Cell Phone Adventures

So I met up with an old friend, Serin at Eva Mall for lunch on Tuesday, and I guess I had left my phone sitting on a bench. I didn’t notice that my phone was missing untill later that evening. I tried calling it a few times, but nobody answered. So I just figured it was long gone, and added it to the long mental list of things that I have either lost or gotten stolen: cell phones, ipods, credit cards, etc. I pretty much resigned myself to life without a cell phone, and was already starting to get comfortable with the minimalist lifestyle change.

So then last night I got a call from Parvathy, saying that some man called her from my phone and was holding onto it for me. I called her right back and got more info. She said the guy’s name was Bhaskhar and sounded kind of gruff on the phone. I asked her exactly what did he say? I guess he was like “Hi. I have a phone.” And 'Paro' was like “WHAT?” -- all confused. Then he was silent for a few seconds, and then repeated himself: “Hi. I have a phone.” Her impersonation of Bhaskhar was awesome. I cannot imagine how he was finally able to convey this confusing situation to her, but somehow she was able to get his home phone number and gave it to me.

So this morning, I called the home phone number and my own cell phone number, but no answer. I got to work and tried calling a few more times; no answer. I tried again — this time when I called my cell phone, somebody answered but didn’t say anything and just hung up. I called right back and the same thing happened. I wanted to say “Bhaskhar! Is that you?! I know you’re there...” Finally the third time around, he answered with a tentative “Hello?”

We arranged to meet outside Garuda Mall around noon.When i arrived at Garuda, I kept staring at random men who might look like a “Bhaskhar.” In college I knew a guy named 'Bhasi', so basically I was looking for somebody that looked just like Bhasi. Finally I saw a guy leaning against the wall across from Garuda. He was slightly overweight, wearing jeans and a jean jacket (or jean vest? Can’t remember...I just remember there was a lot of faded denim going on).Not really what I expected. “Are you Bhaskhar?” I said. He was very kind and handed the phone over to me. I offered him Rs.1000 and he took it hesitantly. “You don’t have to do this,” he said a couple times. I have to admit, even though I was grateful to him for not stealing my thousands worth phone, I was also very cautious and felt a little weird about it all. Anyway, all this to say that I guess there are really honest people out there in the world, and I’m grateful that I got my phone back. Thank You Paro & Bhaskar.. Hate you Serin!!