Cell Phone Fantasy

Till very recently, I'd been a great fan of Nokia 3310 – a groundbreaking product from Nokia. I still swear by it while others swear at it – simply because it is the sturdiest phone I have ever seen. I have dropped it from a moving bus, a zooming auto and stepped on it three hundred and seventy two times. The phone simply doesn't budge.

It serves the basic purpose of a cell phone very efficiently – to make and receive calls.

However, a gift from a UK cousin made me change my handset to Sony Ericsson w800i – (In his own words – "We are exposed to the western world while you guys are toiling in India. Please accept this gift as a token of appreciation.")

While I disagreed with him about the "toiling in India" part – I couldn't refuse a gift. However I found it very complicated. (Coming from a 3310 loyalist – that shouldn't surprise you.) There are about four hundred functions in the phone which I seldom use.

After listening to my cribs – my cousin from UK asked me a question – "Say tell me Venu, what is the one feature you miss badly in your 3310?"

That set me thinking. What was that one feature I would practically die for?

Here's my answer. For a while I had maintained two cell phones – One for official purposes and one for personal. It was a pain to handle two cell phones. It would have great simplified my life had there been a handset that allowed one to use more than one SIM card!

Here's the explanation before you think I am crazy.

Let us assume there are two SIM cards – Official (SIM-O) and Personal (SIM-P). Let us assume there is a phone WTF1000j that can accommodate these two SIM cards.

When someone calls you on SIM-O:

The phone rings as usual and you talk. If another person calls you on SIM-P during your SIM-O call – he/she will get a busy tone. (I know that this decision is network dependent and not phone dependent. However I am talking purely from a user perspective.)

When you call someone:

The phone asks you which SIM to use. You select the SIM and the call is routed through that SIM.

Even if WTF1000j is nothing a dual SIM capability added on the top of the plain vanilla 3310, I am willing to trade off my W800i as, in my personal opinion, this is the most useful feature for any executive who has to maintain more than one phone.

My rant is over. In case WTF1000j or its variant is already in the market, please let me know the model number in the comments section.

Telugu Blog

"ఇది కలయా వైష్ణవ మాయా?" నమ్మశక్యం కాక మా ఆవిడని అడిగాను నేను - బషీర్ బాగ్ నుండి లక్‌డీ కా పూల్ అయిదు నిమిషాలలో వచ్చేసరికి.



"ఈ రోజు ఏమన్న శెలవేమో" చెప్పింది స్వాతి.



రేడియో లో మంగళంపల్లి బాలమురళి కృష్ణ గారి మృదు మధుర గాత్రం మనసును రంజింపజేసింది.



"పలుకే బంగారమాయెరా

కోదండ స్వామి పలుకే బంగారమాయెరా

పలుకే బంగారమాయే

పిలిచీన పలుకవేమి

కలలో నీ నామ స్మరణ మరువ జక్కని స్వామి..."




"శ్రీ రామ నవమి!" నాకు సిగ్గేసింది. ఈ డైనందిక జీవితపు నిర్విరామపు హోరు లో పడి మన పండుగలు కూడా గుర్తు లేని స్థితికి చేరుకున్నాము.



చిన్నప్పుడు బసవన్న గారు ఇంటి ముందుకి వచ్చి సన్నాయి మేళం తో సరదాగా సంక్రాంతి ని గుర్తు తెచ్చే వారు... భోగి పండగ అంటే రాత్రి అంతా నిద్ర పోకుండా ఇంటి పెరట్లో ఉన్న చెత్త అంతా ఏరి తెలవారేలోపాల తగల బెట్టి - ఆ మంటలు పైన ఉన్న కరెంట్ తీగలకు తాకుతుందేమో నని - నాన్న తిడతారేమోనని భయపడి ...



పానకం తాగి వడపప్పు తిని - రాముడికి దండం పెట్టేసి - అందరి ఇళ్ళకి వెళ్ళి - ప్రతి చోట మళ్లీ పానకం తాగి - ఆ రోజులు మళ్లీ వస్తాయా?



"ఏ తీరుగనను దయ చూచెదవో ఇన వంశోత్తమ రామా...

నా తరమా భవ సాగరమీదను..."




బాల మురళీకృష్ణ - మీకు సాటి ఎవ్వరూ లేరండి.



అయ్యో చెప్పడం మర్చిపోయాను - శ్రీ రామ నవమి శుభాకాంక్షలు - ఇది చదివిన వారందరికి



వేణు

 

55 Word Stories

The Wait

 

Totally bored, he glanced at his watch. He had been waiting for the train for nearly half an hour. He had decided he would not try the bus or any other transportation medium. Only the train should take him to his destination.

 

Then he heard the horn.

 

He prayed God and sat on the tracks.

 

Beautiful

 

Vineeth, a shy software engineer, met Rithika, a flamboyant software engineer in a code review session. He was the owner and she was the scribe. Butterflies flew everywhere.

 

He kneeled in front of her one fine day and she accepted the proposal. They got married two weeks later and developed code together happily ever after.

 

Tempoar

 

The assassin released the safety catch and pointed the gun at the victim's temple.

 

"Any thoughts before you die?" he asked.

