Hariharan Balakrishnan

07.10.2003  9.10 pm

Whenever I call someone’s mobile telephone number, my first words are, “Are you driving?”. If the answer is ‘no’, I continue with what I want to say. If it is ‘yes’, or even “Why? It doesn’t matter. Please tell me” or any such, I give a short answer like “if you are, I’m not speaking to you. Shall call you later” and switch off. I don’t even mind sounding rude. This happened last year when I had to call up my agent at Calcutta several times for visa and tickets to Bangkok and Singapore where I planned a short visit. Later, he asked me why I always ask this question, and said he was quite touched by such concern from me- a relative stranger. He also said nobody ever asked him this question-and most of his communication is by this mode.

I am a late covert to the ‘cell’ culture and acquired one with reluctance a few months ago. My number is given to very few people. I never think about it as a thing to flaunt around, or as a status symbol. It is pure necessity and utilitarian in value-this latest ‘gizmo’.  I have seen it all-nouveau riche kiddos shouting to themselves with a hand cupped to an ear in the Club- always telling the other fellow “I have arrived” (at the club level-that is), the ‘also arrived’ Rotarians whose pockets emit a weird noise when the guest speaker comes to the most interesting part of his 20-minute speech, as also the washerman calling up the houselady on the 34^th floor in Bangkok to ask if he could bring up the laundry! (That’s a utilitarian use of the gizmo, of course).

Coming back to the ‘are you driving’ part. My instinctive question must have something to do with what happened in the early days of the ‘mobile’ telephone in my city-town. Here is the story:

SD was a jovial friend. He was a compulsive talker, a brilliant architect, an engaging companion in a long drive or a short sit-in at the bar. I got to know him rather well when I called him over for a look-see to my newly renovated house. That was more than 10 years ago. He gave his general nod of approval but insisted on having the kitchen done up with shelves, rails, cabinets and such other things. He talked about his ideas and within 5 minutes flat, had me giving him the go-ahead. It took the better part of one year, and I marveled at his meticulous detail, lack of compromise in even a single inch of space. Though it put me back by more than 40 Grand, even today, it is something of a showpiece-maybe the best part of my abode.

We used to meet off and on after that. Then, one day I heard that SD was no more. Apparently, he had acquired a ‘mobile’ phone. One day, while he was driving the scooter, (he never even thought of a car as a ‘status symbol’) he got a call on his phone. He parked the scooter by the side of the road, took the call and got talking. Unconsciously, the engaging ‘talker’ that he was, he started walking while talking, gesticulating with his free hand. He was not conscious where he was moving. A speeding auto-‘mobile’ from behind got him. SD became immobile. The best doctors could not save him. I lost a dear friend. The ‘mobile’ was no more mobile.

For the past few years, I have been a regular contributor to a prestigious forum in the internet. I was surprised to learn that even in the US, use of the mobile telephone while driving is not banned. I wonder why our country has to ‘follow’ these so-called ‘advanced’ countries and not take a lead in such matters. Today I see any number of scooterists in my city talking on the mobile while driving a mobike. Not even the ‘hands-free’ sets as they have in the West. This morning, when there was a steady drizzle, I saw a college girl doing the same while crossing the street. As the ‘mobile’ becomes more and more popular, I keep remembering the ‘immobile’ SD.