Slow burn of fast deliveries

 

Gone are the days when the fastest way of getting an article from the kitchen you have have run out of was to knock on your neighbour’s door. Today, it had been had faster than the time you would take reaching the neighbour’s door, thanks to the many fast delivery apps at your disposal. While this is a welcome change, there are some things that will be missed too. Wasn’t it fun when Sundays were for family outings to the market, or supermarket, checking each item’s fine print, making sure it was worth the money, and adhering to a budget? One remembers how one made those trips to the market in rickshaws and return with bags full of supplements. But today, things are different. The delivery apps reach us at lightning speed. Forgot detergent, groceries, a meal? Just a few taps on the phone and the product will be at your doorstep. Seems magical, right? But behind that magic, there’s a cost- one we do not see. We’ve forgotten how to wait. A slight delay and we get irritated. We become restless if the delivery is delayed.

 

The craving for ‘instant’ has made us expect speed in everything- from food to answers to relationships- there seems to no time on hand to let things brew. And this isn’t just about people-it’s also about the planet. More delivery bikes mean more fuel burnt, more traffic, more noise, more smoke, more accidents. We order without thinking, buy what we don’t need, and slowly fall into a habit of just getting things done for us. Meanwhile, the local kirana guy, who at times handed an extra toffee, who let you buy products on credit, who knew the name of your every family member, who knew what brand of tea you like- he’s losing out in the race for speed.

 

He cannot promise 10-minute delivery, but he offered something better: Connection, trust and care. We’re trading all that for speed. Are we really saving time, or are we just spending it differently, less meaningfully? It sometimes feel that we should go back in time, just a little and enjoy that old rhythm of life again. Shop with our eyes and hands, not just the fingers. The little shopping adventures to the shop at the corner of the brought small joys that should not be obliterated from our system. New may be wonderful, but old is also gold.