 

"This is the third time you are asking that. For Chrissakes, kill me fast." The frustrated victim cried.

 

Next day there was a small news item in The Hindu. "Man found dead – cardiac arrest"

 

Racism

 

Indian New to the US: "One Bean Burrito and a medium Pepsi please"

 

Girl behind the counter in Taco Bell: "For here to go?"

 

Indian: "Excuse me?"

 

Girl: "For here to go sir?"

 

Indian(enraged): "Why should I go from here? I have an H1B and a valid I-94. I can stay here till July 2005."

 

War

 

The Indian soldier cautiously examined the enemy post. He could see someone inside. He silently went to the rear of the post, took aim and fired. The man inside collapsed in a heap. The soldier examined the man who opened his eyes and spoke, "I took the enemy soldier down before you came. Jai Hind!"

 

Faith

 

The man had never doubted the sincerity of his faithful wife. She however had some secrets that she intentionally hid from him. One day the man chanced upon a diary written by her.

 

"Tell me why you hid this from me" he asked her. She responded sadly – "Never knew you hated people who maintained diaries!"

Reality Bytes

She sat under the Banyan tree, munched the corn and mulled over her decision.

 
 

The world in front of her was bustling with people. She could see her Business Development Manager in a heated argument with someone near the smoking area. Then her project leader was almost running to the next building perhaps to attend a meeting that probably started five minutes ago.

 
 

Her flame Vikas was seen talking on the cell phone to probably his flame – Rita, an Ex-employee of the organization.

 
 

She worked through the corn. She had a deliverable to be sent to onsite that evening. That hardly concerned her. She knew when to shut off her mind to such thoughts.

 
 

Arthur entered the scene. "Hi" He startled her. She sprang to her feet and couldn't believe her eyes.

 
 

"Arthur? But I thought you…" Arthur cut her short – "That is correct. I just returned to guide you. St Peters has a soft corner for me you know!"

 
 

"I can't believe this is happening" She was almost out of her breath. Arthur smiled and suggested they could debate on the reality or lack there of of the current situation – comfortably seated under the Banyan tree – It was not very convenient for the him and for her also to stare at each other while standing near a very comfortable bench.

 
 

"You mean you could come back just like that?" She was still not able to accept that Arthur was in front of her – apparently in flesh and blood.

 
 

Arthur sighed, "Let us not venture into that. You'll only be opening a can of worms. Let us just assume that Arthur is here as he really is and get on with your burning problem."

 
 

She silently nodded, "Arthur, you know I have read" – He impatiently coughed, "I know you read all my works umpteen times. Now what is it that you want?"

 
 

"I want to write a novel." She declared with a quivering voice. "I want to write something on the software industry. A big book of 500 pages. And I want it to be as interesting as your Airport or Overload."

 
 

Arthur smiled, "That's a great start. Intent is the most important aspect of writing a novel. You've nailed down the subject too."

 
 

"Yes," She said, "But what do I write?"

 
 

"That's a million dollar question. Isn't it?"

 
 

She shook her head, "I don't even know who my hero is"

 
 

Arthur smiled, "Why do you want to single out a character as a hero? Why not talk about a group of important people?"

 
 

She did not reply. She weighed her options.

 
 

Arthur sighed, "OK, let us just start with the character profiles. Shall we? Talk about one of the characters of your novel – Develop that character's personality methodically and see if he or she is a potential hero."



"I want my characters to be real - so real that they can't be heroes. Like me for instance." she said.



Arthur smiled again. "Maybe you are a character in my novel."



It was her turn to smile. "But I know I am not."



"How?"



"Because I feel myself. I can't be a character of a book. I have a soul. I have a sense of being" she could not understand where all this was leading to.



Arthur took a paper and wrote a sentence. "Monalisa Kumari is disgusted that she is a human being."



"Now tell me, is Monalisa a real human being?" he asked her.



She stared at him



"She is disgusted. She knows that she is a human being. Is she real? or is she just a part of the sentence I've just written?" Arthur pressed.



She looked at him disbelievingly. "But I am real."



"That's what you think. People who are reading this don't think so. For them you are just a character. Character in the story - Reality Bytes."



She blinked, "You mean someone is actually writing me?"



Arthur nodded. "That's a distinct possibility."



She took her bag and stood up. "I'd better be going. This is crazy."



He didn't move. "How else can you explain my being here and talking to you?"



It then hit her - the realization that she had taken Arthur's presence for granted. She had actually believed that she was talking to Arthur. She knew Arthur could not have been talking to her. She realized there was a fundamental gap in her perception of the reality.



"You mean I am just a figment of someone's imagination?" She was about to break down.



Arthur held her hand. "I think so. If I am in India talking to a software engineer under a banyan tree instead of sleeping peacefully in my grave, something is definitely fishy. And I suspect someone called Venu Vedam."



That gave her a jolt. "Wait. I know this guy."



"How?"



"He is my project manager!"



Arthur laughed - "Now you know whom to kill."



She saluted Arthur - "Doesn't matter. I had a chance of meeting you - I don't care whether it is someone else's imagination or real. Probably I will return the favor to Venu by going back to my cubicle and completing the task he has assigned to me - on time!"

 

The End.