Tuesday, June 10, 2014

A Day in life without a cell phone

Unimaginable. Unthinkable. Impossible. 

That's how each one of us would react if asked to spend an entire 24 hrs without a cellphone. 
But as always. Life teaches us how to adapt and make the most out of the situations. 
I had no option. It wasn't an experiment nor was it deliberate. The iPhone charger was under the weather since a couple of days. As a result of which, my mobile started getting some hiccups. Acting as a layman I started with some home remedies and kept dragging on. But finally things gave way.

It was a Sunday and a day of relaxation. My initial hospital rounds were over when the phone finally got bedridden and refused to move. 
I was attending a conference when my 24 hrs journey sans my cellphone started. Nobody could disturb me now. I was away from the city and listening to the speaker with full intent. The first 30 mins or so, I kept fidgeting with the sick gadget not still ready to believe that it wasn't working. The auditorium was packed with a full capacity crowd. After the initial couple of hours, the silence of the phone started to get deafening.  Case discussions, debates, cross questions. It was all happening. But the mind didn't seem to focus anywhere else now. When would I be able to restart this techno? I finally accepted my fate and thought that it would be a good idea to make the most of this situation and learn how to live life without it. So, there were no further attempts made to restore normalcy.

Before hitting the sack, I realized that the day had passed off very peacefully. No pesky calls. No patient worries. Indeed it was a relaxing Sunday. 
The entire night I kept dreaming about the charge of the phone. Whether it was 20% or less didn't matter. What was important was that after so many years the dreams has been so vivid tonight.

There wasn't any alarm to wake me up. My biological clock had already set itself to 630 hrs since years. The morning didn't begin with the usual greeting messages. There was no whatsapp status updates nor Facebook status uploads. After a quick shower and breakfast, I left for work early since I had an extra job at hand - Purchasing the charger. 
I couldn't check my schedule for the day. Nor could I confirm my reminders. Panic had started to set in. I had to make use of the hospital landlines to make the necessary calls. Enough was enough. 
As I was set to leave for the Apple store, I realised how badly paralyzed life was without the services of a smartphone. I couldn't decide the best route to reach my destination. I desperately needed the Google maps - preposterous!!

Sanity prevailed and by late afternoon I was back in the company of my partner, my phone. How peaceful was life without the gizmo. I did however dare to turn it off for the rest of the day.

It's worth attempting this venture. Our mind does need some rest. Even on a vacation, we tend to carry it along, either not to miss the so called important calls or to avail the wifi services and keep the important chats going on. We have participated in the Earth day where we have switched off our power for a couple of hours. We have also involved ourselves in No TV day. Let's try a No Mobile Day now. Switch off your handsets and see the difference. 
Enjoy the little things in life for one day you will look back and realise that they were the big things. 

12 comments:

  1. farida patanwala10 June 2014 at 12:51

    Indeed well written .......it felt that every common man would be experiencing the same problems n feelings of not using the phone for a day........it has its own advantages n viceversa. I guess it all depends on how this gadget is useful to u or just a timepass toy

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  2. very true ... having the phone and not hearing it beep makes us so restless .. that we forget other things.... i tried out the same thing on purpose and believe me it gives such peace of mind .. and you get much more done ...

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  3. bhai shabbir,
    really mobile use has actually made everyone of us dependent on every walk of life.
    and whatsup and facebook though help to be social but kills hours in using, neglecting even our family.
    khair, zindagi aamaj vitse ke sun?
    saifee surka, ahmd 8735088052

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  4. Will Definite try it on weekends, But during week day it will create a havoc and panic amonst the associates and families who would try to reach us.
    Nice Thought Doctor

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  5. Like any technological advancements if used sensibley and maturely it can be a boon or a bane....

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  6. Like any technological advancements if used sensibley and maturely it can be a boon or a bane....

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  7. I know a friend who would surely be admitted to an asylum if the phone(s) were taken away for a day

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  8. I have tried it and it feels grt. Its a good write up.

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  9. Thank you Doc for making us believe that it is not impossible.
    A great way to detox our soul.
    We must practice it once in a while, if only to convince ourselves that we are not ruled by these toys.

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