In the Metro, at 8 o’clock in the morning the only thing on
my mind is a nice pre-office nap. But somehow I’m always next to people whose
phones buzz when I’m about to doze off. Then I am a forced listener of their hushed
conversations. In most cases eavesdropping is not intentional. In buses,
trains, elevators we all end up picking up conversations between random
strangers. But there seems to be a unique frequency in which committed people
converse in, particularly over-the-phone conversations. Since I’m a ‘people in
10 meter radius know what I’m talking about’ person, it fascinates me how I
don’t catch a word of their conversation. And mind you, I have really sharp
ears.
One of the biggest giveaways that a person is in a
relationship is the relationship he/she has with the phone. They are endlessly
glued to the device. I’m not being unromantic here. There is absolutely nothing
wrong with talking to someone you love. What they talk about for so long (each
and every day) is not my concern at all; it is the subtle art of speaking in
hushed voices which gets me all curious.
At first, I thought it is just girls who talk this way, all
coy and whispering sweet nothings and maybe their boyfriends endure it for god
knows what reasons. But the stories that I’ve heard from committed men and
their friends are just awe inspiring. So these days, I’m not shocked to know
that some person used to talk to his girlfriend for 17 hours at a stretch and
to top that in that super amazing unique frequency.*rimpoche*.After listening
to such endless stories from them (yeah, committed people like to tell
singletons how amazing being in love is.:P) I had to know the secret of how to
talk like they do on the phone. So I rolled up my sleeves to do some serious
research on this. As you get older (like I’m) the number of committed people
drastically increases or maybe you just start noticing it more now. Most
singles find this very depressing but I on the other hand look at the brighter
side. Now, I simply have more specimens to observe. Pathetic maybe, but being
an optimist never hurts.
Every day in the metro, the station corridor, sidewalk, etc
I started to observe (committed) men and women while they are on the phone.
There are times when they plainly shoo me away, some like the fact that I’m
staring at them*wink*, some don’t give a damn and I’m sure some find me creepy
even. But such things shouldn’t deter one. I have even tried to apply all the
observation in practice but in vain. All I got from my friends was “why the
hell are you whispering?” and “I can’t hear you, is there a network problem?”
and this was enough to induce an uncontrollable fit of giggles. The people,
with whom I’ve shared my curiosity and the unaware committed junta, to whom I‘ve
asked some really stupid questions, seriously think I’ve gone nuts or probably
evolved to a higher level of absurdity.
Maybe someday I might be able to master this great art or
may be not. For now, when the person sitting next to me picks up the phone to
murmur to his/her love, I simply doze off.
