A greater \u2018hole in the wall\u2019 you cannot imagine. A small fading sign on the top saying “Cellphoon reapars” barely visible through the street vendors crowding the Juhu Market in Mumbai. On my way to buy a new Blackberry, my innate sense of adventure (foolishness) made me stop my car and investigate. A shop not more than 6 feet by 6 feet. Grimy and uncleaned.<\/p>\n
\u2018Can you fix a blackberry ?”<\/p>\n
\u2018 Of course , show me”<\/p>\n
” How old are you”<\/p>\n
\u2018Sixteen\u2019<\/p>\n
Bullshit. He was no more than 10. Not handing my precious blackberry to a 10 year old in unwashed and torn T shirt and pyjama\u2019s ! At least if I buy a new one, they would extract the data for me. Something I have been meaning to do for a year now.<\/p>\n
\u2018What\u2019s wrong with it ?”<\/p>\n
\u2018Well, the roller track ball does not respond. It\u2019s kind of stuck and I cannot operate it”<\/p>\n
He grabs it from my hand and looks at it<\/p>\n
“You should wash your hands. Many customers have same problem. Roller ball get greasy and dirty, then no working\u2019<\/p>\n
Look who was telling me to wash my hands. He probably has not bathed for 10 days, I leaned out to snatch my useless blackberry back.<\/p>\n
” you come back in one hour and I fix it\u2019<\/p>\n
I am not leaving all my precious data in this unwashed kid\u2019s hands for an hour. No way.<\/p>\n
“who will fix it ?”<\/p>\n
\u2018Big brother\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018 How big is \u2018big brother?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018big …. umm ..thirty\u2019<\/p>\n
Then suddenly big brother walks in. 30 ??? He is no more than 19.<\/p>\n
\u2018What problem ?\u2019 He says grabbing the phone from my greasy hand into his greasier hand. Obviously not trained in etiquette by an upmarket retail store manager.<\/p>\n
\u2018Normal blackberry problem. I replace with original part now. You must wash your hand before you use this\u2019<\/p>\n
What is this about me washing my hands suddenly ?? 19 year old big brother rummages through a dubious drawer full of junk and fishes out a spare roller ball packed in cheap cellophane wrapper. Original part ? I doubt it.<\/p>\n
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 Blackberry.<\/p>\n
“How long will this take ?”<\/p>\n
” Six minutes ”<\/p>\n
This I have to see. After spending the whole morning trying to find a Blackberry 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\u2019s happening. I am not breathing easy anyway. I tell myself this is an adventure and literally have to stop myself grabbing my precious blackberry back and making a quick escape.<\/p>\n
But in exactly six minutes this kid handed my blackberry 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.<\/p>\n
\u2018you have more than thousand phone numbers ?”<\/p>\n
\u2018yes\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018backed up ?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018no\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Must back up. I do it for you. Never open phone before backing up\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018You tell me that now ?\u2019<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
I asked him how much.<\/p>\n
\u2018 500 rupees\u2019 He ventured uncertainly . People around watched in glee expecting a negotiation. Thats $ 10 dollars as against the Rs 30,000 ($ 600) I was a about to spend on a new blackberry or a couple of weeks without my phone. I looked suitably shocked at his \u2018high price \u2018 but calmly paid him. Much to the disapointment of the expectant crowd.<\/p>\n
\u2018do you have an Iphone ? Even the new \u20184′ one ?<\/p>\n
\u2018no, why”<\/p>\n
\u2018I break the code for you and load any \u2018app\u2019 or film you want. I give you 10 film on your memory stick on this one, and change every week for small fee\u2019<\/p>\n
I went home having discovered the true entreprenuership that lies at what we call the \u2018bottom of the pyramid\u2019. Some may call it piracy, which of course it is, but what can you say about a two uneducated and untrained brothers aged 10 and 19 that set up a \u2018hole in the wall\u2019 shop and can fix any technology that the greatest technologists in the world can throw at them.<\/p>\n
I smiled at the future of our country. If only we could learn to harness this potential.<\/p>\n
\u2018Please wash your hands before use\u2019 were his last words to me. Now I am feeling seriously unclean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A greater \u2018hole in the wall\u2019 you cannot imagine. A small fading sign on the top saying “Cellphoon reapars” barely visible through the street vendors crowding the Juhu Market in Mumbai. On my way to buy a new Blackberry, my innate sense of adventure (foolishness) made me stop my car and investigate. A shop not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n