In the past, I have had people I know, casual acquaintances back in India, who, after coming to the US for a visit, would send me a mail saying "I am in the US, call me".
I don't understand why someone's being here in the US should be a bigger incentive for me to call him than when he's back in India. The telephone rates are about the same. If I didn't call you when you were in India, chances are that it wasn't because of the seven seas separating us. The reduction in physical distance doesn't make a whole lot of difference when you are speaking to someone on the phone. Current technology still does not allow you to shake someone's hand or slap his back or make obscene gestures at him through the phone line. And it's not like being in the same country makes your voice sound more melodious or your personality more agreeable on the phone.
I think the only difference between talking to someone in India and the same guy after he's landed in the US is that you have more flight-related material to sustain your conversation, leading to less awkward pauses than usual, thus making it a social opportunity to jump at. So when did you land here, I landed today, how was your flight, it was long, was it 16 hours, yes excluding the 5 hour stopover, did you fly through London, no I flew through Paris, oh really, I thought you flew through Frankfurt, no, I flew through London, did you fly Lufthansa, no I flew British Airways, oh, I thought you said you flew through Rome, no, I flew through London, so how do you like it here, I've only been here a couple of days, so did you watch the weather channel yet, you don't get it in India, no I don't have a tv, which is why I'm talking to you right now.
And so it goes, this conversation between two virtual strangers, the only bond between them being their simultaneous presence in the same country which is not their homeland. And when it is done and receivers have been replaced back on the hook, both begin to realize why they never called each other up as often back in India in the first place.
12 comments:
Hi Gawker,
Can you please read my message posted as a comment for your previous post?
hilarious post man...i have always thought of that.
your fans are damn scary.
Ha ha!
Some of us aren't fans, we're paid critics.
I'm not saying who I'm paid by.
Such wisdom in one so young!
J.A.P.
giri : Affirmative.
alpha : Thank you, so tell me, what am I thinking of now?
zambezi : South Orange scary or just plain New Jersey scary?
anurag : Ha ha back to you with a photograph thrown in.
robroy : Man, if I knew some of you were already being paid, I wouldn't have paid you myself.
JAP : Personally, I would have preferred a black BMW M series.
What about the fact that some of them asked to be picked up at the airport, fed, watered, given a bed etc etc.
MG : In such circumstances a phone call is fine because it actually serves some purpose. Although to be perfectly honest, the ideal thing in this case would be to direct them to a homeless shelter.
Its better this way. You do the thinking, write it down for all to see and then I jump in to say - exactly my thoughts!
That way we freak out Zambezi.
Brilliant! Coincidently, just yesterday this girl i studied with in school (which was a good 15 yrs ago :P) called me sayin she was in US. Now the last time i spoke to her was well. i can't even remember :P
So, suffice to say, I agree with every word of the post :)
This reminds me of a Seinfeld joke where he makes fun of those who say "That's true" to his jokes :-)
Loved this post, was laughing throughout.
- Your sister
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