Bridges of Time: Navigating Life through Revisits and Resets

It was just another ordinary day, yet it became a captivating conversation with my daughter. A simple outing became a small girl’s day filled with intriguing discussions. As we awaited our order at a local eatery, my daughter asked, “If you could have one superpower, what would it be?”

After contemplating, I shared, “I would love the ability to read people’s minds. What about you? Wouldn’t that be something you’d want?”

To my surprise, she promptly replied, “No.”

Perplexed, I inquired, “Why not, darling?” Her response left me in awe.

“Mom, knowing what’s in people’s minds opens us to the risk of getting hurt. Some genuinely like or dislike us, while others wear a facade—being outwardly nice while harboring mean intentions. We prefer the pleasant things, don’t we? Learning about the not-so-nice thoughts could shatter our hearts into a million pieces. So, having the power to know minds isn’t a wish-worthy superpower.”

Her profound explanation never ceases to amaze me. Kids possess an innate ability to simplify the complex, resetting the default settings of an adult brain to broader perspectives. Intrigued, I asked about her ideal superpower, and she effortlessly listed: “Being invisible, flying, freezing time”—inspired by on-screen fantasies.

In our conversation, she unveiled a unique perspective on freezing time: the power to revisit the past and reset things for a better future. If one fell short in exam preparation, freezing time would allow them to study, ace the exam, and voila!

Contemplating this notion, I wondered about my life with such a superpower. As enticing as it seemed, a major glitch surfaced—what if the consequences weren’t to my liking? Would I revert to where I started? What guarantees existed for success? The prospect of being stuck in an infinite loop was daunting.

Is this not a precarious situation? Or does revisiting and resetting hold a different connotation? The cliché that “you can’t change the past, and you don’t know the future; all you have is your present” has been beaten to death. Yet, we persist in walking on a shaky bridge of guilt and regret built on the debris of our present, commuting between the past and future—a bridge that leads to nowhere, freezing time in our conscience while moments slip through our fingers.

Should we burn down this bridge? Erase every page from the past? Imagining my daughter’s response, I envisioned her saying, “Why not build a stronger bridge? Make corrections because tearing away pages is not right, right?”

Unless afflicted by amnesia, we can’t alienate ourselves from the past. Our visitation should be a journey of learning, not an endless dwelling. Guilt and regret are not fixed deposits; nursing them is catastrophic. To have them is natural; to deal with them is healing.

Returning to the superpower of freezing time, a new perspective emerges. In this universe, mental and psychological time travel is possible. Revisiting the past is for observation; resetting is for making things right, just like correcting mistakes in a dictation.

Talking about guilt, regrets, revisiting, and resetting, I remember a recent event in my life that shook me to the core—I lost a close cousin. The sudden news came like a blow, puncturing the bubble of constant busyness I had enveloped myself in. This unexpected push forced me to stumble into the deep, dark pits of guilt – “Why didn’t I contact him for so long?” The pain of regret in my heart was too heavy as the moments we shared as kids rallied in front of my eyes. I certainly cannot undo what has happened; the question is what to do now to deal with the immense pain I am reeling in. To regret and forget or to change my ways, keep in touch with my loved ones, and remember?

As we navigate the intricate landscape of our lives, this poignant event reinforces the urgency to build a better bridge—one fortified with resilience, positivity, and the wisdom to make corrections. The past may be immutable, but our approach defines our present and shapes our future. Embrace the power to revisit, reset, and construct a bridge that propels us forward with strength and purpose.

A pivot in the payment system

It was the year 2016 when India introduced UPI payments. The United payment interface paved the way for an immaculate methodology of transferring money fearlessly across the nation. We all know that the progress India has made in this area of digital payments has led to a transformation worldwide, mainly because of two very impactful reasons. One, the scale at which the Indian banking sector has made this successful, and second, the ease and the reach of the payment system itself.

The story of how UPI came into existence is rather intriguing. The work behind the scenes for the digital payment interface rather started much earlier than 2016. It was in 2012 when RBI published its paper on its vision for payment system in India, “Payment Systems in India: Vision 2012-15”. The areas of interest mentioned in the paper are those we all know about – accessibility, acceptability, affordability, etc.

Later in 2013, the work to establish such a network started in the background. 12 banks volunteered to be part of it. The target was to bridge the gap across various banks with a simple-to-use mechanism that does not take time to adapt. A decade earlier hardly anyone knew about QR codes or thought mobile numbers were enough to transfer funds. All of this was possible because of relentless efforts put into making the UPI payment system to be effective in both urban and rural areas alike.

The next challenge is the language of the interface. Translations are common in mobile apps, but not everyone in rural areas can read and write. That is when a simple yet effective idea of adding speakers came in. The speaker can be configured to translate the transaction into the user’s preferred language. This simple idea has changed the acceptance rate in rural areas. Nowadays we just see digital payments in every nook and corner of India.

