Am I mobile

I was just reminiscing my first memories of the now ubiquitous mobile phone. There was a time when it was a luxury. Very few had it. And I remember hearing that the call charges were something like Rs 10 per minute. But I still remember my grandfather's remark - Just keep seeing, one day the BSNL will replace all its landlines with mobile phones.

That may not have happened yet, we inch closer to it everyday. The first time I saw a mobile phone from close quarters was I think after I joined college. Maybe that was because I came to the big city for the first time. In my hometown even a landline was a luxury! I was a hostelite during the years the mobile phone saw exponential growth. In my first year of college it was the rich kids who possessed one. It was an object of envy for many. But the high call charges were very discouraging. And the need for it had not arisen.

The second year of college saw no difference, though handset prices and call charges fell down marginally. Still I was not interested in having one. Somehow I felt that it was something I need to buy only from my own money. But towards the end of the third year things changed drastically. Prices went plummeting. A mobile phone was no longer a luxury. Overnight it had become a necessity.

I got my first phone during my fourth year of engineering. It was a Sony Ericsson T610 which my uncle was using. He wanted to upgrade and I was more than happy to get it from him. It was a phone loaded with features - including a camera and bluetooth. It kept me fascinated for quite a while. A close friend of mine helped me choose the number which I continue to have till today. But I slowly realised that I never really used my phone to the fullest. I always remained detached from it. I started getting the feeling that it might have been societal pressures and not necessity that led me to get a phone.

I lost the phone a year later. I had just joined work. Now I tried to reason out in my mind. Do I need to go for a high end phone or maybe just get a basic model. I ended up buying a very simple one for around 4.5k. I use it till today. And I got one for my parents. But somehow I have never felt that I even need one. Most of the time its in silent mode. I end up not picking up all the calls. I used to get SMSs when I was in college. They have stopped now. I still have SMSs in my phone which are nearly a year old. The only people who call are the Hutch lady and my mom. I never respond to missed calls from unknown numbers.

And I never miss my phone. I lived without it when I was out of the country. I never felt that I needed it. Yesterday I forgot to take it with me to office and didnt even realise it till evening. Only when a collegue called me on my desk and asked me why I was not picking up his call did I realise that it wasnt with me!

Do I really need one?