A New Low

This weekend, for absolutely no fault of mine, I got added to a What’s App group called the ‘UPS Battery Group’. In general, I treat with suspicion any What’s App group that has more than 10 members. These are the sort of groups that start with great fanfare and enthusiasm only to slowly degenerate into a junkyard for inane forwards and tired jokes. This one was different though – from the beginning itself it seemed to have no point to it. It was created out of the blue by someone that nobody knew, and everyone was flummoxed as to why they were added to the group.  However tenuous the link may be, most What’s App groups at least have a basis for formation that is more real – a group of old friends, batch mates from college, a tuition group or even ex-colleagues that used to go for lunch together. But here was one group where no one knew anybody, or had any lingering ties to UPS Batteries.

So all that was happening on the group was people were enquiring as to its purpose, and on not receiving any reply, quitting the group. One person was even polite enough to offer that he was open to being added back to the group if it so emerged that there was a point to it, but until such a stage he would stay out. So yes, everyone was either quitting the group or staying on it simply because they hadn’t found the time to quit the group. The sort of thing any sensible person would do in today’s hectic, fast-paced lifestyle.

But not me.

Why I didn’t quit the group right away, like I usually would, I do not know. Perhaps it was some sort of idle curiosity. I mean, a group for UPS batteries? Sure, people form artificial affiliations around football clubs or music bands or film stars – a What’s App group in their name would not have piqued my curiosity in the least. But what could one possibly discuss about UPS Batteries? Perhaps if it was a group on battery technologies in general, it may have been a little more understandable, although still perplexing (and just a little bit creepy). But something as specific as UPS Batteries? Sure, there may be other specific things, like say, toast, where you can imagine people forming a What’s App group and witnessing active participation and passionate arguments. But UPS batteries? Yes, they take care of voltage fluctuations and sudden power outages and we’re all thankful for that, but what more can you say? It’s like forming a What’s App group on water taps or door handles – move along folks, there’s really nothing to be discussed here.

After a while, though, even the idle curiosity began to die down. Much as I wanted to know the possible talking points around UPS Batteries, there were no answers forthcoming. A few hours later, with everyone still in the dark, I decided to take matters into my own hands and provide some direction to all the lost souls out there. Armed with the good sense that a couple of beers can knock into any respectable citizen, I jumped right in, attempting to make this a What’s App group that was full of lively banter and hectic activity.

And then the unthinkable happened – I got thrown out of the What’s App group! Imagine – getting unceremoniously removed from a What’s App group, of all things! And that too one that everyone was voluntarily leaving anyway. Even for someone without a great track record on social media, this was a new low. I’m sure I’m the first person ever to achieve this dubious distinction – people either leave What’s App groups of their own accord, or stay on simply so that others don’t speculate as to why they left. And I was only getting started – I was all set to initiate a discussion around everyone’s top 5 UPS Battery moments, where UPS Batteries would rank among things you’d rescue if your house was burning down, romantic moments that would’ve been ruined were it not for UPS Batteries, and so on.

In hindsight, I suppose it’s better off to not be part of a What’s App group that lacks a sense of humour and doesn’t allow for dissent. Still, from Groucho Marx proudly proclaiming that he wouldn’t want to be part of any club that would accept him as a member, to me getting thrown out of a What’s App group that NO ONE wanted to be part of – there’s quite a bit of work to be done on the social front!