In the bus, at 8 o’clock in the morning the only thing on my mind is a nice pre-office nap. But somehow I’m always next to people whose phones buzz when I’m about to doze off. Then I am a forced listener of their hushed conversations. In most cases eavesdropping is not intentional. In buses, trains, elevators we all end up picking up conversations between random strangers. But there seems to be a unique frequency in which committed people converse in, particularly over-the-phone conversations. Since I’m a ‘people in 10 meter radius know what I’m talking about’ person, it fascinates me how I don’t catch a word of their conversation. And mind you, I have really sharp ears.

One of the biggest giveaways that a person is in a relationship is the relationship he/she has with the phone. They are endlessly glued to the device. I’m not being unromantic here. There is absolutely nothing wrong with talking to someone you love. What they talk about for so long (each and every day) is not my concern at all; it is the subtle art of speaking in hushed voices which gets me all curious.

At first, I thought it is just girls who talk this way, all coy and whispering sweet nothings and maybe their boyfriends endure it for god knows what reasons. But the stories that I’ve heard from committed men and their friends are just awe inspiring. So these days, I’m not shocked to know that some person used to talk to his girlfriend for 17 hours at a stretch and to top that in that super amazing unique frequency.*rimpoche*.After listening to such endless stories from them (yeah, committed people like to tell singletons how amazing being in love is.:P) I had to know the secret of how to talk like they do on the phone. So I rolled up my sleeves to do some serious research on this. As you get older (like I’m) the number of committed people drastically increases or maybe you just start noticing it more now. Most singles find this very depressing but I on the other hand look at the brighter side. Now, I simply have more specimens to observe. Pathetic maybe, but being an optimist never hurts.

Every day in the bus, the office corridor, sidewalk, etc I started to observe (committed) men and women while they are on the phone. There are times when they plainly shoo me away, some like the fact that I’m staring at them*wink*, some don’t give a damn and I’m sure some find me creepy even. But such things shouldn’t deter one. I have even tried to apply all the observation in practice but in vain. All I got from my friends was “why the hell are you whispering?” and “I can’t hear you, is there a network problem?” and this was enough to induce an uncontrollable fit of giggles. The people, with whom I’ve shared my curiosity and the unaware committed junta, to whom I‘ve asked some really stupid questions, seriously think I’ve gone nuts or probably evolved to a higher level of absurdity.

Maybe someday I might be able to master this great art or may be not. For now, when the person sitting next to me picks up the phone to murmur to his/her love, I simply doze off.