The beeping dots of emotion while playing game of “snake”. Matter of pride. King of Symbian. Generations of mobile phones. Brick size to colourful – small sparrow.
A priceless possession when chimed into life…looked like world shrunk into a small screen, eagerly waiting to get those signal bars one by one. Ah! there you go.
It was the start of a new era, a new evolution, an adolescent Telecommunications with Jyoti Basu as chief minister of West Bengal making India’s first cell-phone call to Sukh Ram, the communications minister in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government. Sometime in July (perhaps 31st) 1995.
On a weekday of November 1997, JT Mobiles (JTM) Branch Rajajinagar Bangalore. Along with 4 senior Staff a new recruit – ITM Mumbai pass out flooring all sales talk he had learnt from his MBA school. Trying to impress one business man from Peenya Industrial Area who he guessed might be the first deal. After 2 hours of all the research and questions answered he softly says “What to be done now Saar?
” Whoa! my heart pounds out. Temperature soars to my ears and refusing to believe I reassure “Sir can i fill the form now for you?”. Deal done and that was my first sale of my career. None comes closer.
With all smile and glittering eyes – The Customer “Yes he himself” (nothing less than God) was signing up for a SIM card. Rupees 7250 to issue a SIM card with Rupees 5000 Security deposit. Came along the grand Nokia 1011 with a price tag of 24000. With 6 connections in a month my target used to be a herculean task then. Riding on my Hero Puch (80 KMPL crazy saviour) to outskirts of Bangalore to find new customers who had capacity to pay. (Shhh bankruptcy now- outgoing charges 16 rupees / min & incoming charges 8 rupees / min)
It was first time I held a mobile phone. My love and fascination grew. New models, new colours, added features and what not. An IR blaster in 6310i was puzzling. A 0.3 MP Nokia 7650, a Symbian 6.1 series phone thrilled users. Sliding phones, colourful LCD, landscape keyboard, Music phones.
Wading through many models came “The CEO phone” Nokia Communicator. Changed the perceptions of what phones could do. By now the Symbian platform started aching, trapped in a can, no space to grow. Riding a new horse wasn’t easy. Windows Mobile platform couldn’t keep the beat for long. The chime never came into life again.
Well it still lives in my heart. I can still hear the Chime…It says
And I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky
I swear like a shadow that’s by your side
Picture Courtesy Google Search…..
Anecdote…from the future of my past…
Mimic my Own 
Really true Aftab, our first Nokia was in 1999 for our son’s 21st Bday. Have great memories of this chime👍
Quite touching indeed. I remember the gifts coming in that form. Thank you 😊
Old is gold – Deliberately true in this context . I surely miss such gifts now and next generations are missing such precious ones 😉
Thank Mayur