My latest book is The One Who Swam With The Fishes.

"A mesmerizing account of the well-known story of Matsyagandha ... and her transformation from fisherman’s daughter to Satyavati, Santanu’s royal consort and the Mother/Progenitor of the Kuru clan." - Hindustan Times

"Themes of fate, morality and power overlay a subtle and essential feminism to make this lyrical book a must-read. If this is Madhavan’s first book in the Girls from the Mahabharata series, there is much to look forward to in the months to come." - Open Magazine

"A gleeful dollop of Blytonian magic ... Reddy Madhavan is also able to tackle some fairly sensitive subjects such as identity, the love of and karmic ties with parents, adoption, the first sexual encounter, loneliness, and my favourite, feminist rage." - Scroll



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30 June 2004

That's one small step for man

Today I'm taking a giant leap. I'm going to upgrade my regular prepaid cellphone account to a billing system. My company pays Rs 800 towards my bill, so I figure it's a win-win situation.
I never even considered getting a bill before. It was always something 'rich people' did, not poor, underpaid students (like I used to be).
I remember when I got my first phone. I had been asking for one for a while, ever since I joined college in fact. These were the days when every Tom, Dick and Harry didn't have a phone, in fact only one of my friends did, and she earned quite a bit by being a dance instructor and a model. So on my 19th birthday, I begged, I pleaded, I whined my heart out, till I got a reluctant 'We'll see' from my parents.
On my birthday, I opened my usual gifts of books and music, trying to smile. Then my dad pulled out a box.
"What is it?" I asked, barely breathing.
"A clock," smiled my mum.
The tag on the gift wrapping said 'Happy birthday, 68780," and so I ripped off the wrapping. It was a glorious phone--- a Motorola Talkabout (they don't make that model anymore) in purple with a shiny black keypad. And glory be, it had a sim card all ready and waiting for me!
A year later, I upgraded to a Nokia 3310, which I still have and love. This one is easy to use and has an amazingly long battery life. My mom's company gave her a Nokia 2100 a week ago and I switched phones with her (hey, she doesn't really care what kind of phone she has, she can't even lock the keypad!). I've just composed the 'yellow submarine' ringtone and I'm happy. :)
This wasn't supposed to be a little paean to cellphones, but then you know how it is when you get carried away! What's your best cellphone memory? I'd love to hear about it.
Happy thought for the day: My favourite site is up and running after about a week of server maintenance. If you register, look out for me, I'm decemberschild.

6 comments:

  1. Saali woh ladki uski bapko our uski writings ko bhi badnam karegi

    itsw only a porn writing
    nothing special about it

    anybody can do it
    for serious thinking and reading visit me
    www.sarathkishan.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. hey your blogs are really open brave and i seriously admire what you write!!!

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  3. do get in touch wid me if possible
    my mail id is shaamsasidharan@gmail.com i did like to be frnds wid you!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think I'm pretty lucky, I got my first phone when I was in 6th grade,but yeah, I had to BEG and PLEAD and CRY for it.It's been 4 years since then.

    ReplyDelete
  5. IT IS REALLY BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL. I STARTED TO READ IT AFTER I HAPPENED TO READ AS INTERVIEW OF MEENAKSHI IN VANITHA.IT OENS A NEW ERA IN INDIAN ENGLISH WRITING
    VIJOY

    ReplyDelete
  6. Malayalam Magazine 'Grihalakshmi' gave the information regarding the blog spot. This is a comment from an Ordinary man having 'pucca' village backgound who is gazing to the world always with wide opened eyes, wonder-struck. I'm unable to understand the so called 'city culture'. Is there any thing such as right and wrong in the world?

    ReplyDelete

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