I distinctly remember the day telephone came home for the first time. It made personal contact much easier. My dad, a busy doctor, much to the happiness of his patients, became easily accessible. He was a stickler for time and therefore his movements to the clinic and home were highly predictable making it easy to contact him. We had to take his permission to use it. It would be at a time when he did not expect calls. The duration of conversation had to be brief and to the point - it was a doctor's phone.
There was a method in using the phone. On lifting the receiver, a lady's voice would say "Number please". We would give the number and wait. She would connect us and then say "speak on". We would hear the voice on the other side say "Hello" and start speaking. The whole activity was cordial and pleasurable. Of course, "wrong number" was an interesting offshoot. It sometimes connected us really to the wrong people resulting in unintentional humour. "Where is the masala dosa I asked for an hour ago?" screamed a man. He was not believing it was a wrong number. I had to convince him that the said dosa will arrive in next 30 minutes that he disconnected. Without both parties disconnecting it was not possible to make a fresh call.Sometimes in times of distress, the "Wrong number" would help one to get out of the tight spot.
Many years later the gruff looking black telephone gave way to a cute red set "Indira Priyadarshini" more of a showpiece but well loved. It was not permissible to keep 2 sets in parallel connection. Dad used to sleep upstairs and the phone was in the drawing room downstairs. We had a bell upstairs which would ring along with the phone downstairs and he had to rapidly walk down the staircase within 10 rings at dead of the night to successfully take the call.Trunk calls were a different ball game. One would book a trunk call and wait almost endlessly. It would magically ring when you almost gave up!The conversation had t be really rapid to be over in 3 minutes because then it would be spill over to a second call..
All this changed drastically with the advent of the mobile phones. Ease of communication increased. It was easy to call anybody anytime. Anytime became telephone time. There was an invasion int privacy. Courtsey vanished. No "number please" or "Hello". Conversation started even before the reciever understood what was happening! We learnt to spend minutes and then hours on the phone ignoring important activities.
From a facilitator of communication, phones are becoming a menace. There in less fun and enjoyment in calls particularly when you are otherwise occupied. Calling a girl / boy friend has become easy but avoiding one has become difficult!
No doubt this instrument (mobile phone) is an innovative product. We have innovated even further. We have created a special calling system -"Missed call" at NO COST whatsoever to the user! It gives an indication who is calling. It is sometimes used as a code for an answer( a missed call may mean yes). The million dollar question, however, remains, do we really need such instant connectivity all the time?
There was a method in using the phone. On lifting the receiver, a lady's voice would say "Number please". We would give the number and wait. She would connect us and then say "speak on". We would hear the voice on the other side say "Hello" and start speaking. The whole activity was cordial and pleasurable. Of course, "wrong number" was an interesting offshoot. It sometimes connected us really to the wrong people resulting in unintentional humour. "Where is the masala dosa I asked for an hour ago?" screamed a man. He was not believing it was a wrong number. I had to convince him that the said dosa will arrive in next 30 minutes that he disconnected. Without both parties disconnecting it was not possible to make a fresh call.Sometimes in times of distress, the "Wrong number" would help one to get out of the tight spot.
Many years later the gruff looking black telephone gave way to a cute red set "Indira Priyadarshini" more of a showpiece but well loved. It was not permissible to keep 2 sets in parallel connection. Dad used to sleep upstairs and the phone was in the drawing room downstairs. We had a bell upstairs which would ring along with the phone downstairs and he had to rapidly walk down the staircase within 10 rings at dead of the night to successfully take the call.Trunk calls were a different ball game. One would book a trunk call and wait almost endlessly. It would magically ring when you almost gave up!The conversation had t be really rapid to be over in 3 minutes because then it would be spill over to a second call..
All this changed drastically with the advent of the mobile phones. Ease of communication increased. It was easy to call anybody anytime. Anytime became telephone time. There was an invasion int privacy. Courtsey vanished. No "number please" or "Hello". Conversation started even before the reciever understood what was happening! We learnt to spend minutes and then hours on the phone ignoring important activities.
From a facilitator of communication, phones are becoming a menace. There in less fun and enjoyment in calls particularly when you are otherwise occupied. Calling a girl / boy friend has become easy but avoiding one has become difficult!
No doubt this instrument (mobile phone) is an innovative product. We have innovated even further. We have created a special calling system -"Missed call" at NO COST whatsoever to the user! It gives an indication who is calling. It is sometimes used as a code for an answer( a missed call may mean yes). The million dollar question, however, remains, do we really need such instant connectivity all the time?
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