Before Smartphones, There Were Stories

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The First Gadget

When we were new to this gadget, what we knew were the games and the radio. I am talking about the time when, I got introduced to the cell phone. I was only given the phone for gaming purposes in 2007, I guess. For me, it was more relaxing to play snake games on my Nokia 3310. My sister used to listen to the radio on it, although we had a video game with a cassette and a radio connected to the antenna. But this new wireless system was much more convenient than anything else.

The Early Calls

Evolution happened when we started calling on it. Back in the days, we had a telephone system in our Paternal family, so whenever they had to talk with Dad, there was a person who ran at the speed of 220 to inform them about the call. Dad used to remain on the call no matter how many minutes passed. My elder sister had the running job (this was before I was even born), and she used to take tax from them when Dad brought gifts for siblings and mom (looks like she is a professional tax collector, u may remember her from GOLD COINS story). There was a time when 8 toffees were given for 1 rupee, and Super biscuit packets cost 15 rupees, and now even the beggars don't take 10 rupees.

The Village Journey

They used to go to school on foot, can you believe this? It FELT like 10 miles away from our home, and they were 6–7 people carrying nothing but lunch boxes. But when they returned in the evening, they had edibles and many things in boxes which they bought from the shop probably. I think of this as natural lovely vibes. They used to start walking in the morning, and it was tremendous excitement when they raced with each other and ran ahead of cars that never stopped for us at any cost. Now we have our own cars and bikes, but still, we visit that place very rarely because of our busy routine. I badly miss that time. Although since now my dad is retired and he and me might visit ancestral land very soon.

The Warmth

My grandfather and phopho (aunty) portrayed the real village life. They brought tandoori roti and handmade lassi for us no matter how hot the day was when I visited later. They never showed any signs of tiredness at all. We slept in the afternoon under the shade of a big tree, and that coolness was incomparable to today’s AC.

The Phone Story Continues

Coming back to the phone story, it was out of fashion to see someone using the phone, and texting was uncommon as the sound of the keypad was annoying. Let me share my experience with cell phones, I guess, when I was in 3rd standard. I was given the phone to test conference calls. I had a group of friends, and when I called them, we all were just laughing, listening to each other's voices.

Returning to the Village

I am remembering all these memories because I was remembering times when I traveled to the village. The trees were running just like I was running in my memories with my siblings, they were cheering for me. The stop point where there was a water storage hole was not dried. The trees they used to climb to get guavas were no longer there. I felt the large banyan tree was asking me, "Where have you been, my child? Look how old I am? You used to say that when you come next, you will climb to my higher branch, but now I have many branches."

The Memory of My Grandfather

When I reached there, I had no idea until I heard someone's morning voice praising my late grandfather for his generosity and his devoted work toward the villagers. His home hasn’t changed much, but it was still clean and green as he used to plant every year. He was not there to hug and kiss my forehead, asking me how much I had scored this time in the exam. My eyes are too watery to write anything more as I am losing patience.

May his soul rest in peace. Aameen.