Shhhh!

I may have posted on this but this behaviour warrants a repeat post so here goes. There is a saying never wash your dirty linen in public, today people tend to wash their, linen, undies and everything in public though unintentionally. And aiding them in this effort is the ubiquitous mobile phone and their lack of phone etiquette. 

Many a time the relative peace of the moment is shattered by a domestic issue, errant client, missing consignment, truant school kid who happens to be on the other end of a loud and unsolicited conversation of which you are a part of no matter that you had no say in it. The loud conversation not withstanding you may also have to endure some furious gesticulation that aids the effect for the unseen other person.

I have gently reminded my colleague a few times that if he were any louder his family in Nellore would have heard him without the cell phone and it made no effect to his decibel output except maybe for a brief moment to say sorry to me, his boss. These conversations can be extremely annoying in movie halls (sometimes during a movie), restaurants and other public places where you hope to spend some quality time with the people you are with.

I must confess that there have been some genuinely unintentional funny moments when these phone conversations get out of hand…     

I have seen conversations when the person on the other hand takes the upper hand and the impact can be seen on the cowering person with phone before you. What can be sickening is some idiots romancing on the phone apparently oblivious to the spectators who have to endure sweet nothings complete with puppy dog facial expressions; agreed it may be worth a few laughs on good days but not always.

One type of conversation that puts me off is profanities on the phone, especially loudly in a public place. During a train journey with the family one such conversation using the foulest language made the women folk squirm in our cubicle. When I stood up to see the offender he was still busy with his stream of profanities till I interrupted him with my own. In true herd behaviour emboldened by my interruption the other passengers who were hitherto quiet stood up and gave the idiot some tips on etiquette. The idiot took out his frustration on his poor wife who tried to pacify him and save him from the wrath of the annoyed passengers whose numbers had multiplied by then. 

For all the idiots around, if you must wash your dirty linen, find a wash room…