Whenever I prepare to take a bath, especially a long one during this scorching heat, why does the phone ring? Many a time I thought not to take the call, as it would have been much a problem to me, like anyone else. Whenever I think not to receive it, it has to be that of either the boss, or my friends. And the worst part is that when with a towel in hand, another around my waist, I come out of the bathroom to receive a call the other day, someone ordered me over the phone to send a dozen of slippers to his shop! Patiently I told him that I don’t deal in slippers, or for that matter any kind of shoes — though they are pretty popular these days for throwing at political leaders — he was not ready to agree!
The usual "wrong number" call that we get at our house is quite interesting. "Customer id C1234. How is the supply? Will I get it by next week?" We are bombarded with questions before I could say anything. "The last time, it was bad, as I didn’t expect that your company serviceman would ask for Rs 10 bribe just to deliver it a day in advance. Why don’t you stop sending him? Sack him." Without losing my temper, I tell the lady on the other side of the cradle: "Sorry auntie, it’s not the LPG booking centre."
One such funny incident happened with one of my colleagues, whose cellphone number is almost identical to that of a national low-cost airline. Tired of telling people throughout the day that he does not take any booking for Calcutta-Mumbai sector for Re 1, one night he could not help but informing a gentleman that his early morning flight was late by five hours!
With technology, the telephone has become a problem tool to many of us. We hardly care about one’s privacy, as we don’t think twice to call a person at 6am, thinking everybody loves to see the spectacular sunrise in a polluted city like Calcutta every morning. But I know many a people who don’t use a phone, forget its mobile version, in this small world of today. But I still wonder how do they communicate with people when necessary? Can we live without our cellphones even a single day? Can you?
©Supratim Pal, 2009
