The Laptop Lament

Today is Vishwakarma Puja - the day to worship our tools and weapons. This festival is marked by worshipping the God of Architecture and Engineering, Vishwakarma, by industrial houses, artists, craftsmen, weavers etc. According to mythology, Vishwakarma, the son of Brahma is the one he who created the entire universe as well as the heaven and the earth. Vishwakarma is also credited for creating the missiles used in the mythological era, including the Vajra, the sacred weapon of Lord Indra, from the bones of sage Dadhichi. He is regarded as the architect of ancient cities like Hastinapur, Indraprastha, Dwarka and Sone Ki Lanka.

Being a Computer Engineer, my greatest tool is my computer since all my work revolves around it. My whole world comes to a dead halt when my laptop stops functioning properly. So, I have decided to worship it on this pious occasion by lighting an incense stick nearby (but carefully so that I don’t end up burning its parts J ), putting some petals over it and invoking prayers, all for its long life.

My laptop has troubled me from time immemorial. The most irksome fact is that it used to work fine and fantastic the whole semester but give up at the last moment during the practicals, when I needed it most. As a result I was often forced to borrow my friend’s laptop or their parts during exams. Sometimes it was the OS crashing, the adapter not working, keyboard malfunction or the erratic behavior of touchpad; I have experienced it all!

Despite its unreliability at decisive moments, my affection and devotion for it has never ever diminished, not even a little bit. I still love it from the core of heart and can’t spend a single day in peace without it.

Presently, my laptop has been diagnosed with a very serious disorder. The power jack of my laptop is damaged, perhaps one of the pins holding it onto the motherboard has dislodged from its place, causing to break the solder around it. The sad thing is that it cannot be repaired as a repair would mean replacement of its motherboard which would cost me around 13000 bucks, a little less than the price of a new desktop PC. I have just two options to bank upon, option one, go to a metro city like Delhi or Mumbai, and get the power jack soldered properly in its place (which is not an easy task either) or, two, keep using it as it is and be a witness to the scene when it takes its last breath! (The problem can cause further damage to the laptop.)

As of now, I don’t know what course of action I am going to take, but I really hope and pray that my beloved laptop gets well soon. God bless my lappy. Amen!

Love you dear Dubba J