The Hindu Business Line : Mobile talkathons break all records

The `mobile talkathons' are so much a part of our everyday lives, what with each trying his best to hide the handsets from the naked eye. These movers and talkers have laid siege to the urban spaces, decked up like cockpit crew of some futuristic space ship. And the monologues continue.

THE young urban male and female on the move — by train, cab, or on foot — appear to have one thing in common. They chatter incessantly all the time; the art of silence is no longer a virtue.

The catch is, there is no support cast in this activity, as the chatter brigade go about their job in total solitude. The enlightened say this is one roadmap for how communication will unfold in the future, eerie sight though it may be for the beholder.

These `mobile talkathons' are so much a part of our everyday lives, what with each trying his best to hide the handsets from the naked eye. These movers and talkers have laid siege to the urban spaces, decked up like cockpit crew of some futuristic space ship, armed with headphones, collar microphone and the loops of wire that are getting shorter by the day. And the monologues continue.

The conservative breed argue that the sight of hordes of men and women moving around, wired for sound, earplugs et al, would still cause agitated comment in the countryside. That it does not reflect the true ethos of Bharat — with or without its sanchar nigams — they feel.

Perhaps so, as the odd villagers straying into the city light limits may initially be surprised that there are so many hearing-impaired in urban India. Soon, the sympathy turns to alarm as they find many of these hearing aid-carrying people also behaving like the village dullard who keeps talking to himself.

Imagine the future shock that is set to be unleashed on these techno-primitives as the earplugs and mouthpieces may soon be replaced by micro-gadgets that may be better hidden by way of earrings, nose-rings and the like. It could also be even more embedded, as technology begins where dentists and ENT surgeons sign off, argue the crystal gazers among the geeks.

"The manufacturers of these props would find synergy in tying up with jewellers, cosmetologists and even surgeons. Though all this may sound somewhat fantastic now, the future belongs to those who can bring out products to match lifestyle aspirations," says a future perfect nerd.

But that is only half the story as the scope for back-up software for such path-breaking hardware is tremendous. With talking on the move becoming a compulsion, akin to music on tap or munching peanuts, interactive conversation software could be the next big break for the mobile play-station.

"The possibilities are immense as there could be demand for many variants of this software. Yes, the future would belong to virtual dialogues that could provide a welcome break from the not-so-programmable conversations that one has at home and at offices. Essentially, you could chill out on soothing responses that are friendly, soft, pliable and sexy," goes on the excited geek.

If that were to happen, the future would be rosier for a good many who, all these years, were at the receiving end of table-talk — both at home and at the workplace. With mobile phones already leading many adults into their second childhood, gadgets such as goggles beaming in pictorial images of virtual dialogue partners could be a mere shout away.

The redeeming part of this gaming device could be that the persons you chat with on your personal screen need not be the everyday faces of your spouse or boss.

Instead, you could be discussing domestic chores with Shah Rukh Khan or Priyanka Chopra, or demanding a double increment from Bill Gates.

Vinod Mathew

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