For many years, even up till
the early 1990s, we could not make a long distance call from a public phone because there was no concept of a public phone office! You
either were at the mercy of your neighbour or a distant relative and
became a PP number. I forget what that stood for but most of us had PP numbers for emergencies. What it meant was that if you wanted to contact me who did not have access to a phone, you called my neighbor who had a phone and who would let me use it in emergencies. Now this could mean phones coming in at any time, inconveniencing the neighbor and all sorts of related issues. But incoming was free so it was ok.
When you had to make a long distance you went to the Central Telecom Office (in Hyderabad we had one at Paradise) and stood in line to make a call. Now since calls were frightfully expensive to make we'd all troop in after 10 when rates halved or quartered and stood or sat in queues. The procedure once you entered a CTO was like this.
We would give our number to the official on a chit of paper and join the queue. He would dial each number and call the respective number forward where we had to speak about our private matters before a full house of eager listeners. Every number was given three tries and if you got through you spoke else you joined the line back and waited! Wrong calls were charged.
Several times we would spend many hours up to and past midnight trying to get a call across. I remember how I made acquaintances in faraway CTOs while waiting in line. There were many Telugus who would queue up in faraway places like Calcutta, Patna, Dhanbad, Katihar, Budge Budge, Begusarai etc. Most would come with a preset budget - say Rs. 100. Even if they finished their business within thirty bucks they'd keep at it until their 100 bucks limit was reached. Despite the fact that many people were waiting and probably even dying. No, I have earned the right to speak and I shall and to hell with you all. It was interesting because you'd also tell the person who you wanted to speak that you'd call and they would wait for you. Beautiful.
Only in the 90s after the telecom guys decided that they could let go of their control did they come up with the concept of a PCO or Public Call office which were small STD/ ISD booths where we could go and make calls. These were little franchisees and became a source of living for most. For us the ubiquitous yellow, STD/ISD booths was a new freedom - the mobile phone of those days. The booth owners would act funny as they came up with new rules for their individual booths! The inside of the booths were filled with numbers and names of people who were to be called and they soon became a hub of activity. Many lovers would call one another form the anonymity of the PCOs which had a small cabin - maybe for the first time in their lives some love affairs got some privacy.
Much love developed in STD booths.
So began the story of an India that started to find its voice. People talking nineteen to dozen on what they ate, saw, who they met, what one should do and not do etc. The CTOs dies a natural death once PCOs came in and the PCOs died a natural death once mobile phones came in.
More later.
When you had to make a long distance you went to the Central Telecom Office (in Hyderabad we had one at Paradise) and stood in line to make a call. Now since calls were frightfully expensive to make we'd all troop in after 10 when rates halved or quartered and stood or sat in queues. The procedure once you entered a CTO was like this.
We would give our number to the official on a chit of paper and join the queue. He would dial each number and call the respective number forward where we had to speak about our private matters before a full house of eager listeners. Every number was given three tries and if you got through you spoke else you joined the line back and waited! Wrong calls were charged.
Several times we would spend many hours up to and past midnight trying to get a call across. I remember how I made acquaintances in faraway CTOs while waiting in line. There were many Telugus who would queue up in faraway places like Calcutta, Patna, Dhanbad, Katihar, Budge Budge, Begusarai etc. Most would come with a preset budget - say Rs. 100. Even if they finished their business within thirty bucks they'd keep at it until their 100 bucks limit was reached. Despite the fact that many people were waiting and probably even dying. No, I have earned the right to speak and I shall and to hell with you all. It was interesting because you'd also tell the person who you wanted to speak that you'd call and they would wait for you. Beautiful.
Only in the 90s after the telecom guys decided that they could let go of their control did they come up with the concept of a PCO or Public Call office which were small STD/ ISD booths where we could go and make calls. These were little franchisees and became a source of living for most. For us the ubiquitous yellow, STD/ISD booths was a new freedom - the mobile phone of those days. The booth owners would act funny as they came up with new rules for their individual booths! The inside of the booths were filled with numbers and names of people who were to be called and they soon became a hub of activity. Many lovers would call one another form the anonymity of the PCOs which had a small cabin - maybe for the first time in their lives some love affairs got some privacy.
Much love developed in STD booths.
So began the story of an India that started to find its voice. People talking nineteen to dozen on what they ate, saw, who they met, what one should do and not do etc. The CTOs dies a natural death once PCOs came in and the PCOs died a natural death once mobile phones came in.
More later.
2 comments:
Please Peluvu..
Oh, I should have known that some Telugu connection existed. PP.
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