Simple technology, great usage

After my office hours, I reach home by 6.45 PM by office cab. My cab driver name is Rajan. I am the last drop person in my route. Rajan’s next pick up is at 10 PM from a call center company. His house is very far from the call center company, so he won’t go to his house in this 3 hours time. Many days I have wondered how he spends his 3 hours. One day I asked him,

KP: Rajan, you are dropping me at 6.45 PM, I am your last drop person. Your next pickup is at 10PM. I know you are not going home also. So, what do you do in this 3 hours?

Rajan: I halt the vehicle near the Sholinganallur-ECR junction and take rest. This junction is pretty close to the call center company.

KP: Oh, you do this daily eh.. hmm… won’t you be bored in this 3 hours?

Rajan: No sir, I will take rest for 30 minutes. Then, there is a serial that is telecasted at 7.30 PM in Sun TV. Its “Thirumathi Selvi”. That helps me to spend another 30 minutes.

KP: Serial at Sun TV?? You goto some nearby store to watch the serial?

Rajan: No sir. I will make a call to my wife’s mobile, she keeps her mobile near the TV speakers. Then I keep listening to the serial’s audio using my phone. I put my phone in speaker mode so that I need not hold the phone.

KP: WOW, that’s nice time killer. So, you make a 30 minute call daily. What’s your mobile bill?

Rajan: My wife and I have a Tata Indicom mobile. It’s 10 paisa between us. We have selected the 10 paisa plan.

KP: That’s awesome. So, for 30 minutes you pay only 3 rupees is it?

Rajan: No sir, I cut the call during advertisements. After the Ad, my wife will give me a missed call. I will call back again. So, the entire 30 minute serial will cost me 1 rupee 50 paisa. That is roughly 30 rupees per month.

KP: Very nice. What do you do after the serial?

Rajan: I will have dinner till 8.30PM. Then, I will sleep till 9.45 PM and then I will go to the company for pickup at 10 PM.

I was amazed on how much technology has improved these days, more importantly how different those technologies are being used. Mobile and TV are very common products / technologies these days, but the usage of these two by Rajan is brilliant. Entertainment comes in different packages.