MB#73: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙎𝙉𝙇 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

[MemoirBlogthon #73] Decades after an operator granted the landline phone as a luxury, my father, a super senior citizen, became the inaugural subscriber to our new fiber optic community hub. That final, maroon-colored instrument remained a cherished symbol of his quiet embrace of connection until his last breath.

MB#73 - BSNL phone phases from operator switchboards to Fiber Optics.

The Last Landline My Father Ever Loved.

My relationship with the telephone spans nearly seven decades, and every era of Indian telephony seems to connect back to my father, Sri Susarla Subrahmanya Sastry.

For the present generation, who know only instant mobile connections, it's difficult to imagine that phones were once a rare luxury, reserved for the elite and high-ranking officials. In the early 1960s, a phone connection was a significant status symbol. We were fortunate to have one under a government quota.

From Operator Switchboards to Fiber Optics

But using it was an art! In those days, no one could make a direct call themselves. Calls required the assistance of a telephone operator. If you wanted to speak to someone, you picked up the handset, waited for the long ring, and the operator would answer. They would then manually plug a cable into a switchboard to connect your line to the caller's.

By the time we had our first number—a five-digit sequence like 541004—the system was moving from manual exchanges to rotary dial phones. These heavy, corded instruments required you to manually turn the dial for each digit, slowly waiting for it to spin back. It was a tedious, manual process. Later, the more convenient push-button phones (Touch-Tone) began to arrive, though they didn't become widespread in Indian households until the 1980s.

I remember how essential the bulky, printed telephone directory was, distributed free every January. It was the only way to find a number until the introduction of STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialing) and, eventually, the internet.

A Final Connection in the Fiber Age

Fast forward to 2012. We had purchased apartments in a new gated community in Hyderabad. When I suggested pursuing a new landline connection, my father, then over 80 and a super senior citizen, didn't hesitate. He encouraged me by becoming the very first applicant for a BSNL fiber connection (FTTH) in our new community hub.

It was a personal mission. I helped orchestrate the technical feasibility survey, the laying of the underground cable, and the internal fiber work for all eight towers. For the launch function, we invited BSNL General Managers. My father couldn't attend, but his presence was the project's anchor. A delegation of officials visited his apartment, connected the new maroon-colored telephone instrument, and received his blessings before the function.

In the community hall, where nearly 200 residents had gathered, the chief guest made the ceremonial first call to my father: "Dear SS Sastry garu, the super senior citizen, congratulations on becoming a proud subscriber of BSNL's new community hub."

Until his last breath in 2015, my father kept that landline connection. It sat faithfully by his bedside because he was never truly in favor of mobile phones. That BSNL maroon instrument became a symbol of his final, quiet embrace of connection and his willingness to support my endeavors.

This final connection, bridging the technology of the 1960s with the fiber optics of the 2010s, is a powerful symbol of our eternal bond. It represents his lasting legacy: a life always connected to community and family, whether through an operator-assisted switchboard or a fiber optic cable.

MB#73: Quiz

MB73: Question: In the early 1960s, a phone connection required the assistance of what specific person or mechanism to complete a call?

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• A. A Private Secretary.
• B. A Telex Machine.
• C. A telephone operator.
• D. A Rotary Dial Technician.

MB#73: Quote

"The only source of knowledge is experience." – Albert Einstein