Around three years ago I joined the league of ordinary ladies and gentlemen of this century - the proud owners of a cell phone that is as the name suggests quite smart! Well, my phone is definitely smart but it has a not-at-all-smart owner whose maintenance and safeguarding of the device is quite close to pathetic.Really close! The difference is tiny, minuscule, imperceptible! Never mind!
I came back to my apartment one day after finishing a few errands. I stepped into the lift and pressed the floor number slightly readjusting the way I was carrying my baby girl. A friend who was supposed to come over pinged me asking for my floor and unit number. I stepped out of the lift face focusing on the cellphone screen as I proceeded to whatsapp her the details.
Flash! I dont know what happened. My daughter who was getting a little hungry snatched the phone? Or I tried to prevent her from pulling it and it flipped out of my hands? Or did I trip over a wheel of the stroller and let go of the phone? Oh yes! I dont know! The cell phone flew out of my hand and fell on the floor of the lift, and, as I stared in horror,into the gap between the lift and its door. Down! Down! All the way to the ground floor. It travelled more than four levels to be precise!
For a quite perceptible time interval I stood there with my mouth wide open with shock and disbelief and the cursing-of-self part followed soon. I rushed to the ground floor. I borrowed a friends phone and dialled my number. One of Ilayaraja's BGMs started playing from somewhere. That was my ring tone! My phone! No doubt!
"You are alive!!" I was flabbergasted. The phone had fallen to the floor of the elevator that needed hands of expertise to access. The security personnel of my apartment informed me that they would check with the Lift company and get back to me.
Then came the biggest jolt! The company gave me two options. I could wait for two to three days. Whenever they came that way they would retrieve it for me. They could come immediately and do it but that would cost me $50 , no $49.50 .
I pictured my poor phone lying out there in the cold all by itself with its battery life ebbing away to zero. What if water splashed on it? What if it got bitten by rats? Above everything else , having to suffer the handicapped life without a cellphone was unimaginable. I decided to part with my fifty dollars.
In a couple of hours the cellphone was safely in my hands and would you believe it, Not a single scratch on the touch screen. That was one miraculous escape.
A few months later, the same phone was lying harmlessly on the sofa. I took it in my hands and a screen cracked beyond usable limit stared back at me as I let out a cry of horror. I still have no clue what exactly happened though the primary suspect is my now two year old girl, then around 18 months of age. Well, "If only I had stayed under that lift without making noise" I could almost hear my phone say that.
For a quite perceptible time interval I stood there with my mouth wide open with shock and disbelief and the cursing-of-self part followed soon. I rushed to the ground floor. I borrowed a friends phone and dialled my number. One of Ilayaraja's BGMs started playing from somewhere. That was my ring tone! My phone! No doubt!
"You are alive!!" I was flabbergasted. The phone had fallen to the floor of the elevator that needed hands of expertise to access. The security personnel of my apartment informed me that they would check with the Lift company and get back to me.
Then came the biggest jolt! The company gave me two options. I could wait for two to three days. Whenever they came that way they would retrieve it for me. They could come immediately and do it but that would cost me $50 , no $49.50 .
I pictured my poor phone lying out there in the cold all by itself with its battery life ebbing away to zero. What if water splashed on it? What if it got bitten by rats? Above everything else , having to suffer the handicapped life without a cellphone was unimaginable. I decided to part with my fifty dollars.
In a couple of hours the cellphone was safely in my hands and would you believe it, Not a single scratch on the touch screen. That was one miraculous escape.
A few months later, the same phone was lying harmlessly on the sofa. I took it in my hands and a screen cracked beyond usable limit stared back at me as I let out a cry of horror. I still have no clue what exactly happened though the primary suspect is my now two year old girl, then around 18 months of age. Well, "If only I had stayed under that lift without making noise" I could almost hear my phone say that.
Good one Jaishree.... I very well can empathise with you on the handicapped part... feeling the same without my third hand now.
ReplyDeleteI understand.... It's really difficult....
DeleteHa ha, the phone has become an intrinsic part of our lives. This reminds me of my own lift escapade. I had once dropped original mark sheets of my son prior to his engineering entrance exams. I have never felt so guilty in life. The papers went down six floors from the shaft. Fortunately, the plastic folder saved them and we were able to retrieve the papers after five hours.
ReplyDeleteGod! That's more important stuff than a cellphone....in Chennai some people lost certificates in the rains and are now desperately looking for means to get new copies
DeleteNice one jaish
ReplyDeleteThat must bhave been heartbreaking to see the cracked screen of the phone!A nice read,Jaishree and best wishes to you and family in the New Year! BTW your daughter must have celebrated her birthday recently:)
ReplyDeleteYes Rahul, both of my kids had their birthdays in December
DeleteHahaha! Sort of makes me feel happy about remaining unsmart :)
ReplyDeleteThat's peace intact Suresh :)
DeleteHahaha....wow..that's quite tricky,...cell falling the gap. Doesn't it ring a bell that you are going to get a new ph? I have a similar story to tell....I think mine is 4 yrs old...one day it fell in the toilet..well, it still works except for a line on the screen. As my husband got a new ph, he handed me down his existing one. It had been like an untouched baby in his hands and I cracked the screen within few weeks of arrival into my hands :P. One day it suddenly stopped working and now I am back to the phone in the flush :D...well, time for replacement as the battery dies fast.
ReplyDeleteI already got a new phone hi hi :D
DeleteSeeing your phone fall down 4 floors must be quite horrific ! We are now so dependent on the phone for everything, that its a disaster to suddenly lose it !
ReplyDeleteVery true...it's become more important than the hands that hold them!
DeleteHa ha:) A great one after a long time, Jaish, in your lovable style:) Thank you..
ReplyDeleteGlad that you liked it...planning to do more justice to this blog this year.... Let's see...thanks for stepping in
DeleteQuite a remarkable story that! Such a miraculous escape! I still can't imagine how your phone managed to do that. But still the lil one found a way out. ;)
ReplyDeleteBtw... sooo glad to see you back. You should write more often. :)
Thanks Raj... Little ones!They always find a way out...
DeleteHorror or comedy... can't decide :P Oh god! but little ones have special affinity towards cell phones.
ReplyDeleteYes Jas, they are very much intrigued as the adults seem hooked to it all the time
DeleteThat was such an interesting read Jaish :)
ReplyDeleteI can imagine, my day begins with a quick read of whatsapp messages..with half opened eyes! I mean I can't imagine life without a cell phone. That sounds so bad..as if it were a person!
Fun to read.. :)
My dad begins with whatsapp too, an addiction I am trying to get over
DeleteI can't imagine my life without my phone! I wake up to Whatsapp. The last thing I see before falling asleep is some bookmarked article that I saved during the day to read later.....It's good to see you back :-) It's been quite a while, hasn't it?
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, dear!
Wish u the same Divya...yes, it's been a while :)
DeleteOh no .. after such a ordeal the phone was fine and without a ordeal it cracked .. Now I too want ot know how that happened :)
ReplyDeletephones have become such a necessity..
Bikram's
Till date I have no idea Bikram :)
DeleteHahaha! Don't blame her, it's part of growing up. Breaking few gadgets is a part of childhood, or was so in my family. $50 is a lot of money to retrieve it. Btw, which one you have now?
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I am happiest when my cell phone decides to become 'unsmart' on and off.But it's my girls who get edgy. I have been guilty of man handling my phone often but not this far yet...and I hope not in future too. I sometimes think suiting it up in an armour!
ReplyDelete