it could even place orders for restocking.

That’s how rapidly Artificial Intelligence is changing our world. We can only imagine, as far as our imagination can stretch, what the future might look like.

I said, “We’ll see things we can’t even imagine today by the time we grow old.”

One of my colleagues added, “Stuff we see in sci-fi movies is becoming real.”

I explained how it’s bound to happen. It all begins with a desire. Turning it into imagination. An artist or a filmmaker expresses that through fiction. A scientist, a creator, an engineer—they fulfill it by making it real.

The Generation That Witnessed Magic

As we talked about the shift from traditional to cutting-edge technology, we agreed—we belong to a lucky generation. Not because we have it easy, but because we’ve witnessed the transformation firsthand. Maybe every generation feels the same way. Still, it doesn’t take away our dopamine dose.

We’ve listened to transistor radios. We’ve watched Doordarshan on black-and-white TVs. We’ve used landlines, sent letters, waited for replies. And now, we’re living in a world where everything’s just a tap away. That’s when our conversation slipped into a nostalgic zone, flooded with memories.

Black-and-White Screens & Shaktimaan Dreams

My father used to repair radios in our locality. So, our house was filled with them. We had the first TV in our entire line (the rows of quarters in Assam’s tea gardens are named in line numbers)—a black-and-white Onida bought for Rs. 3000. It was purchased right after I was born, not just for entertainment, but so people would come over often, and someone would always be there to watch over me.

I remember Rangoli, Jai Hanuman, Chitrahaar, and those weekend feature films. I even recall the name of a show—Yug—though the details are fuzzy. But Shaktimaan? Oh, that was our superhero. Followed closely by Junior G, Shaka Laka Boom Boom, and others.

My First Crush? The Nirma Girl

And then there was my first crush—even before I started school. The Nirma girl. None other than Sonali Bendre. I’d often wonder why she didn’t act in films. “She is prettier than any actress,” I thought. Until I saw Sarfarosh, when I realized she was an actress already. And that song Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya—it still melts my heart.

Letters, Greeting Cards & Shayari Services

We laughed imagining our grandchildren struggling to relate when we tell them all this. Just like we sometimes fail to relate to our grandparents’ stories. Imagine telling them that I’ve actually sent money through money orders. And their great-grandmother, my mom, who had a proud collection of 70 or 80 greeting cards over the years. Some of them still decorate our cousins’ drawing room.

And then it hit me—I’ve been a copywriter since school.

I used to write letters for others. Love letters, formal applications—you name it. I even left ready-made leave application samples at home, long after I’d moved out. But writing love letters back then? That was an art. Some clients wanted something simple and sweet, not too cringy. Others wanted shayari and full-on filmi feels.

As a writer, I had to understand their personalities, their hearts, and shape the words accordingly. And when responses came? The joy was doubled. Felt proud—truly—to help someone express their love.

The Firsts We'll Never Forget

But that wasn't the end of our chat. We drifted to first cell phones, first email IDs, Orkut days, Facebook friend requests…

But that’s a conversation for another time. Because that too, my friend, is a world in itself. Stay tuned for more.

💬 What About You?

What was your first superhero show? Or your first gadget love? Let me know your favorite memory from those golden days in the comments below. Let's teleport through time together—one story at a time.