Why Aakash is great for Indian students…

Expunge from your mind what I wrote yesterday about Aakash or the UbiSlate 7,  the Rs 2500 tablet which many hailed as the best thing since sliced bread. Those were words written by a tech reviewer looking at a gadget, totally missing out on its spiritual side. Yes, Aakash is not a perfect device, but I think it will be great for Indian students, because it is capable of delivering far more than a slice of economically accessible technology. In fact, all students should be given an Aakash tablet because it will not just give them to the Internet, but also strengthen their value system. No, I am not raving. An Aakash tablet can teach Indian students the following lessons:

1. The importance of patience. Believe me, using the Aakash with its lags and stutters will enrich your reservoirs of patience substantially.
2. The ability to use just about any tech product. If you can get used to working on the Aakash, no tech product will ever be a challenge to you.
3. The importance of electricity. Far too many people take electricity for granted, but with an Aakash tablet, they will be running to recharge it two to three times a day, thus reminding them of the importance of electricity.
4. The importance of teachers. From what we have seen, Aakash is going to reinforce the role of teachers in our education system – students are unlikely to get too much from the tab, so they will hark back to their teachers for advice and information, strengthening India’s traditional guru-shishya parampara.
5. The importance of giving and sharing. Students will discover the joy of giving once they have used the Aakash tablet for a while – they will feel like handing it over to someone else.
6. The importance of user interface. Yes, the Aakash tablet is a much better example of the importance of the UI in a device than Apple’s iPad is. The latter is too intuitive and easy to use by half.
7. The ability to face challenges.  How much can you do in two and a half hours of battery life? Where is the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot? What do you do when the tablet’s USB port does not recognise the device plugged into it? How to type on a resistive screen effectively? What to do with the camera icon on a tablet that does not have a camera?- these are just some of the challenges an Aakash user will face on a daily basis. Needless to say, they will be better-equipped to face life’s challenges after that!
8. The importance of being satisfied with what one has. No, it does work as smoothly as other tablets. Yes, its battery and display are on the ordinary side. Yes, it can be a pain to use. But so what? Nothing is perfect. Tedha hai par mera hai, as the Kurkure ad goes.
9. The importance of outdoor sports. With that display and that touch experience, there is no chance that our students will be turned into digital game-loving couch potatoes. All of which should lead to us becoming a sporting super power.
10. An understanding of what value for money means. Hint: it does NOT always mean “low price tag.”

So, my advice to all those seriously considering buying an Aakash tablet – go right ahead and do it. It will be spiritually elevating, albeit a tad depressing technologically. Well, you cannot get EVERYTHING in Rs 2,500, as Aakash supporters keep pointing out. Or to use an Indian phrase: “Itne mein toh itna hi milega.”