This change in India’s payment system was a game-changer for many. From small businesses to huge conglomerates everyone accepted it. The first trial run for the payments was by Reliance outlets where 200 UPI interfaces were installed in the span of 3 days across Mumbai. India never looked back after that. Now, every transaction is accounted for. Every rupee we spend is accounted for. Every Indian feels empowered.

This was possible only because someone thought of disrupting the idea of paying by cash altogether, that too in a massive nation like India where millions of transactions happen in a day. A variety of businesses bloomed only because of the ease of payments via UPI. Otherwise, in earlier days, one had to add the account number, wait for some time, and could transfer only a limited amount on the first day. Carrying cash was risky. We have left behind all that. UPI has transformed the retail payment structure in India.

Let me tell you what I feel when I travel outside of India. I feel we have progressed by a huge leap. The pride of being a citizen of the country that introduced UPI brings a smile. We as Indians have changed how we think about money transactions in general. We created an ecosystem for fintech players and the global economic footprint must follow it. India and the people of India have hit the reset button of our economic progress.

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

R. Buckminster Fuller

The comfort of a “conversation”

I am smiling to myself right now because I am back from probably what was the best 2 hours spent with someone who I’ve had a wonderful time with…a time when the food you ordered and the people around you didn’t matter – what was in focus was just you and the other person, so content in each other’s company – talking, laughing and just being happy in the other person’s presence. I haven’t felt like that in the longest time.  

BLISS!

“Conversation is food for the soul”

We often do not give ourselves and the people around us enough credit, when they come up to us to initiate a conversation, which may or may not lead to better times ahead. In a world where phones have taken center stage in between meals, conversations have often been left to exchanging pleasantries rather than the deep and meaningful stories that people have to share about themselves and life in general. It isn’t that people do not want to share, it is more the fear of being judged, so when two or more people come together for the sole purpose of being themselves and in the process of having fun along the way – that is where true stories and soulful conversations happen, and in all probability it would be the one time that your heart works faster than your brain, some use alcohol to induce the feeling, for others it comes out naturally.

The sheer art of talking and sharing your day or simply a part of your life that is closest to your heart with another soul is the best feeling ever, however, on the flip side, not everyone is cut out to openly express themselves. It takes the right company, situation, and sometimes even a particular topic to get people to have their say. There was a time in my life, when I actually wrote down various topics on a little piece of paper, tucked away into my pant pocket to keep conversations going, well… we all have different ways of learning, don’t we? – this was mine. Today, I might not need prompts to get me going, perhaps the right company and a suitable setting to set rolling good times ahead, but to find these hidden gems is a whole challenge by itself.

People might have actually forgotten what it is like to have a heart-to-heart conversation

Talking to a friend over lunch with your phone on the table and a distraction with every WhatsApp notification ring is a common occurrence nowadays. It might be a challenge to actually keep a conversation going without frequent interruptions, which may not be the healthiest recipe for a get-together. We can, of course, understand that there will always be certain things we could keep in mind to make a 1-1 special, a few of those points come to mind;

It cannot be more emphasized that being in the moment is by far the most important of all, no matter what you’ve left behind to have this meeting with the other person – your focus, attention, and energy should be channeled to this person. Let go of your gadgets, no multitasking – it is as simple as that. Put down anything else and face the person you are talking to. Talking is all about exchanging ideas and experiences. You need to remember each experience is unique Never try to equate that your experience is the same as theirs – IT IS clearly NOT. No two individuals nor events can ever be the same. There’s a limit to the MeToo moments two people can actually have. It makes you look really stupid and moreover, it is an absolute conversation killer. There’s a reason you have a conversation with someone, so when two alike people come together, have that child-like sense of wonder while communicating, facial expressions, smiles, laughter, the whole package. Enjoy the moment, and talk to the other person to be amazed. Let your curiosity ask more about their story. Exchange stories and end up making new ones together, and lastly, Allow ideas to come into your mind and speak them out. Keep it spontaneous. But always remember that respect is a two-way street. Pauses work great, they keep the listener glued to what you have to say next… but of course, pause in the right places in a sentence.

---

Well, like everything in life, there will always be limitations. It takes effort to keep a conversation going, more so when you aren’t in the mood for one in particular, or it is someone who you don’t really fancy – at such times, pleasantries and small talk could do wonders. What hurts the most, of course, is when conversations die a natural death. Oh! how sad a situation would that be. We’re probably very close, but we all hope that it doesn’t take away the power of the spoken word, for listening to people speak and replying to them, is by far the most spontaneous activity that people indulge in nowadays.

The emphasis on being in the moment, avoiding distractions, and truly listening to the other person is a valuable reminder in a world often dominated by technology and constant notifications.