By Yash Pawaskar
Twenty years ago in India, there was one box-like device with numbers on it that bonded families together like a viewing of Hum Saath Saath Hain. The landline had a wire that kept you rooted but it could also set you free if you chose to be unavailable.
When Graham Bell invented the telephone, I am sure he did not think that one day, his creation would be used by thirsty millennials to find a mate on Tinder. Perhaps even Charles Darwin wouldve been unable to predict this unlikely evolution. Of course, back then, the telephone wasnt smart, but that doesnt mean it was dumb. It was symbolic. The telephone, or the landline, as us 90s kids call it, represented that generation just as much as todays selfie-clicking, Netflixing, Insta-storying smartphone represents the current one.
The smartphone is the ultimate technological emblem of instant gratification, a high to which todays generation is addicted. Everything is now, in the moment. Mah lyf, mah rulez. The fact that your quest for instant gratification is recorded for posterity on the cloud is no cause for alarm, even though if we were still using landlines, there would be no data theft and Donald Trump would not be playing Mines Bigger on Twitter with Kim Jong-un.
Its not just politics, landlines also had a tremendous impact on our psychology, teaching us patience and restraint. Remember how your parents would allot fixed time slots for your siblings and you to chat with your friends? Back when we had to sell a kidney to make a call from a mobile phone? Twenty years ago in India, there was one box-like device with numbers on it that bonded families together like a viewing of Hum Saath Saath Hain. You could tell your absent-minded grandfather had used the phone last because the receiver wasnt properly placed back in the cradle, and recognise each family member, from youngest to oldest, by the tone of their hello.
That device was precious, that is why it was corded. Not like todays smartphones, constantly falling out of pockets in cabs and trains. The landline had a wire that kept it and you rooted, but it could also set you free if you chose to be unavailable. You went out, the phone stayed in. Todays smartphones are more like tracking devices, following you around like a puppy. You and I, in this beautiful world, and all that.
Years ago, people used to store landline numbers in their memories, not their memory cards.
With your smartphone, you simply cannot be unavailable; the blue ticks will get you. You cant take a break from work since disabling the blue ticks will get you chucked out of your office WhatsApp group, and maybe even your office. Itll force you to lose a few IQ points in dire times, say for instance, when your boss or uncle posts the oldest joke known to mankind, and you are obliged to reply with a ROFL smiley because, increment.
Stifling your irritation is not the only emotional compromise smartphones force upon you. They also stop you from blowing off steam. You cant get angry while using your smartphone. Theyre too delicate, and you cant afford a replacement. But you can bang a landline as hard as you want, which has the dual effect of getting your point across to the caller as well as leading you to catharsis. When I used to be angry, Id slam the receiver down so hard that the person on the other end could visualise me showing them the middle finger.
Not only have we lost a vent for our aggression, our mental capacity has also dwindled. Years ago, people used to store landline numbers in their memories, not their memory cards. Reciting the numbers in that distinct, sing-song rhythm definitely helped. Today, people have difficulty remembering how old they are.
The other day I asked my friend for his cars number, and he opened an app where it was stored along with his ATM pin, which I noted. Now, all I need is his debit card. Back in the day of landlines, such pranks werent sinister. If the old uncle refused to give back your cricket ball, his afternoon siesta would go for a toss thanks to blank calls. No caller ID was a wonderful thing.
Landlines were there with you through thick and thin. They were there when it rained, when the electricity went out, when you had to greet someone, and when you had to console someone. Calls were scratchy, but they wouldnt drop off. They didnt have a battery that died on you while you were on the phone with your crush. They didnt heat up, turning one side of your face into a sweaty, sticky mess. In short, landlines didnt die on you.
Unless of course you sat on them. Which at that point, is really your bad.