Phone Potty-la Vizhuntha Kathai

 love phones! Consider myself very tech-savvy when it comes mobile phones (ONLY). I’m comfortable with most phones and usually keep nondifying till l I master all the features of a particular model. So I keep changing, exchanging, upgrading my phone every year or so.

Now, I’d joined this new velai in a pan naattu nirvanam (that’s MNC for non Tamil speaking public) and was basically vetti. Honeymoon period you know…first few weeks. It being an IT company, I was asked to just sit and read some boring material during my first two weeks. This on-line reading just doesn’t work and especially since we have access to almost ALL sites (except the very essential FB, Orkut, Filmi news sites and thiruttu MP3 download sites) the idea of learning something about some boring system and company rules plainly doesn’t hold any appeal. So like I said … nothing to do as such – and I had this amazing game called Sea Sweeper in my Nokia Supernova. Kalakkal game folks – absolutely addictive!!

Had a crick in my neck from staring at the PC - that day I was majorly scene pottufying like I was learning some dumb module (boss was sitting right behind). I decided it was high time I took a break and so phone in hand I went to the bathroom to play Sea Sweeper. Don’t ask me WHY I did it. Seemed like a sooper idea then! :(

Hmm…bathroom smelling nice for a change! Selvi-akka (our benevolent cleaning lady) smiled at me and went, heaving her buckets and mops and detergents and phenoyl. Quite happy that I didn’t need to spend ten minutes in a stinking restroom…I went into a stall and locked the door behind – and promptly sarikkified! Did an ungainly dance, grabbed the towel rack (and it came away in my hand haiyyoo) for balance and let go of the cell phone which was in my left hand….

Thungggg!! Absolutely horrific s-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-w motion – you know…like when the hero’s brother is falling off a cliff/rooftop in tamizh padam and hero is desperately trying to save him but fails??…Same thing! Aiiyyooooooo poochche!! My Supernova fell into the water closet with a splash and made galug galug galug sound. I just stared … now think of hero staring at empty space after brother has fallen with that horrified + sad + disbelieving expression.

Nextu problemu – how do I get it out?? Looked wildy around for some thodappam or mop – oh anything! But Selvi-akka’s done a good job!! Clean bathroom…nothing there…oh except the puddles of water that she hasn’t mopped! Wogayy…praying that I don’t pick up any disease I did the unthinkable…YES!! Plunged my hand in and retrieved the phone…! Yuck yuck yuck! Quickly grabbed toilet paper (and in contradiction to my earlier post – thank god for toilet paper!!) and wrapped phone and hurriedly scrubbed my hands clean with soap that smelled like…yeesh..what do they use here?? Dried hands ... and cautiously unwrapped the phone. The normally black screen glowed pachchai, vellai and then neelam…then it caught fever!! Absolutely boiling hot to touch.

Ran to boss – got permission to go to the Nokia store (he gave me a disgusted look) and caught an auto right outside my office. Paid him a 60 bucks to cover a distance of .5 km and rushed into the store. That guy at the service counter looked at me – looked at the phone – shook head sadly (like a doctor in same tamizh padam saying – ini ellam kadavul kayyil). I knew it! Phone oda kathe over! “Ellam short circuited madam. Onnum panna mudiyathu!”


Wept to appa over the phone (called from PCO booth) – and got a newly launched and very expensive phone the same evening (which I’m still paying for). Danku appa! Went home and buried my old phone and happily started getting familiar with the new one. Subham.