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Dhaka Day by Day

Trauma of Phoney Phone Calls

by Iftikhar Ahmed Chowdhury
Imagine that you are suffering from acuie insomnia. By the optimum grace of the god Hypnos you have finally drifted Into a deep and much awaited slumber You wake up all of a sudden tn the middle of die night because the phone rang incessantly Much annoyed and also a little apprehensive you pick up the phone and an unknown voice bum the other side asks you whet the time tai By then anger has taken control over your whole being Speechless, you put down the phone back tn its cradle and for once tn your life you feel life crying
The telephone has undoubtedly confirmed It's position as an essentia! in the life of modern man But like almost any other gifts of modern science, tu utility too. depends on the persons who use or operate it
Apart from the calls that accidentally come to wrong numbers, which are mostly pardoned by the receivers, there are some calls which are made intentionally to disturb the receiver If the receiver's voice seems agreeable and considerably welcoming to the caller, he or she may even start a conversation regardless of the fact that the person on the other side may not cherish any hope whatsoever to talk to an utter stranger
To prevent such annoyance one doesn t have too many options at hand. The receiver may either allow a conversation, or with due humility ask not to phone any more. Finally, there is ala-ays the harsh way. wlicre one can frighten the caller by saying that after tracing out his or her number it would be supplied to the police.
There is another type of crank' caller who does not have the nerve to talk. After holding the phone for a considerable length of time (probably hoping for a green signal from the side) they disconnect the line. They make repeated calls like this, totally regardless of time, even at the dead of the night.
Nasrin Sabina, an undergraduate student explains: They arc a peculiar lot. Some of them insist on conversing and making friendship through telephone and most of the time they are so optimistic that it is not in human capacity to discourage them or make them understand that you're not Interested at all. Thev are usually youths between the ages 10 and 25.'
She also adds. There is another type who doesn't talk, but makes all kinds of peculiar sounds on the phone. Some exhale deep breaths into the phone, some makes sounds with their finger tips on the receiver, expecting the same Morse code in return. You would make the worst possible mistake if you ever respond. Once we had to change our phone number to escape these disturbing calls."
But those these callers have a relentless
urge to go on doing what they do. The fact that there may be an old person in the house, a person seriously ill whose physical condition may deteriorate due to Uwse disturbances docs seldom stir their conscioustteaa
The problems engendered by these calls arc multi-dimensional. Anwar Ahmed an MBA student emphasises. "I come from a very orthodox family. My parents do not allow me to talk to any of my female friends whom they personally do not know. When these mysterious phone calls come, my parents assume they are meant for me and it Is very embarrassing when the caller remains silent when they answer."
There should be some way we could stop these calls once for ail ' insists Hasanul Karim.
a retired ban^t executive. "You sec I am an ailing person with many old age complications. Sometimes 1 wake up In the middle of the night to pick up the phone, but the line Is disconnected as soon as I pick it up. It goes on again and again. I have to disconnect my own phone tn the end. One shouldn't play such cruel games with old people like us."
But for the time being this retired man likes to ponder the dayrf when there was no telephone. The mobility that was once there, is no more. As youths, we went to visit elderly relatives and that made them immensely happy. Nowadays my relatives call on the phone to know how I am doing. Why should they come to meet me in person when they know the easier alternative?' concludes the aging man with an undue annoyance over this gift of modern science, a blame which should have been fittingly laid elsewhere