Rana Bhaumik made Digital India logo, but ATMs baffle mom

KOLKATA: Rana Bhaumik, 32, and his 63-year-old mother, Manju, are on opposite sides of the digital divide that has been in focus ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his demonetisation drive a month ago.

Rana is tech-savvy and at ease with the use of plastic money. He is also the man who designed the ' Digital India' logo last year.

Manju, a widow, can't remember when she last visited a bank. Her modest one-storey house at Hridaypur, near Barasat, where she lives alone, has a computer, but Manju has never switched it on. She has never used an ATM card, and is clueless about online banking. So far, it didn't matter because Rana, who is based in Delhi, sent her enough money every month through a friend. Today, both mother and son are grappling with the cash-crunch crisis precipitated by demonetisation.

"Since last month, Rana has been able to send just Rs 5,000. I have run out of cash and am surviving on groceries and vegetables bought on credit. I hope Rana is able to send me some money soon," Manju said.

In Delhi, her son is yet to think of a way to do so. "Every month I transfer the money to a friend's account and he passes on the cash to my mother. But with everyone finding it difficult to collect enough cash, I was hesitant to send more than Rs 5,000. It isn't enough and I don't know how I can send more since my mother has neither operated her account nor used an ATM card ever," said Rana.

Even the Rs 5,000 that Rana's friend passed on to his mother posed a problem initially — Rs 4,000 was in two bills of Rs 2,000, and change was hard to come by until a few neighbours and a local grocer offered help. "But over the last three weeks I have used up the money," said Manju.

Manju might have withdrawn money from the bank but waiting in a queue is not an option for the sexagenarian. The differences in the two generations' approach towards technology and its new manifestations are further laid bare by the fact that Manju doesn't know that her son created the logo for one of the central government's flagship initiatives. "He got an award last year. I am not sure why," she added.

But Manju isn't very keen to bridge the digital divide. She would rather move to Delhi to live with her son than go through the hassle. "At this age, I don't think I can do it. I would be too shaky and might mess it up," she said. Digital literacy is indeed very poor across the nation, Rana said. "Even in Delhi, the elderly are reluctant to use digital alternatives. We still have a long way to go," he added.

For now, he has asked his mother to be very judicious with cash. "I can't travel to Kolkata right now. I will have to transfer money to my friend's account again. But I can't pressure him to withdraw the cash and hand it over to my mother immediately," he said.