Aug 02, 2004 02:49 PM
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(Updated Aug 02, 2004 02:51 PM)
?You b&*^$#, why are you doing this?!?, an angry male voice growled, as I hastily awoke from my afternoon snooze in the rattling local train, I saw a burly menacing guy spattering out the choicest expletives. For all practical purposes, it looked as though the gentleman was addressing me. As I scampered about trying to collect my wits and my spectacles, the invectives continued relentlessly. It was only after my eye-piece attained its proper arrangement that I let a huge sigh of relief ? the onslaught was not directed towards me.
The kind chappy had a contraption emerging out of his ear-socket and a wire almost invisibly snaking its way to his shirt pocket. That was the first time I learnt about the ?headphone cellphone? ? if there is a term like that. After this rather creepy experience, I got to see many pedestrians doing the walkie-talkie. While the first few days onlookers may have mistaken such characters as asylum runaways, gradually these antics came to accepted within the realm of normal human behavior.
The first cellphones were spotted on the streets of Mumbai sometime in the year 1995 and the astonishing tariffs ensured that only the super rich or the super indulgent could get pampered by this extravagance. Though I was mystiqued by the cellphone?s ability to provide access anywhere anyplace anytime, I stubbornly resisted any pressures to acquire the gizmo. Being a desk-job ridden middle management officer in a Public sector organization too did not help matters.
The turning point was when my daughter stepped into college. By the end of the first week, she had already put in a quiet word with her mother. Could she have a cellphone? That?s why, I thundered to my wife, I didn?t want to enroll her into one of those swanky South Mumbai colleges! All that they consist are spoilt brats of super rich businessmen who go off to a pub everyday, wear the latest skimpy outfit and sport the trendiest of accessories! This is going to make my poor daughter get a complex!!! Blah, blah?.
When the demands started to increase, I went on and on about the high acquisition cost of the handset (I was politely informed of the latest low prices ? I hadn?t really kept track of the market trends) as well as the running costs of the service provider. When this did not seem to have much effect, I told her that this would mean spending too much time on the phone and not concentrating on studies. Finally, I gave her some dope I had read about the cell being a health hazard due to the dangerous radiations it emits. That seemed to do the trick!
It was a year ago when I had taken a day off with some Privilege leave balance. Wife decided to book tickets to the latest family blockbuster. Since my daughter no longer watches movies with us, it was left only to me and my wife to make most of the afternoon outing. The two of us landed at the multiplex and sat in out allotted seats. Suddenly, my wife remembered something important to be conveyed to our neighbour. Before the movie started, we came out of the hall and looked around the multiplex for a public phone booth. There wasn?t any!!! After a futile search, we reached the booking office and my wife requested the security person if she could make a phone call.
What happened then changed my views on acquiring a cellphone. The security guard led my wife in and told the booking clerk, ?Madam?s cellphone battery is low so she wants to make a phone call?. The clerk agreed and the job was done! But the words of the security guard kept ringing in my ears. We hadn?t said anything about a cellphone, leave alone its battery. But he on his own had made up this story so that the situation looked convincing.
The very next day, I went and bought a new cellphone! Now I know all about downloading the latest ringtones, sending SMSs, broadcasting jokes, playing games, setting alarms, and rejecting unwanted calls. Now my wife can call me up on my way home and tell me what to get from the vegetable market. My daughter can now call up and ask me to pick her up on the way.
Yes, I am also paying Rs.350 per month for my pre-paid service. And I am also now exposed to radiations which will increase my risk to cancer and brain haemorrhage. But one has to move on with the world and that I have done.
Last week, my used cell phone was gifted to my daughter and I have got a new contraption this time? a MMS phone!
