A recent meeting I attended has inspired me to write on a topic which never seems to become obsolete at all — you guessed it right, it’s the mobile phone which has become the man’s/woman’s best friend replacing everything that had been dear to the person all his/her life. While introducing the Nobel Laureate Prof. Hans –Peter Duerr to the audience at the Tag centre, Prof. B.M.Hegde said since the scientist/philosopher did not believe in owning a mobile, his wife had no way of contacting him when he was out of the country on a lecturing tour. He must have felt possessing a mobile and being accessible to the world all the time would only distract him from his academic and scientific pursuits which were apparently his priority. It reminded me of the few people I knew who considered a mobile as a dispensable nuisance unlike most who swear by this tiny device which enables them to talk,talk and talk when ever they like where ever they are and how ever long they wish to, caring two hoots for encroaching on others’ valuable time.
n.meera raghavendra rao
Just Li'Es 
Much has been written in these columns about the mobile. In one of my comments, I had suggested a hilarious solution, wherein the mobile, if used beyond a time limit, should go off the air and should be reactivated only after a specified period of silence! The menace continues to be there and there is no way of getting rid of it. Every day, I hear my cook’s mobile ringing from the kitchen, first it is her husband waiting at the Sterling road signal, then it is the daughter from her kitchen wanting to know a cooking tip and then it is the son from Muscat!
My maid is a total illiterate ,doesn’t know how to make a phone call on her mobile but has mastered the mobile vocabulary like, ‘charge’ and ‘ switch off .’ Often she asks me to ring up her son from my land line in order to talk to him. I feel mobile phones are a leveler in the Indian context!
Cell phones are a godsend to modern society, there is no question about that. They have made it simpler for parents to remain in contact with their children; they have released proprietors and bosses from the office and they offer hope to anyone who is stranded in a deserted & unknown place. I am able to contact my plumber when a tap is broken and the house is getting inundated, an electrician when the water pump is not working or an ironing man when our cotton clothes need ironing. But it is not all great news, is it? Being constantly available to everyone can become a real nuisance for you. This is one of the drawbacks of cellular phones.
Another one of the drawbacks of cell phones is annoyance caused by lack of cell phone etiquette. Some people are downright rude in the manner they conduct themselves on their cell phones. Their voice too sometimes exceed 100 decibels. But I have also seen some emulation-worthy behaviour on the part of some people. When they are in company and their phone rings, they stand up and become mobile to somewhere — where they will not bother others. Lack of cellular phone etiquette annoys individuals everyday on public transport, in restaurants and in cinemas.
There are some points that owners of cell phones ought to bear in mind: firstly, a ringing phone is only a signal that someone is asking to speak to you, you do not have to behave like a trained animal and drop everything that you are doing to answer it and secondly, cellular phones can be turned off or put in silent mode with the vibrator activated. For crying out loud, live and let live !
I wonder if you have experienced the other side side of the cordless and the mobile when you are discussing something important and suddenly the power goes off and the charge is low—the receiver of the call feels ridiculous in the situation !
Dear Meera I totally agree with Prof. Kumar.Mobile phones are a blessing in disguise if used properly.In times of immergency it is a must.You cannot say it is a nuiance Meera.I do agree with you that some people are using it differently.A coin has two sides .We must look at both the sides.Hope you agree with me Meera.
I agree there are two sides of a coin and also two kinds of mobile users–the ones who abuse the facility and keep talking as their hobby and the ones who really understand its utility and the importance of brevity -unfortunately sundera the percentage of the former is much greater than the latter especially among Indians!