World’s eldest YouTuber?

In response to my post in Desicritic – You’re never too old to blog – Eric Shackle, 88, writes about the oldest YouTuber, Olive Riley, 107, who lives in Woy Woy, 50 miles from Sydney. Olive blogs as well. But then she calls it ‘blob’. Which makes her, not just the oldest, but, presumably, the world’s first and the only blober.

I mention this for the record, in view of ambiguity, raised during this 10th anniversary year of blogs, about who the world’s first blogger really was. A decade from now, when the world celebrates a decade of ‘blob-ing’, the world’s first blober issue could be settled by referring to Eric’s comment and this post. Incidentally, would anyone have a clue to when the first e-mail was sent, by who, to whom.

Eric (don’t feel comfortable addressing him as Mr Shackle), who liberated so many senior citizens from ‘computer-phobia’ and encouraged them to browse, blog and otherwise explore the Internet, writes that Sydney was the British colonial capital of the New South Wales when Ms Riley was born (1899). Describing her as physically frail but mentally alert, Eric informs us that the grand old lady of blogosphere who survived two World Wars, the Great Depression (1930), had seen life as a barmaid, egg-sorter and a station cook.

What’s refreshing is Ms Riley can recall her early out-of-this-world days. Reading her you realize that there are things that don’t change with time – such as one’s school day escapades. Olive YouTubed how she was teased at school because of her surname (Dangerfield) and how, in frustration, she landed a low that laid her tormentor flat. Doesn’t this prompt us to reach for Olive’s blob?

Must mention here a paragraph on Mr Eric Shackle. A retired Sydney journalist (do they ever do?) this 88-year-old lists as hobby, Internet searches and writing on them. Does a column for senior citizens in webzines and copy-edits A-Word-a-Day newsletter for India-born Seattle-based word-lover Anu Garg.

An update on the Mysore commune initiative

An earlier post in Jan. on Prem Subramaniam’s ongoing efforts to develop a river bank commune near Mysore evoked following enquiries:

“…yearning for a settlement as described by you. Please count us in it and any updates on this would be highly appreciated”, wrote a Bangalore-based couple.

“…a great move. can you keep us updated on the legal transaction nuances.”

Prem, “still waiting to live my dream”, is hopeful of relocating himself in his dream setting, near Srirangapatnam, by the end of next year. Here is an update he e-mailed:

The current status on my plans to relocate to a non-urban environment in the vicinity of Mysore is that the final step in the alienation of the land is still awaited. The site comes under Mandya. Agricultural Land in Karnataka cannot be bought by anyone who does not already own agricultural land elsewhere and whose gross family income from non-agricultural sources exceeds Rs 2 lakhs a year.

People circumvent this rule. I did not want to take this risk. So an application has to be made to convert the land for residential use. This process was supposed to take about 4 months. It takes longer, as inevitably all the documents required take time to collate. The documents have to be forwarded in a lengthy process and final sanction wrests with the DC. The earlier DC fell ill and his replacement has not looked at documents relating to alienation of our site for over 2 months.So there has been no progress for over 4 months now.

Meanwhile I have finalised designs for built-up space with help from Bangalore based Chitra Vishwanath, a staunch advocate of environment-friendly buildings. There are many practitioners in Karnataka, Kerala,Pondicherry,Delhi and Mysore too, but the challenge is to have a seamless extension with the contractor chosen to execute the work. Through the offices of Chitra Vishwanath I have identified someone in Mysore.

I also have had an engineering company from Bangalore to do a report on the feasibility of setting up a micro-hydel, but since we are on the River Kaveri , I am not sure if it will be easy to obtain permissions, even though this exercise could create an alternate source of power for the village community.

I have used the time that has lapsed to visit organic farms in Karnataka, tourist attractions and do background work to establish contact with people with the kind of skill sets that I feel I will need to rely on. I have travelled by train,car,local buses and this has helped overcome the frustration of not being able to move on my project.

I have looked at an interesting model of a retirement community in Gujerat where some NRIs have taken 12 acres of land about 80 km from Ahmedabad,40 km from Baroda, and 4 km from Anand.They are in the process of building 100 one-bedroom cottages supported by about 20000 sq ft of common facilities.They accept only those over 60 and are offering the cottages on lease for 10 years with a reasonable deposit and a monthly outflow towards meals,maintnenance,electricity etc.

I am told that a similar variation is on offer by Classic who have the Kudumbam project near Chennai. There are variations to the theme in Coimbatore too. In Uttaranchal Anil Nayyar,formerly of Airtel, is setting up a residential Knowledge centre.

My own sentiment is not to relegate older people to a commune. It is meant to be a place for those who do not need to be on a 9 to 5 regime. So could include those in part-time jobs, those who can work out of home, those who may need to go to an office once in while and not on a daily basis. It should be an place which can provide a nourishing environment to at least three generations of people.Where grandchildren could come and spend time with their grandparents if the parents do not have time.Where the skills of the elders is available for a variety of purposes. I see value in offering an alternate tourism experience.

