A lecture on Bioremediation was being delivered by a professor of mine when the tune of Whistle started resonating in the algid air of the classroom. I ignored this distraction, cursed the owner of the mobile phone whose catchy ringtone was causing this interruption, and continued scribbling on my notebook the last sentence spoken by the teacher. With the last point noted down, I dropped the pen on the register and looked up with a smiling face. I looked towards my right, then on the left and then at the front. I found everyone gazing at me. I picked up my bag and left the room immediately in complete silence. Without further delay, I took out my cell phone and attended the incoming call from an unknown number. Unsurprisingly, the lady from the other side wanted me to have some pizza with extra topping of cheese at 40% discount! I did not know how to end the call, whether to blur out my choler on her or to simply end it. I tried to hide my crimsoned eyes by lowering my gaze while entering the class and took my seat without murmuring a word.
No matter where we are or whatever we are doing, these unwanted calls do not let us feel alone. While the enthralling offers on pizzas, burgers and biryani help in watering our mouths after midnight, the texts and calls regarding latest mobile network packages take us out of our lonesomeness. There is no need left to save the digits of plumbers, carpenters, motor mechanics and vegetable sellers, thanks to the promotional messages sent as daily reminders.
All the aforementioned types of unnecessary nudging might not seem to be initially harmful but can turn out to be devastating in the longer run. To illustrate, a lady is ambulating in her bedroom and waiting for her husband’s call since two days. It may turn out to be a climacteric call of her life. Suddenly the bell rings. She wipes her tears off her cheeks and runs to pick up her mobile that she had deliberately placed upside down on her side table. She swiftly lifts it upwards to attend the call but… her mobile network’s three-digit-number wanted to let her know that they are with her in this moment of distress. Such disappointments are faced not only by wives and husbands but also by students (praying for the class representative to text about the cancellation of a class), teachers (praying for the coordinator to message about the cancellation of classes), parents (waiting for their children to call them after reaching schools and colleges), and everyone else.
In today’s world no one is free to entertain or answer prank or unwanted calls. Privacy is desired by everyone and we all need our space. In the presence of speedy internet, 3G and 4G connections, and simple mobile SIM portals, the need to receiving and bearing with the receipt of calls and messages, merely done for the sake of advertisement, does not exist. For some, privacy and solitary serves the function of refueling, while for others it is simply a mode of satisfaction and contentment. Then why transgress the boundaries set by and for every human soul? Why should we live in a world deprived of silence and solitude? After all, as Anthony Burgess articulates his concern, “To be left alone is the most precious thing one can ask of the modern world.”