The death of a vintage pal

Huge, heavy, cumbersome, yet your own, your very own, not open for any public display, is thus a new entrant in life. The pioneer of the originally talking-only instrument had made it even more popular and the country saw this yet-to-go-virtual pal in the palms of most of the people who could afford anything more than a land-phone. I am certainly not here to track the evolution of a cellular phone, we have established websites to cater to the facts. However, delving into its psychological and emotional effect is a worthwhile experience. When I received my first debit card from my first employer, when I was barely 18, I obviously was thrilled to bits and felt on-top-of-the-world. It was on the first day of the new year day 2003 that a UTI bank(Now Axis) debit card was sent to my home. It bore my name- Usha Ramani in it and as a quick act of impulse, I surrendered the envelope in the Lord’s feet, and produced it to my parents with glee. I felt empowered and had the purchasing power hat on! This episode happened in Kochi, Ernakulam hence I must say that the world of mobile was only catching up. The humble Nokia was in the foray and as per my experience and observation back then, I inferred that some of the elite in the society owned a mobile. Considering the fact that I am from a lower middle-class family back then, now graduated to middle-class, the chances of owning the humble yet charming Nokia was bleak. Loads of coaxing, cajoling and convincing had to go into my parents’ head for them to say yes to my newfound fantasy. I wanted to own a ‘mobile’ too, reason, I had a cushion called luxury through the hat of purchasing power that I was newly donning. Also as I was studying and working simultaneously, I made my parents understand that I need to own a cellular phone so that I could let them know where I was and when I’d be back home et al. You see the purpose was very simple; I did not even realise that the phone had another feature, texting! Anyway, my supportive parents were somehow convinced that their 18 year old needs a cellular phone. I thus embarked my journey into the world of mobile phones. A good friend of mine, who knew something about mobile phones took me to a shop that sold second-hand mobile phones and after some haggling done by him, we settled for a reasonable price(though a heavy one for me in those days, it still is) of rupees 3300 for a basic model of Nokia 3310, dark blue in colour. This was my new toy, my world, my everything; what more could a teenager have asked for? Of course, this phone saw me maturing through the years, it served me for a good 6 years, being that bosom pal of mine throughout. I never once felt the need to change my phone, although mobile phones had gained more popularity and we had newer models entering the cellular phone market. At the end of the phone’s 6th birthday, it began throwing its tantrums and kept losing its battery power. After all, this second-hand mobile phone had weathered through all the wear and tear in all these years. Of all the phones that I have owned through these years, the 3310 would ever remain close to my heart for reasons of firsts (though the phone itself was a second-hand one); it was my first phone, something that I bought out of my first salary and the first friend to have seen me mature quite closely through the years. I am glad that even as I take time to describe this simple pal of mine today, I have the pal sitting right next to me, though lifeless; somehow, I can never cremate this pal of mine. The 29th birthday of mine, saw me foraying into the Android man’s world, thanks to my husband for having opened the gateway of technology and social world. Though late, when compared to my peers, I feel it was done at the right time for me as an individual. The android is now my new toy, for a little over 5 months, and the experience is indeed pleasurable. Needless to say, the features of this phone I am still learning, everyday, after all there is a lot more than texting and calling! I would still bear the humble beginning in mind, whilst I tread past the greener pastures of the android lover-boy!