In the ideal world I would like to see about 4 to 5 sites of the kind I have envisaged within a 100 km radius and perhaps have these replicated in other regions of Karnataka.

The learning experience from attempting to convert agricultural land is that it maybe simpler to buy plantation land in Coorg, Chikmagalur or similar or look for similar terrain in Tamil Nadu. However these will be a little remoter and may not suit all.

There has been expressions of interest on what I am attempting to do and I have therefore initiated dialogue with someone in Coorg to acquire a 3 acre site about 8 km from kushalnagar.It is just 0.5 km from the Kaveri and amidst coffee plantations. Close to Bylakuppe,Dubare Elelphant Camp. If this works out I can include those interested in the development of this site for creating a commune.

Alternatively, if there are individuals with sites which are suitable, we can think of collaborating. I have to emphasize that I am not driven by commercial interests as much as making my concept work and share the knowledge so that an alternate quality of life is available for those seeking it. Underlying the work is the 4 cardinal principles of consumer satisfaction, commercial viability, benefit to local economy and engagement of local communities ,and long term sustainability.

Still waiting to live my dream!

Related posts: Dreams of a commune on the Cauvery bank
More on the Mysore commune initiative

You're never too old to blog

Elderly folk generally stay away from the computer, saying they can't get a hang of it and that it is too late to try. And lack of awareness of potentials of the web, even among younger middle-class parents, accounts for a low PC density. In Mysore, they say, there are no more than 5,000 broadband connections. People who ought to know better associate a computer and the Internet with video games and porn.

Most people over 65 have faith in the printed word. They don't care for what appears on the web, according a survey done by Hariharan Balakrishnan. In The Hindu write-up he says respondents to the survey included professors, padma bhushans and even Jnanpith awardees. It is not that they don't have computer at home. Nor do they lack computer-savvy children and grand-children. Balakrishnan says 95 percent of those who responded said they were 'computer-illiterate'. Apparently, they chose not to do anything about it. How many of the uninformed elders have taken initiative to seek guidance from their youngsters, asks Balakrishnan, adding that not many computer-savvy youngsters have been enthusiastic enough to educate their parents.

Wider computer usage, notably by senior citizens who have perceptible presence among NGOs, could change the way we address public issues. Those in Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) believe in morchas, and in old-fashioned petitions , signed and secured through written official acknowledgment by the departmental dispatch clerk; and they then complain that officials rarely give them a hearing or read their petitions. Tell them about putting their case online, and skeptical elders in MGP would retort, "but who reads your web?". A fair question; and an effective way of saying 'no' to change. Maybe, the word on the web may go unread by officials; but it is there online for anyone to see, anytime.

An MGP convener Dr Bhamy V Shenoy says their NGO is 18 years old with over "700 members on paper". It takes up civic issues, and in Dr Shenoy's words, "has served Mysore over the years often silently and sometimes through the press". Didn't I say they have faith in the printed word? Anyway, Dr Shenoy reckons MGP has failed to develop the way it should have because "of lethargy and indifference of the people". Ironically, Dr Shenoy made these observations in an online discussion forum.

A bunch of web enthusiasts in Bangalore have announced a citizens civic network site for Mysore that seeks to synergize with, not supplant, the work of MGP, other NGOs and also public spirited individuals who wish to be heard. Skeptics, of whom there are many to be found in any city, ask if we need yet another NGO. Efficacy of PrajaMysore would depend on the strength of its online members. Success of any online network calls for wider public awareness of computer usage.

Balakrishnan refers to the initiative of an 88-year old Sydey-based web enthusiast Eric Shackle to persuade senior citizens the world over to overcome their fears of computer. There is a world of information out there; life's experiences of a multitude waiting to be discovered through a computer. Eric calls it 'the magic carpet of the Internet' that anyone can hop on, without giving up the comforts of one's study room at home.

Eric has put down his thoughts in a web-book aptly titled, Life Begins at 80. As an Australian radio interviewer put it, Eric who led a busy life as journalist and PR man found it all coming to a dead stop on his retirement - "to go cold turkey after retiring can cause psychological problems; and Eric dealt with them by discovering a new world - the world of the web". Eric, now 88, was 79 when he got his first computer; 81, when he set up a website with a friend in South Africa.

Which reminds of a blog-to-blog chat(B2B) with my friend T R Kini. We are both 65 plus (I'm 69). We lost touch in the late sixties, and the web helped us re-discovered each other, after four decades, when we chose to trade nostalgia about our time together in London in the sixties. The B2B morphed into an eminently readable travelogue in which Kini recalls his hitch-hike from Delhi to London.

First published in Desicritic