While we count the steps and watch the calories and have sleep monitored and heart checked technology is definitely being put to good use.

One of the class projects my students did was a smart dustbin which they said could help us achieve the goal of ‘Swachh Bharat’, looks like a far cry to me, but there is no harm in trying.

But with such dependency on technology I wonder why some things don’t make their way to reality?

Is it because they lack commercial value?

Well,I don’t have much of an idea why these don’t exist, I mean, in places that I frequent or stay in, especially in the tech-capital of India!

But here are a few things I wish would make it to reality:

• Bill boards depicting levels of air pollution

Instead of the funny innocuous faces that adorn the bridges and the walls of every nook and corner, I wish there were bill boards pointing to the quality of air we breathe.

Maybe that would enthuse some of us to look for alternative mode of transport or may be think twice before we randomly dump waste.

• Smart readings of water tables in every colony

Shouldn’t these be there already ? I mean, won’t information boards make us more alert about rain water harvesting and saving our lakes and rivers?

• List of councilors displayed prominently for easy contact

Well, we need someone to blame and who better than the fools/’leaders’ we elected into positions of power?

• Locations of parks or public spaces like libraries

Would this help us to use the public spaces more responsibly, not sure, worth a try though!

• Health status of public infrastructure like bridges, fly overs etc.

I mean, isn’t it important to know when a fly over came up and what has been the maintenance done so far? Or how old is the district hospital and what is its infrastructure or how many government schools are there in an area and what is their status or even the number of public utilities in any place?

• Government income vs expenditure

I find the toll tax booths very interesting. How do they earn in a day? What happens to the earnings? Does it like go on for ever like the ones on the Bangalore Airport road? Who keeps the money? Would love to know that!

• A tree count , a bird count and so on

How many trees are there in the colony or municipality or town? Are there sacred groves around? What is the status of the trees? What birds frequent this place? How can they be taken care of ?Can some data on this be visible in public places?

• A distress booth for all men and all animals

Can we have a distress booth for anyone to walk in to seek help, ok, not a confession booth! Just to have someone give guidance to help resolve the matter.Dedicated social welfare workers could address the issues or at least lend an ear to the grievance. Or maybe a huge punching bag can be installed for us to vent our anger in peace! How about that?!

Maybe I sound stupid or maybe some of these are already in existence or may be I am alive in an ancient time?!

Yeah! May be that is the case!

PS: Man, machines and more