kB to GB!

      “Please stop using your phone while eating else hand it over to me till the time you have it”, yelled mom as Dad was fidgeting with his phone. Sitting next to him all me & siblings giggled secretly and with his sudden stare we stopped as if nothing happened. In my mind I just thought ‘Welcome Dad, it’s your turn now!’

           

     I still remember some time back it was Dad yelling at me every time I checked my phone while having my meal. He would get angry and in turn ask to surrender my phone which was kept aside till I finished my meal. This led to 2 situations either the meal was done half-hearted or the ‘phone-give-back- pleads’ were done till the point of irritation. In the end obviously he won even after my peaceful protest.

           

      I used to get my phone back after the lecture of being unsocial, careless and some preaching on my career graph fleeing from that situation was the best possible option. This was almost like every meal routine. I always wondered if Dad really hated a smartphone or because I used it and so was the reaction. With a helpless thought I just felt maybe he would never understand a feeling of having it.

      However, never did I realize that his time to get ‘one’ was not so far. My sister was in Nasik and was ‘expecting’ very soon. She was admitted to the hospital and ‘Good News’ was just a call away. My younger sister who was accompanying her whatsapped that it was a ‘Baby Boy’ as soon as she came to know in the hospital. Like every family person these days we too had our ‘Family Group’ and thus the ‘Good News’ was broadcasted to our siblings’ group within no time. Dad was busy at his shop and eagerly waiting like us for the news. I called him and literally yelled, “Congratulations Dad, Didi blessed with a baby boy”. For a minute he got baffled if I really intended to call him. He paused, with mixed feelings thanked me wishing the same. However, with a tone of ignorance, he asked “Why didn’t people at the hospital inform me first?” I tried to change the topic by directing the discussion towards ‘Good News’ rather than the ‘why’ explanation. But I was sure he couldn’t get over it.

           

      Over time, one by one all of Dad’s friends got smart phones and exchanging pleasantries on auspicious occasions was a point of discussion for all. I thought of an idea a week before my parents’ anniversary. I called Dad and teased, “I have booked your smartphone and all you have to do is collect the same showing your ID”. I was all prepared for another round ‘why do you splurge so much’ and ‘what makes you I think need it and all’. However, to my surprise he replied “Ok, good that way I can be in touch with all my daughters & get their updates from time to time”. Well, now that I had already spread the beans, had to get one!

     Choosing a phone was the next critical task. I had to make sure to buy one which was hassle free, had latest features (so that he doesn’t feel less empowered) and had a proper service center readily available. To add to it a bigger screen but one that easily fits in the pocket was another deciding factor. With the present available options I could get through a nice deal and finally booked one. Never ever in my life have I tried an advance delivery and in this case to make it special ended up paying a few extra bucks to get it delivered on time.

           

     15th November it was. My eyes were constantly on the phone to check if Dad called. It was almost afternoon and he called, “I got my phone and it’s wonderful!” I was elated with his response. Immediately I made calls to my cousins’ back home to start the next activity of helping him with SIM card, memory card, screen guard and phone cover. On my next visit to Nasik in about a fortnight from the day it was received, I inquired if he could use the phone properly. One by one he started explaining me all the features that he tried. In the end he just mentioned that Internet setting is what he couldn’t get through.

           

     I recharged a ‘Net Pack’ of about One GB thinking it would be enough basis his usage. The entire next day he learned to install apps, chat and watch his favourite bhajans on Youtube. He made it a point to talk to my sisters and convince them to share exclusive photographs from the walks of their life so as to make us envy for him. I could see his urge to learn things again. For a couple of times he even forgot to close running apps, hang up phone and a series of errors. To my shock he had already consumed 80% of the internet pack in a day!! However, I chose to remain quiet and let him enjoy the learning phase he was in. His journey from kilo-byte (basic phone) to giga-bytes was one I’d surely cherishJ