Twenty- five Seven

Mobile woes

July 11, 2013

I was the last person in my house to get a mobile phone simply because Ivalue my space and love being incommunicado. It suited me just fine that I couldn’t be contacted all the time. However, it wasn’t long before I had to succumb to the pressure of being available at the other end of the line especially when everyone was using travel time to catch up on gossip, news and information via the cordless, wireless and completely mobile phone. So I chose the cheapest model my argument being that completely lacking the envy factor it would never be stolen. Within days, the evil eye cast its gaze on it and the screen developed a crack making the phone even less desirable. I was happy with this phone for several years till finally I found that the replacement battery was not made any more since the model was long since phased out…. This time round there were several cast off models lying at home so I picked one of them up and used it till it died a natural death. Thus for the past several years, I have been connected albeit with a basic phone. This suited me fine as I had absolutely no use for any of the fancy features: the ear phones didn’t stick in my ears so I couldn’t listen to the radio; the screen was so small that taking photos was pointless; I had no business to conduct so I didn’t need to email anyone or calculate numbers or maintain a schedule of “things to do”. Thus I was one of the few people who used a mobile phone purely for what it was meant to be used for primarily – call someone in an emergency.

But all that changed when Wow Dinga came into my life. Suddenly I realised that I should be one of those hip grannies who whipped out a smart phone and proudly showed off pictures of their grandchildren. I actually took a photo of ” the new man in my life” and proudly showed him off to my friends only to meet with their incredulous cries of ” Oh My God! Just look at that!” If you thought they were referring to Wow Dinga, you’ve got that wrong. They were referring to my mobile phone which was all of two years old ( at least in my possession). While it didn’t bother me too much, it completely offended Hubby Dear who was personally affronted by this reaction to my phone. So he took it upon himself to personally get me a suitable phone.

Last Saturday he and Anna Shetty went out in the rain and came back with a Samsung Galaxy Young a sleek, smart phone that did it all without being so large that it covered my face. Since then I’ve been trying to figure out how it works. I realised that apart from getting slimmer and slicker, the phones also come without old fashioned manuals. I had no option but to let Anna Shetty take the lead in deciphering how to get my phone working. In between feeds she transferred some numbers from my old phone onto the new and then left me to my own devices to decipher the various icons, functions and movements.

The first time I got an incoming call I didn’t know how to answer it so I preferred to disconnect and call back.That was after I figured out that the strange ring tone was coming from my phone! But what I really find hard to come to terms with is the size of the keys on the touch screen. They are so tiny and close together that I often have to press several times before I get the right letter. Perhaps I will have to lose weight so that my fingers are slim enough to hit the right key or then file a nail to a point so that I make no mistake!

p.s. I was so disheartened with my “progress” or rather lack of it that I indulged in my next favourite activity net surfing and came upon this blog……….

.http://babafoodananda.blogspot.in/2013/07/embarrassingly-easy-nutella-coffee.html

This is one dessert I’m definitely going to try.
When nothing means everything

July 6, 2013

‘When you say nothing at all…’

I’ll be back soon, I promise, I tell you while leaving.
We’ll go for a walk.
And you wait all the day
But I come home :
You bound up with a warm licky welcome
And bring me your leash
As I flop in the chair and say
Not now sweetie, I’m tired.
You put your head in my lap and say nothing at all.

Let’s go for a movie, I tell you one morning
The Return of the Dragon
You wanted to see it. Remember?
Its playing at the Inox and PVR too
The 6.30 show .
And if you like later, we can pick up a bite
At the Chinese next door.
You nod absent mindedly your head in the paper
And say nothing at all.

You wake up each morning
And wriggle and wiggle
Stretching up and squirming
With warm wake up sounds
Your arms outstretched upwards
Yours toes gently curling
Your whole body smiles as
You say nothing at all

You come up behind me
So stealthily, quietly
In the middle of the day.
And give me a hug
A squeeze and a cuddle

I feel your love deeply
Though you say nothing at all.

That vase on the side board
The old one from China
Which has been in your family for hundreds of years
I’m sorry it’s crashed into millions of pieces
While dusting the house this morning I fear.
Though you look heartbroken and possibly shattered
You turn away slowly, shrugging your shoulders
Saying nothing at all.

There are times when you’re happy
Excited or frightened
Anxious and sad
Or just plain depressed.
Moments of anger,
Delirious with joy
You share with me
Silently, soundlessly, quietly
Your eyes locked with mine
Saying nothing at all.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda
Monkey in the market – A tale from Bhaji Gulley

July 6, 2013

Bhaji Gully, a narrow street leading out of Grant Road station has long lost its real name amid the numerous vegetable sellers that have squatted outside the shops lining the street. With tomatoes and onions spilling onto the street and jharoos and dusters waving in your face, you often forget that there are shops behind that milling mess. Last week, for instance, I was shocked to discover a quaint little cake shop behind the yams and the pumpkins. I went inside hesitantly and even more tentatively bought some cake to find that it was the best cake ever!!! And can you believe that I walked past this place sometimes twice a day for the last thirty years and was not even aware that such a place existed???? Needless to say, I’ve been back with alarming regularity with the excuse that now I need to find out which cake is best……….

From seven in the morning till late at night, this place is busy every day of the week except for Sunday evenings. The slow crawl in the mornings when the shopkeepers are busy getting their stalls ready turns to a steady stream of housewives and college students who use this street to access the tuition classes at the other end of the street. Finally at around 6.30 in the evenings when the trains empty out hundreds of commuters, there is a shoulder to shoulder crowd with shoppers stopping by to pick up their daily requirements.

Most of the shopkeepers know me now and I often call them up to have things home delivered. But from time to time I like to go to the market to get a feel of the pulse of things . So this morning I went to the market and walked up to my regular vendor. While he was busy scribbling my order, I could feel he was distracted and sure enough, I found him looking distinctly over my shoulder. Miffed at his attitude, I was about to ask him what had so distracted him when I found that everyone around me was looking up. I turned around and found nothing amiss so I asked him what everyone was staring at.

” A monkey”, he replied with a straight face, waiting for the next item on my list.

Sure enough, when I looked to where he pointed, I saw this scrawny little baby monkey, quivering in the gentle rain, waiting forlornly on an awning , not knowing what to do next. Everybody kept following his movements and suddenly there was a big commotion as the monkey jumped off the building and onto the street! All the street urchins who normally volunteer to carry your bags began chasing the little fellow while the crows began cawing raucously overhead.

Before either of them could get to the monkey, he stepped into the Udipi restaurant round the corner ! I wonder if he got a cup or tea or was turned away instead.

Within seconds, the market went back to normal and everyone forgot the monkey……..