We have all suffered at the hands of people who refuse to put there mobile phones on silent mode or turn it off. But some people are so exasperating. I don't know if it is a case of them being thick skinned or thick skulled.
There was this book launch in Landmark once, and there was a discussion on cricket as part of the launch. Press was invited. There were Sanjay Manjrekar, Ramchandra Guha and others, along with the author, on the discussion panel. As usual, the MC requested everyone to turn off/silence their mobile phones.
The discussion was in full flow and Guha was in his element narrating one of his favourite cricketing anecdotes when the phone of a reporter sitting right in the front let out a full throated song. Guha froze, fixed his eyes on the chap, and I knew that if I was at the other end of the glare, I would have turned to ash in about 35 seconds. But not our pal. He took a few seconds to realise he has to make the phone stop ringing, fished it out from somewhere, took his time in figuring out the number, decided this was a call he had to take, and slowly ambled out. On his way out (phone still wailing), Guha shouted at him, "I can out-shout a mobile phone any day!"
Just today, I was at another event. A meeting with about 60 people, two speakers. One of them was animatedly explaining his project, when the phone of the chap at the very front (why do they always sit in the front?) burst into an orchestra piece. The speaker stopped, and stood there looking at him. Every one else in the room, including the light and sound guy, sat there looking at him. And him? He sat there looking at his phone. No kidding. He just sat there and stared at the phone. After an agonisingly long wait, he cut the call. With this look of disgust on his face, the speaker asked everyone to put their phones on silent mode, and continued. Barely three minutes, and the darn phone starts singing again. Now the speaker wore a look of utter disbelief. Anyway, this time chap was faster in cutting the call. Another five minutes and one hears another phone ringing, and I looked around for a target for my glare. It was the same guy! And he was fishing out his second phone from the depths of his pocket.
Really, thick skin or skull?
3 comments:
Not to forget people who answer the call anyway announcing the problems in their love life, married life, work life, financial status all of it to the world in general! It is embarassing to listen to them but they just have no qualms about broadcasting their life's goings on.
Heard how Naseerudin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah asked people to switch off their mobiles? In one of their latest plays, after the initial polite request a cacaphony of mobile rings and a loud gun shot was heard from behind the scene. The Shahs came on stage armed with guns. They grimly said "Switch off your mobile phones".
Anonymous: Another of Shah's plays -- though Shah wasn't there -- had an interesting technique. The Sutradhara was giving his initial narration on stage, and half way through, a phone starts ringing. He stops talking. The phone rings and rings. The audience start muttering, someone shouts. The artiste too starts getting exaspertaed. Suddenly he jumps, fishes around in his own pocket and with a sheepish grin pulls out his own phone, and says something to the effect of "I forgot to turn off my phone. So if anyone else has forgotten, let's turn it off now, together." :)
And next time, Anonymous, please leave you name.
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