When I blinked like a fused robot

Robots fascinate me.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith, Shah Rukh Khan, Rajnikant…many top stars have acted in films depicting robots.

Decades ago, talking about machines when there was no television or computer at home, a Tamil film song went on like, “If we press a button, Idlis (south Indian dish) and coffee should reach us in a plate.” (Button-ai thatti vitaa rendu thattile idliyum kaappi namma pakkaththile vandhidanam).

Now, robots perform amazing deeds. NYT reported that the most valuable part of each computer, a motherboard loaded with microprocessors and memory, is largely made with robots.

Robots are used for critical surgeries. They don the roles of a personal assistant, traffic assistant, gift wrapper, receptionist or a worker of an automotive manufacturing line.  There are home robots that make salads and clean dishes.

When I mentioned all this to my colleague, she looked puzzled for a minute and then asked, “All’s well. But don’t you think we are now becoming robots and they are taking our role?”
I blinked like a fused robot.

Talking about robots, I remember a joke:

A robot displayed at a mall hugged those who told the truth, but slapped anyone who uttered a lie.

The first visitor shook its hand and said, “You are cute.” The robot hugged the guy.

The second person said, “My wife loves me the most.” He got a blow.

Then came Banta Singh. “I think…” he started.  Phattt… came the slap.