Those days, families that had a phone, a landline, were considered truly elite.
As a child, I remember our black rotary phone. It had a shrill ring that could be heard even two houses away. That sound itself felt important… like news was arriving.
Calling outstation relatives wasn’t simple. We had to book a trunk call. Then came the wait. And when the call finally connected, a human operator would step in every few minutes, politely asking if we wished to continue or cut the call. Since it was expensive, every word mattered. Trunk calls were reserved for life’s big moments, good news or bad.
Those who couldn’t afford even that relied on telegrams, for weddings, for funerals… for everything that couldn’t wait.
Over time, the sturdy black phone gave way to colourful, sleeker rotary models. We proudly invested in long wires, carrying the phone from room to room…the dining hall, the bedroom, with cables snaking across the house like lifelines.
Years later came wireless landlines… and with them, a new kind of freedom.
There were also days, as a new bride, when I would go to a neighbour’s house to attend a phone call. After every call, Mrs. Kothandaraman would lovingly offer me biscuits or chocolates. I still remember standing there, looking around her spic-and-span home, quietly relishing those unexpected treats.
And then, the funny habit we all had of raising our voices! Especially during trunk calls, and even more so when it was an international call from my sisters. We would unconsciously speak a few decibels louder… even though we could hear perfectly well.
We also had our own clever tricks. If an annoying caller kept ringing repeatedly, the solution was simple! remove the receiver from the hook and place it on the table. Silence, at last.
And of course, there were cross talks.
I still remember once, while talking to a friend…we often solved math problems and struggled through tough physics questions over the phone. A stranger’s voice suddenly interrupted us. He had clearly been listening for a while and even pointed out that our solution was wrong! We were so startled that we hung up immediately.
Another time, during my college days, a “cross talk” connection led to something unexpected, a friendship. A girl from the same college happened to get connected on the line. What began as accidental conversations slowly turned into a real bond.
Nostalgia! Whenever I look at a picture of an old rotary phone, I can actually hear Appa’s voice, “Dr. Mani here…” He used to call at 4 Pm every single day…!
The landline is slowly fading away…
And with it, the rotary phone, once the heart of the home.
But for those of us who lived through it,
every ring, every wait, every voice…
talks of several stories of the bygone days.
This one definitely rings a bell if not several! Well written as always Meku. I still remember a call a classmate made to me on the landline where after saying hello we became tongue tied and kept urging each other to “ say something!! “🤣
Real nostalgia!!glorious days we cherished.you brought it alive Meghu.
Wow! That was a beautiful trip down memory lane, Megha! I absolutely miss the wired phones. I feel like they made us stay present in the conversation.
Thank you for this treat of a read! I thoroughly enjoyed it! ❤️
That telephone also served as a conduit for romance. With me in Calcutta and my “yet to become to-be” in Chennai, those trunk calls were our only means of keeping the romance kicking. We even had codes in the number of rings to let the other party know it was safe to call
Yep, so many memories Megu. Your words echoed every sentiment, emotion we all went through those days with these landlines and I still remember how an employee of the company will visit us to service the phone and before she leaves will apply perfume on the receiver ! Thank you for taking us through those good old simple days 🙏
Yes. All of us who has seen these land line phone carry lot of memories with us. Always used wait looking at the clock to make calls to the loved ones who lived in other cities at subsidised rates 😊
Wow so true …every word written you took me back to my childhood days of the black phone. Just today was telling my mom of the concept of ladies coming once or twice a month with a steel box to clean the telephone. They had a cloth and cotton to clean the phone and a kind of scented liquid which they would apply inside the receiver .
This used to be free service. Do u remember ? Watching them do this was so exciting for me as a kid
I don’t remember that. Wow actually they used to apply perfume?!
Pure Nostalgia, ad infinitum!
Absolutely true
Nostalgia about phone kindled by Megha
It was a big thing to have a phone at home
My first phone at home was only at 27 years when I moved out of the country .
oh ! what a picturesque description of those old “ golden days “ recalled with the inanimate black telephone as the main hero who can dare to call a black telephone as a lifeless neutral matter if its calling sound is like temple mani followed by sweet voice with human touch at the other end emotionally moving us to joy or sorrow consoling us or longing for consolation from us or joyous news blessing the him that gives and him that takes like quality of mercy ♥️very beautiful narration meghu lifting one to lofty memories even for persons receiving calls from neighbours phone and being further hosted by them with tea biscuits and so on
those giants replaced by mini cell phones has put a barrier this century on human bonding , am emphatic human touch through mere voice and brot security threats instead of secure heartfelt greeting or consolations excellent feel like reading it again and again lovely ♥️♥️♥️
Interesting encounters with the rotary phone, a blessing for city folks. We villagers eagerly awaited the postman. Enjoyed the ‘recall’ of wrong numbers and cross talks.
I still remember our rotary phone numbers. And the phonebook. Even after we got the cordless, I remember picking up the cordless and walking over to where the base set was cos I was used to standing there when talking on the phone. Nice one, Megha.
A beautifully written piece that captures the remarkable journey from nostalgic landline phones to today’s smart mobile world. Megu, your write up perfectly blends technology, memories, emotions reminding us how far communication has come while cherishing the simplicity of the past.