When Music Becomes Noise

‘Oh No! Hope it’s not the same call again.’ I whispered and ran to my room to check the mobile phone. It was singing aloud the tunes of ‘Sarvam’, a Tamil movie. I was too irritated to hear this ringtone again. I put my phone on the silent mode for the moment and let it vibrate for the next 11 calls, nevertheless I didn’t answer one. My next target was to browse for a blank ring tone and I didn’t succeed. Finally when the vibration stopped for a while, and when I was sure I will not receive more of these calls, I browsed the phone for another ringtone. After changing the ringtone, I put the phone back on normal mode.

I am a very poor user of the phone and hardly get calls other than the ones from whom I am very closely acquainted with. It served me more as walkman than a phone. Considering the above facts, it’s vague that I was irritated by the ringtone. Moreover, the mentioned ringtone was set as the default ringtone and there is not much a chance that it is played, as there are specific ringtones set for these closely acquainted people.

Now coming to circumstances, I received about 6 missed calls from a mysterious number the previous evening and I was unable to trace the number. While I was pondering on who that desperate person was, I received a call from the same number. As expected, it was a ‘wrong number’. I attended the call and notified the caller that it was a wrong number they were trying to reach. But to my surprise the calls continued and within an hour it was about another 5 missed calls. You know how it is to hear the same 21 second long ringtone 12 times in an hour.

But this was not all. Early today morning it was about 5.30 AM, the phone rang again, the same number flashing and yet again playing the same ringtone. I cut the call. It rang again and this time I picked it up and in a drowsy voice requested the caller not to try the wrong number again, but with no effect. The calls continued for the next hour and half (yet another 10 missed calls), the result being my sleep disturbed or destroyed rather.

Now as I write this post, I hope the caller gets his number right and I don’t get disturbed from my sleep on a weekend. Else I will have to look for another ringtone again tomorrow evening.

Just a count: I received 35 (11 + 10 + 10 = 31 missed + 4 answered) calls from that number.

Games Sweet Games

Few days back, we were returning home after watching a movie and suddenly a conversation picked up about the games we played in our childhood. From then on I have been putting up a list in my mind.

Chogi:

All you need is 4 small sea shells and it will keep you engaged for hours together. My aunt was the mentor. The game begins with rolling the 4 shells (like rolling dice) and you are eligible to start playing once all the four shells land on the floor facing upward or downward uniformly. Once you find the luck, you can start tossing the four shells in the air and try catching them using the back side of your hand and then drop them on the floor positioning them in a certain manner to grab points.

Aggravation:

This is an advanced version of Ludo, almost the same rules, but the board is bigger and 6 players can play at a time.

Brainvita:

A board and 44 marbles, you can spend hours alone. Start by jumping one marble over the other and remove the later. The aim of the game is to reach at one marble by jumping and removing.


Tell Me Quiz

Quizzing Game. Take turns to draw a quiz card and spin the alphabet wheel. Answer the given question in a single word starting with the lucky alphabet.

Scrabble:

Crossword game, build words on the board and grab points for each alphabet. The rarer of the alphabets you use, the higher points you score. Luck matters when you pick your alphabets and you can have only seven alphabets at a time.

Business/Moneyply/Monopoly/Trade:

Trading game, where you buy and sell places as such. It’s such fun when you know you own Darjeeling, Mumbai (Business) or Miami Beach (Moneyply). Another such game, I can recollect playing was ‘Barbie Goes shopping’ where you purchase household furniture to set up the house for your Barbie.

Dark Room

Get into a dark room and hide under the tables, behind the curtains or beneath the cot or choose a corner for yourself. Once ready, call the seeker into the pitch dark room. He’s got to find and identify you in the dark.

Memory:

It’s a pack of 56 pairs of square picture cards. Shuffle them and lay them on the floor facing down. In turns, pick up 2 cards at a time; if they match they are yours, else place them back. Every time you get a pair, you play an extra chance. At the end the player who grabs the maximum number of pairs is the winner.

King, Queen & Robber

It’s a game for 5-6 people - King, queen, Jack, Minister, Police and robber. Write each one of these on a piece of paper and shuffle the lot. Each picks a piece and keeps his role a secret except for the King. The King has to find the Queen. If he’s right he gets full points. If he’s wrong, he’s got to exchange the chit. This way the queen finds the Jack, then the minister and so on.

Book Cricket

All you need is a school text book and a plain sheet of paper. The batsman opens the book randomly and the score is based on the last digit of the even page number. It’s up to you to decide the number of balls or the form of game.

Uno Cards

It’s a pack of cards (similar to the playing cards, 4 colours, Each colour contains numbers 0-9, colour change, +4, +2, skip and reverse.) It’s one game that keeps you engaged for hours together. Shuffle the cards and distribute 7 cards to each player. One player plays a card, the next one has to play a card that has the same number or the same colour else he has to skip his turn after drawing an extra card. The player who gets rid of his cards the earliest is the winner.

Trump Cards

It’s yet another pack of cards. Each card contains a photograph of a WWF champion, with some statistics like his ranking, weight, height, biceps, etc...Shuffle and distribute the cards among the players. Each player plays one card at a time and compares the statistics with the other players’ cards. The player with the card that has the best statistics gets all the cards.

It used to be real fun when we as kids used to gather a gang at home decide on a game (sometimes it takes hours) and sit together around the board and play. Parents used to keep us fed with snacks and beverages at regular intervals. Purchasing new indoor games was the first activity we do when school closes for summer holidays. Indoor games used to be our way to keep us engaged for the 2 month span by passing the heat.

Now are the days when most of these are available as flash games or executable programs and the kids are getting used to playing games with the computer all alone at home.

Gone Are Those Days

Gone Are Those Days
When I sat beside you
Listening to the tit bit jokes
You read from the weekly.

Gone Are Those Days
When you gave me all I wanted
As surprise gifts all the time
You never let me ask

Gone Are Those Days
When you gifted us
With the best games to play
On the last day of school

Gone Are those Days
When you drew the patterns
On the floor for us
Only to fill up with flowers and colours

Gone Are Those Days
When you consoled me
After every concert
I didn’t do well, though

Gone Are Those Days
When you treated my pals
With your best dishes
Any chance didn’t you miss.

Gone Are Those Days
When you made my dress collection
It was time for me to leave school
Only to see me a budding graduate

Gone Are Those Days
When you got me to perform on stage
Standing behind the curtains
It was all your effort, you rejoiced yet

Gone Are Those Days
When you celebrated
Every Milestone I reached
With all the pride in the world

Gone Are Those Days
When we spent every moment
Merry and Happy
Will I treasure these all my life

Now Are These Days
When I cherish our every moment
With a smile lighting my face
Heaviness befalls my heart though

p.s: It’s seven years since she bid adieu, but What I am today is all what she did to me. Dedicated to my beloved Mother.