aditya kumar's weblog

The sound of my Nokia pierces conveniently through the silence that envelopes my room at 7 AM. The only sound besides the noise this Nokia makes is the distant humming of my computer. But as the cell phone hums “Streetwise”, one of its long 4KB polyphonic ring tones, the sound is making inroads into my little world of sleep. A world built so slowly, in the course of the night. One by one the walls that protect the fortress of this world of mine come crashing down. The siren grows shriller every passing second. A hero in this world of mine, now I am scared. There is always a sense of urgency in this world, but I manage to pull off my feats before the inevitable happens. Sometimes I save a dogs life, sometimes, one more time my heart breaks as I go back in the past, sometimes I just about manage to withdraw the much needed cash from the ATM. And as I end up with one of these visual experiences, the inevitable happens.

“Streetwise” sings.

The meracious sound of this damn gadget, so much without guilt, facing almost no resistance, and with the added element (read punch) of surprise, manages successfully, yet another time, the job of bringing me to the reality of this world, in its own harsh way. As I open my eyes, with little success, I see the dim chrome-yellow LED of my monitor. The blinking red infra of the mouse. The three yellow circles on the keyboard. And some more light from, I do not know, where. On my left is a white glow. focussing on its source, the screen of my Nokia, I see some characters which, after passing through a state of temporary bewilderment, my mind deciphers and one by one joins them to the word “Alarm!” and these characters, ask the question “Stop” or “Snooze”. I am obliged to answer, for if I dont, the siren threatens to go on. I hit something at random hoping that should be the end of it but the ordeal continues. More answers are needed. “Switch the phone on? Yes or No”. Another question requiring my attention. This time the sound is no more. But the blinding light persists. Oh stop it, I say. I hit another button. I hope the gadget’s questions, all of them, are convincingly answered. A few seconds pass. Right. No more lights. no more alerts. But the damage has been done. No more feats. My fortress is no more. The world I owned gone, into thin air. Just like that.

Come to think of it, I had set this plot myself. Before going to sleep, the night before. Myself?.

It’s 7 AM. Bingo.