Published in The New Indian Express, Coimbatore edition
Dated December 12, 2006
By Francis P Barclay
Coimbatore, Dec 11: The public booth in Mettur near Podanur was unusually crowded at 11 am. They all had one exiting mission: talk to the ghost.
As each caller took the phone tremulously and dialled 09388882007, the ghost, in a girl's voice, answered in Malayalam: "Hello, hello, who's this? Your name? Mine? I will tell later. First tell me yours. Can't hear you. Tell me who you are, no, sorry, bye." The ghost hung up. The story began to spread. A newcomer came running to the booth. He was breathless. Is it really a ghost? He never had time to think. He was overwhelmed by curiosity. He took the number and dialled.
She spoke for about a minute and hung up. Then a voice said: ``The voice mail box is full''. Then only, the caller realised it was a prank and that nobody was speaking from the other end. It was just a recorded voice. He lost only Rs 4.
But another man cried: ``I lost Rs 7 in the morning.''
Among those who indulged in this ghost talk were some school students. A Standard VIII boy of a private school nearby said: ``Many of us got this number and tried in vain.''
``Actually, somebody has recorded the voice and the owner of the number must have stored it in the voice mail. So when people call, they hear the voice speak and get fooled that somebody is speaking from the other end,''
James, a resident of the area, said.
He said phone is for communication and people using it to play pranks like this should be punished.
Meanwhile, another person came with a different number. His friends had given it to him saying a girl will speak to him in a sweet voice. The number -- 09388338388 -- had the same recording.
``There is another number in which an eunuch talks for about one-and-a-half minute in abusive language,'' he added.
For callers, it was a day of disappointment, but booth owners had reason to cheer.
