Your life blesses you with objects that you always remember once they are gone. Your life is constantly in conjugation with people and objects around you. It is like a family you have. A family of living and non-living entities. You try to preserve and nurture a lot of things that range from relationships to plants to steam iron to Shin Chan towel. Each thing that you protect somehow defines who you are. Your choices are an indication of your outlook towards the world you live in.
You had bought this beautiful machine in September 2013. That was the day I came in your life. I was small and neat and elegant. I was the Nokia Lumia 520 single SIM white coloured phone of yours who stayed with you till the night of 13 June 2017. That night I automatically got switched off. I woke up again but after 15 more seconds I lost my breath. I got switched off again. Those were our last moments together. I was dying but not dead. Maybe it was my loyalty that was keeping me alive. You wanted to empty my memory and discard me. But can you discard me?
I didn’t have a great camera. There wasn’t even a flash that I could offer you to click pictures at night. Despite all of that I gave you the best clicks I could. Together we travelled a lot. From the general compartment toilets of the Indian Rail to the mountains of Kashmir, I was there with you.
On lonely nights I helped you jerk off by providing you access to the internet. I used to send emails through your outlook account. I never had thought that our more than three years of togetherness would end like this. There were times when you used to penetrate my bottom with USB cable and connect me to computers and laptops. I never caught any virtual infections. The world criticised you for using windows phone but you stayed with me irrespective of those harsh judgements.
Several thousand pictures clicked. Hundreds of books read. Thousands of documents downloaded and created. Hundreds of accounts added and deleted. Uncountable podcasts downloaded and listened. Innumerable YouTube videos watched. Thousands of apps installed and removed. Never ever I complained, just gave you the best I had to offer. If there was any trouble, I indicated it with an urgent need to get formatted. And you did that. All these years, just half a dozen phone formats and we had a great time together.
I am now lying in your cupboard. A few months ago my cover got cut and I was stripped off of it. My battery is lying adjacent to me. The phone charger stopped working long time back. My earphones got stolen two years ago. It was just you and me who refused to leave each other. And here I lie lifeless with my battery on the verge of slow extinction. My company was bought by Microsoft long time back but you gave me company despite that.
I know you will buy a new phone. You want a 4g phone so that you can use faster internet and avail the exciting data plan schemes that Vodafone offers. I desperately want you to get a new battery and get me back to life. But I know that will not happen.
All your important documents, pictures, contacts and information is saved on cloud. You will leave me for android but I know you’ll be using Outlook to sync our old email account. I will be dead by then but my soul shall survive in your new phone. Now I won’t be staying close to your crotch. I shall stay in the drawer of your cupboard along with other old and unused entities of yours that appear dead but haven’t died yet.
In memories I shall always live. In my memories you shall always live.
Arpit Chhikara 