2261) Leisure Time : Telephonic Cross-Connections:

2261) Leisure Time : Telephonic Cross-Connections:

While doing some spring cleaning in a loft, today I came across an old brief-case which contained several "Letters to the Editor" (LTTEs) published in the Northern India Patrika, Lucknow, Newspaper (an off-shoot of the Anand Bazaar Patrika). My first letter to the Patrika was published on 05.03.1980. Thereafter, I contributed 103 Letters to the Editor column and 16 articles to the Patrika, as a free-lance journalist. My last letter was published on 31.08.1982, just before I joined the State Bank of India as an officer. 

I got to know the Chief Editor Mr. Carlton Figg and Prashant Kumar an accredited journalist who became a very good friend. I had occasional publications in the Pioneer and the National Herald also published from Lucknow. While the file containing my articles is yet to be found, my "Letters to the Editor" (LTTEs) are available in two files, one of which I have retrieved during this search. I will be posting some of my LTTEs on my blog for posterity. So do, sit back, relax and enjoy this post.

Telephonic Cross-Conections":

This is a memory from 1979, when I was a student of Modern History, English Literature and Political Science at the Lucknow University (having earlier studied in La Martiniere College, Lucknow (1970-75) and the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU-1976-1978). 

I was rudely woken up one morning at about 4.45 AM by the loud ringing of my residence (Paper Mill Colony) telephone. The conversation went something like this:

A lady was on the other side. She enquired - "Rajeev?". Half awake, I answered, "Yes". She started, leterally shouting at me " Where have you been? You have not been answering your phone for quite a few days. I thought it best to catch you at this time and give you a call because I knew you would be home." (I thought, Lucky me, Who is this lady who has been trying to talk to me for the past few days. I immediately racked my brains, I was wide awake by now. Nope, it was none of my classmates in the University.

 I realised that the lady on the other side was still shouting at me, without let-up and not letting me get a word in edge-wise. "You haven't come to visit for quite some time now. What is happening with you? You are neither answering calls or visiting. Are you alright?" Before I could answer, she spoke in a tone of authority - "You are invited to my party tomorrow evening". Before I could react, she said -" And bring Poonam with youI gathered that Poonam was supposedly my wife. My hopes were utterly dashed. I did not know any Poonam, leave alone being married to someone by that name, and it looked like a couple's party. 

I also could not get anyone to impersonate someone called Poonam, because apparently, this lady knew both of us very well. "Are you listening?" the voice on the other side was very persistent. I answered "Yes". 

I added for good measure - "Could I request you to tell me the number you have dialled?". I immediately got another firing, "Now don't tell me that I don't know your number. It seems to me that you have not woken up yet. Nothing that I have said has registered or has it?"

I finally lost my cool and repeated resolutely, "Madam what number have you dialled?" She answered "Oh so now you are being officious by addressing me as Madam. I have dialled your number 81604". I answered with a sense of relief "Madam this is 81404". She was somewhat taken aback. I added that I was also Rajeev and it took me some time to understand the mix-up. 

To cut a long story short, it transpired that she was a lady doctor residing in River Bank Colony. We had a long telephonic conversation thereafter. I shared that I was a University student. I found out that both Poonam and Rajeev were doctors.

She apologised profusely for firing me and invited me to come to her party. Then we broke the conversation with her saying that she will call up the other Rajeev now. When she dialled again, she got connected to my phone again and we had another hilarious conversation.

The following letter published in the NIP on 15.03.1981 gives a hilarious account of cross-connections (some of the content was edited by the editorial staff):

Links to some other short stories on this Blog by Rajeev Prasad:

1) Leisure Time Short Stories : Friends at the Crossroads

2) Leisure Time Short Stories : Arvind Dada & the Street Dogs

3) Leisure Time Short Stories: The present moment (split second) contains an eternity: A strange experience at the Balaji (Hanuman) Temple near Jaipur: 

4) Leisure Time Short Stories: A tour of Pune's Blind School (or as I prefer to call it the "School for visually challenged students") 

5) Leisure Time Short Stories: An Otherworldly Encounter: A Personal Experience:

6) Leisure Time Short Stories: Remembering Uncle Paul Haegar: A German Army Officer in World War II, who became an exemplary Horticulturist and transformed/landscaped the gardens of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) into examples of beauty and excellence

7) Leisure Time Short Stories : Connecting through several lifetimes: The Story of the "Panditji" (Priest) of the Hanuman Temple at Chandrasekhar Azad University, Kanpur 

8) Leisure Time - Memories: From the website of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh: Setting up/establishing of the Physiology Department and the new Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC) Campus by my late father Dr.J.N.Prasad

9) Leisure Time (Memories) A photo-journey to Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad: The residence of Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba Gandhi from 1918 to 1930

10) Leisure Time (Memories) State Bank of India Inaugural Essay Competitions - 1994: 25th Anniversary (1994-2019): Winning the II Prize at the Whole Bank Level on my Essay titled "State Bank of India in the New Banking Era" in a grand Presentation Ceremony at SBI Central Office, Bombay

11) Leisure Time (Memories): The story of our little "Oye", a Adenium Plant (also known as "Desert Rose")

12) Leisure Time (Memories): State Bank of India, Hardoi Branch (Lucknow Circle): The "Youth Hostel"

13) Leisure Time - Experiences: "What's in a name"? wrote Shakespeare: This quote didn't seem to work for me

14) Leisure Time: Telephonic Cross Connections

15) Leisure Time (Hobbies): Tom Babinszky, a US based blind Coin Collector/Numismatist who has visited several countries and has collected several interesting coins from all over the world: (A Guest Post from Tom on how he goes about his hobby of collecting coins)