Melvin's blog

Nshima & Curry

Melvin's  Blog

Nshima & Curry

INDIAN ROMANCE GOES MOBILE

My wife and I have been married for more than two years,
but, unlike many couples in India, we still haven't engaged
in SMS. It's not that we're too old-fashioned for it. We
just don't have the right equipment.

SMS, in case you didn't know, is nothing kinky. It stands
for Short Messaging System (also known as text messaging),
an inexpensive and increasingly popular way of communicating
for mobile phone users in India. According to a recent India
Today article, about 2.5 crore SMS messages are sent daily,
some traveling many miles, others just a few yards.

Wife: "Y r u not cming to bed?"

Husband: "Crckt mtch. Gd nght!"

If you had trouble reading some of those words, you're
probably not used to SMS, which has given many Indians the
opportunity to butcher English like never before. Forget
spelling, forget punctuation, forget the lecture your
English teacher gave you when you said, "I am not
understanding why grammar be important."

Anything goes in SMS, as long as people can make sense of
your msg (message). It's easy to be misunderstood.
When a woman writes, "U gv me lc," her message can
compliment one man ("I always give people luck!"), confuse
another ("I don't remember giving you lace.") and upset a
third ("I'm really sorry, dear. I didn't mean to give you
lice!").

What's most remarkable about SMS is its role in romance.
Couples are using SMS not just to keep in touch, but to
express affection for each other. Sometimes it takes just
three letters ("Lv u"), other times it takes as many as 35
("Lv u so vry mch. Almst as mch as I lv Hrthk Rshn.")

SMS has allowed some couples to be more intimate, to loosen
whatever restraints their culture and upbringing have
imposed on them. Even a simple "thnkng abt u" can put a
smile on a wife's face, allowing her to feel closer to her
husband and look forward to seeing him again, as soon as the
Test series is over.

But SMS isn't just for established couples. Like an Internet
chat room, the tiny screen of a mobile handset allows you to
flirt with people you barely know. You might be too shy to
speak to the cute co-worker in the opposite cubicle, but you
can easily write your feelings: "I thnk I'm fllng n lv wth
u. Whts ur nm agn?"

SMS can't be monitored by your boss, which means you won't
be reprimanded for consulting your spouse about a critical
issue: "Whch Amtbh mvie shld we c tnight?"

Indeed, SMS is so private, you can read messages from your
boyfriend while doing something important, such as having
dinner with your husband. But try to avoid such situations,
unless you're desperate for some good SMS.

Unfortunately, my wife and I can't engage in SMS because we
have only one mobile phone. That means we have to settle for
the old way of communicating: email.

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