We had a big black phone that had to be manually dialled in one corner of the hall. Every time it gave out the shrill ring, we (the kids in the house) would race towards it because we wanted to be the first one to pick it up. But, you had to be of a certain age to answer calls. Children below 10 were not considered old enough to understand and take down instructions from those at the other end of the call. There used to be a small notepad (consisting of one-side used paper), a pen/pencil, and a small phone book beside the phone. One felt very important while answering calls and taking down instructions if needed, But this phone did not have a variety of ringtones that could be changed at will. Neither did it come in fancy colours. It was a big, black instrument (at some later point, we had a green one) and the phone numbers had to be manually dialled; there was no auto-redial option when the number at the other end was busy. This was our landline phone at home in the 80s and 90s and even later until mobile phones became ubiquitous, wrecking our lives and disturbing our peace of mind.
Landline phones offered no privacy. It was fixed to a place so you couldn't carry it anywhere with you. Most of the time, you had to stand in one place and talk. It was the least comfortable. Ours didn't have the redial option so it was a tad irritating when we had to redial numbers manually. Of course, button phones came later, but until then you had to manually put your index finger in the slot for each number and turn it around. It made a strange noise as it went around. Another important thing to remember is that most calls were never made/received beyond 9 p.m. When the phone rang post 10 p.m., it often meant that there was an emergency at the other end or someone was calling to deliver 'bad' news. So, after 10 at night, if the phone did ring, everyone emerged from their respective rooms to the hall to find out who had called and to confirm that all was well.
When mobile phones started trickling into the market towards the year 2000 and beyond, you will remember that initially, very few had them. I didn't. But little did we know back then that soon a day would come when this little instrument in one's hands would become a necessary 'evil'. Mobile phones provide privacy, but it also makes you accessible 24/7. Conversations have increased, information is widespread and misunderstandings abound. The initial euphoria was soon lost when we realised that we would not be able to live without them for even a minute. And in the midst of all the noise, the heart still craves for the good, old days when phones were not 'mobile'.
Do you have any memories attached to the good, old landline phones?
This post is part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023.
Photo by Wesley Hilario on Unsplash
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