The Day Moto Refused to Chatter

‘Only that day dawns to which we are awake-Thoreau

It lay still in my palm, I shook it, patted it gently, and then moved it vigorously just as one moves his head after a hair wash to sprinkle the water around. Water did spill out of  its body, but the buzz was missing. The best turkey towel was pulled out to wipe it, as it lay smiling in the pink backdrop, its black body glistened spotless. I gently enfolded it in its cover and started it all over again. I prayed fervently for its life, and to my delight, it glowed and came alive, but its voice box remained choked. I wondered whether it was a common cold, and whether I would have to visit the mobile doctor. Well, I needed a mobile doctor, not a movable one, but the technician, a mobile doctor who could bring my Mobile Phone back to  the way of life.

Moto G belonged to the Motorola family and came home when Flipkart the online store announced a pre-launch offer.  I don’t remember the  special occasion when I was offered Moto as a gift, I sometimes feel it must have been my birthday, many other times remember it as Mother’s Day, but then am assured that it must have been Women’s Day when I received Moto as a reward from my family. When I had opened the gift wrap, I saw a phone with a 5 inch screen but it did not have a Qwerty keypad. I put it aside and used my old Samsung that had a Qwerty keypad. Moto was attractive with a black case and crocodile glass which was scratch proof. One of the days the Samsung mobile groaned and showed a blank screen. I could not revive it. My maid told  me that she would get it repaired and took it home. She began bringing it to work thereafter. The Samsung mobile now wore a silver case and did not resemble the phone I carried, but its ring tone would make me nostalgic. I put my feelings aside when I saw my maid use it nonchalantly. It gave the feeling of a lost relative.

 I began taking Moto to my workplace. I had the double SIM slot filled with different SIM cards. I could listen to songs, use the Sound Cloud to hear more, download books, use Microsoft office, check my mail, watch my fitness, reinforce my knowledge, but the application that surpassed all this was the Whatsapp application. It kept me thoroughly busy chatting, nothing in general. I had the Word Web that reduced the weight of a dictionary in my college luggage. I learnt to swipe and make calls, share pics and documents and slowly Moto became a piece of dependence for me. I carried it in the pouch, and no longer did I need a Wristwatch to know the time. I changed the pouch into a well partitioned one to accommodate my spectacles and  my mobile Moto.  I would sneak a  peep into the screen after giving a nip on its side to start it. I took up an additional net pack to keep me busy in the bus as I travelled to my work place. It was more than a companion now. Now when the old Samsung rang, it did  not arouse my emotions for I adored the gentle ringtone of  strings in the Moto than the blaring old ringtone of Samsung.

The addiction took a new form when I began keeping it hygienic and clean. A little Handwash was used on a wet muslin to wipe every part of Moto clean on reaching home. Moto gleamed, puffed and swelled with pride when it was left with the  set of mobiles owned by the family at dinner time.

One of the days as I was running back home, I heard a low thud sound behind me. I turned to see Moto lying dust laden in the sand. The  zip pouch must have been open and Moto in its curiosity must have peeped out and lost its balance. I quickly picked it, I may not have shown the eagerness for a human being, but Moto was unique. I rubbed it hard with my handkerchief. On reaching home I washed it that day with the Handwash. I felt the germs and dirt were harmful for both of us.

I took out the case cover and dried it well. But now it seemed serene in its stillness. I could hear the incoming ringtone but the outgoing speaker had damaged its vocal cords. I tried listening to the speaker with my ears on the dull spot, but nothing could actually be heard. I missed the songs that I played regularly on Moto. I looked at the network spot called the speaker intensely for a while, I took a dry cloth and rubbed it hard, then kept the phone in the hot sun. The phone got heated, but its voice box remained unruffled. After this, I took the hairdryer and blew hot air into the speaker. I was sure it would begin buzzing, but it did not. I had to take it to the workplace as I did not have a spare handset. I kept coaxing it to murmur, but it remained silent like a aghast companion.

I now began looking out for real, living companions than the virtual ones as I could use Moto sparingly. It gave me great joy in knowing the people around me at the workplace and in the housing society. On my way back, I could see a father take his little daughters clad in raincoats to the small stream that connected the river. I could see the elder daughter who was seven learn to click the best photographs of her father and younger sister. I saw people enjoying hot corn on the cob while the vendor tried to kindle the flame, it definitely kindled hearts. I learnt to converse and consider during dinners, I learnt that there was lots more to life, a lot more than Moto my Phone.

 Two days later as I was answering a call, I saw an audio clip  sent by a friend.  The note said “please do hear it”, I looked at Moto in vulnerability, I plucked the case cover and peered into the speaker, I ran my fingers wistfully hoping it would come alive magically. After replacing the cover, I played the audio clip. I could hear the sound clip  crystal clear and loud. I heaved a sigh of relief. I gently went back to the main screen and tried all the apps and studied their voice quality. I could hear the incoming and outgoing voices that were clearly musical, perhaps they were my jubilant feelings that made the jingle melodious. Moto had begun functioning as well as it always was, perhaps the speaker was dry now, no matter what the reason was, I felt a longing to go back to my old self within minutes. I took Moto with firm fingers and nipped the power button off, I had learnt the sense of balance and the importance of mindfulness in the past few days.

The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. Just get right with life and then you will have life -Oliver Wendell Holmes