A Nokia N Series addict discovers grassroots enterprise in India

"Got Damn it" I thought Waking up late in the morning, I was frustrated because I missed my coaching class again. I was little angry at those bloody "Career launcher" guys as they are making me wake up daily at 5 AM to attend their classes. But mostly I was angry at my OLD(read fucked up) cell phone as it is it again behaving in a weird manner because of some stupid problem with joystick. (and that is why its alarm didn't went off today).


So I decided that today I am going to make my second move towards getting into IIM and that would be to get a new phone. (as my first step was joining CL, bloody 6AM-calling-mba-prep-class).

So I took my bike late in the evening and went to the city. I mean its not like I am living in some rural or suburban area  in-fact I am living in very posh locality of Bhopal, its just that in Bhopal we have a market called "city". I never understood why it is called city, I guess it because when we enter in Bhopal that is the first market you encounter and so the people coming from rural areas buy their stuff from there and o back to their small town and thus the market is called "city". [OR IF YOU KNOW SOME OTHER REASON FEEL FREE TO WRITE IN COMMENTS]

So i went to te city and asked for the mobile market. Surprisingly, I found the mobile market in a very narrow "gulli"(alley) and a lot of kiosks their. I was looking for a shop to buy me new cell phone.

When I reached that shop i saw a ‘hole in the wall’ you cannot imagine.  There was a small fading sign on the top saying “Cellphoon reapars” barely visible through the street vendors crowding the Budhwara Market(One part of 'city') of Bhopal. On my way to buy a new Nokia N 80, my innate sense of adventure (read foolishness) made me stop my bike and investigate. A shop not more than 6 feet by 6 feet. Grimy and uncleaned.

"Can you fix my n73?” I asked.

"Of course , show me” asked a small boy, the only boy in that "shop"(which was even smaller than my bed)

”How old are you” I asked again.

"Sixteen"

Bullshit. He was no more than 12. I am no way letting my precious n73 to a 12 year old boy. he was rather in unwashed and torn T shirt and pyjamas!(trousers). i thought of moving on and look for my new phone as if I buy a new one, they would extract the data for me. Something I have been meaning to do for a year now.

"What’s wrong with it ?” he asked and I stopped.(which I should have not done BTW)

"Well, the navigation key joystick does not respond. It’s kind of stuck and I cannot operate it”

He grabs it from my hand and looks at it.

“You should wash your hands." he said.

I was taken aback at this comment. I saw my hands residing on his table top which was already very dirty and this bloody fella is asking me to wash my hands or did i hear it wrong.

"Excuse me" I said.

"You should wash your hands. Many customers have same problem. joystick get greasy and dirty, then no working"

Now I was little frustrated firstly because Look who was telling me to wash my hands. He probably has not bathed for 10 days, secondly because his reason for the problem was something that would kill Nokia hardware engineer.

I leaned out to snatch my useless n73 back.

”you come back in one hour and I fix it"

I am not leaving all my precious data in this unwashed kid’s hands for an hour. No way.

“who will fix it ?”

"Big brother"

"How big is ‘big brother?"

"big …. umm ..thirty"

Then suddenly big brother walks in. 30 ??? He is no more than 19.

"What problem?" He says grabbing the phone from my greasy hand into his greasier hand. Obviously not trained in etiquette by an upmarket retail store manager.

"Normal N-series problem. I replace with original part now. You must wash your hand before you use this"

WTF, What is this about me washing my hands suddenly?? Do I look like someone using his hands for some dirty work(Don't get me the wrong way).

19 year old big brother rummages through a dubious drawer full of junk and fishes out a spare navigation joystick packed in cheap cellophane wrapper.

Original part? I doubt it.

But by now I am in the lap of the real India and there is no escape as he fishes out a couple of screwdrivers and sets about opening my n73.

“How long will this take ?”

”Six minutes”

This I have to see. After spending the whole morning trying to find a Nokia service centre and getting vague answers about sending the phone in for an assessment that might take a week, I settle down next to his grubby cramped work space. At least I am going to be able to watch all my stored data vanish into virtual space. People crowd around to see what’s happening. I am not breathing easy anyway. I tell myself this is an adventure and literally have to stop myself grabbing my precious n73 back and making a quick escape.

But in exactly six minutes this kid handed my cell phone back. He had changed the part and cleaned and serviced the the whole phone.  Taken it apart, and put it together. As I turned the phone on there was a horrific 2 minutes where the phone would not come on. I looked at him with such hostility that he stepped back.

"you have more than thousand phone numbers ?”

"yes".

"backed up ?"

"no"

"Must back up. I do it for you. Never open phone before backing up"

'You tell me that now ?"

But then the phone came on and my data was still there. Everyone watching laughed and clapped. This was becoming a show. A six minute show.

I asked him how much.

250 rupees’ He ventured uncertainly . People around watched in glee expecting a negotiation. Thats $ 5 dollars as against the Rs 13,000 ($ 260)  I was a about to spend on a new n80 or a couple of weeks without my phone. I looked suitably shocked at his ‘high price ‘ but calmly paid him. Much to the disappointment of the expectant crowd.

"do you have an Iphone ? Even the new ‘4′ one ?"

"no, why”

"I break the code for you and load any ‘app’ or film you want. I give you 10 film on your memory stick on this one, and change every week for small fee"

I went home having discovered the true entreprenuership that lies at what we call the ‘bottom of the pyramid’. Some may call it piracy, which of course it is, but what can you say about a two uneducated and untrained brothers aged 12 and 19 that set up a ‘hole in the wall’ shop and can fix any technology that the greatest technologists in the world can throw at them.

I smiled at the future of our country. If only we could learn to harness this potential.

"Please wash your hands before use" were his last words to me. Now I am feeling seriously unclean.