a catastrophe hit me in the eye a few days back. i was taken unawares one fine monday morning by the severest form of disaster that man can face in the 21st century.i was all alone in the darkest lonliest hour of my life , wen morning six thirty , still trying to get up from a good nights sleep , i realise that my cell phone validity was over !

for the uninitiated ( where do u guys live ?? on mars ??) a cell phone works on a validity period beyond which i can neither sms nor make calls . forget the call making part - i never , and i repeat NEVER make calls - as a matter of policy. personal integrity and commitment to my resolutions have prevented me from bowing into the temptation of taking up those offers of free talk time or lesser call tarrif. i don make calls . period.

so then what was the prob with a dead cell phone ? i said i don make calls . i didint say i don sms. and that was the crux of my predicament ! i could no longer sms.

so while the feeling of misery sunk in and my spirits went down , i thot what the hell , lets try living a msg- less- day ! sadly , as i later found out , its not possible in this day and age.

the first salvo was by my friend, tat lil tormentor whom i beg daily to have breakfast wid me thru sms. i panicked , i was suddenly loosing control of my bearings, would i loose the battle at the very first hurdle? the ever -faithfull govt one rupee call booth came to my rescue , and i made a rare , and precious phone call.
the simple act of uttering a few words to solicit company for breakfast made me go thru a plethora of emotins . similar to what a child feels while uttering his first words! ? the rush of adrenaline , the tension at having to speak to someone than key in words, the shift from using my mouth rather than the thumb, all was an exercise my mind and soul fought till the last ATP was left in me! but finally i did the deed. call made , i was drained and exhausted , more emotionally than physical exertion.

as the day proceeded, i constantly avoided any means of communication with collegues. daily promises of "lunch three pm? will msg u wen me ready" were replaced by a terse, verbal," me having lunch alone" couldnt have risked being a social outcast by admitting that my cell is on grace peroid.

lonely , outcast, incommunicado, i was like left alone on an island. things and people seemed so far away. unreachable , unapproachable ! the only means of speaking to , reaching out to mankind was snatched away from me by the heartless service provider . did he ever not face a similar situation ? had he been thru what i bore that fateful day , validity wouldnt have been an issue anymore.

coming back to my resolve of a msg-less day , each passing our made me go weeker on the resolve , rethinking every other moment on wheher to backtrack or not, i finally decided on a compromise . borrow money to re charge the modern man's mothpiece. having decided thus , i hunted down for probable knights in shining armour 's who would help me out of this earthshattering disaster. and instantly i typed " cn u lend sum mone?" on my cell phone , only to reminded by the company that all msgs are barred on ure mobile! aaarrrghhhh life's so cruel.

recharge done (the story of how i got the money can make an epic , trust me !) i was back into the world of mortals. "back in circulation" as my freind put it . indeed i could feel my self esteem rise. i was able to face people boldly while speaking to them. there was an air of command and authority in my dealings with fellow mortals . i was "in" with the rest .i could proudly say "msg me wen u free". i had a mobile that worked! and what a world of difference it made to my life. did the makers of the first handset ever think that this annoying lil piece of electronic shit change man's life to this exent! i sure never did before that fateful monday morning.