On 'phone-o-grams'

I continue to prefer phone-o-grams (telegrams booked and conveyed over the telephone from the sender's end) for conveying sentiments on special / unusual occasions, and find the public-sector Indian telephones' related services great for the purpose. You can probably see it as a connection to older, better worlds, apart from being a convenience at effort-saving...
(Phone-o-gram - not to be confused with existing definitions of phonogram)
In case you wish to use those services - here are the details:

1. MTNL (Delhi, Mumbai) - Call 1584 / 1585, respond to the IVRS. On call-back, state the addressee's details and your message in Hindi or in English, and you're done.

2. BSNL (rest of India) - Call 1585, respond to the IVRS. On call-back, state the address details and your message, and you're done.

You could personalize the messages, of course. I prefer to avoid the phonetics, though, and choose the appropriate message number from the list of standard phrases - appended below. I just sent out No 16 for a dear cousin's wedding, on behalf of an elder in the house.

LIST OF STANDARD PHRASES FOR GREETING TELEGRAMS (Code,Phrases)
1 Heartiest Diwali Greetings
2 Id Mubarak
3 Heartiest Bijoya Greetings
4 A Happy New Year to You
5 Many Happy Returns of the Day
6 Hearty congratulations on the new arrival
7 Congratulations on the Distinction Conferred on you
8 Best Wishes for a long and Happy Married Life
9 A Merry Christmas to you
10 Congratulations on your Success in the Examination
11 Best Wishes for a Safe and Pleasant Journey
12 Hearty Congratulations on Success in Election
13 Many thanks for your Good Wishes I/we Reciprocate Most Heartily
13(a) Heartiest Greetings on the occasion of Chatrapati Maharaja Shri Agrasen Jayanti
13(b) I Pray at the feet of Maharaja Shri Agrasen for the success of programme organised
14 Congratulations
15 Loving Greetings
16 May Heaven's Choicest Blessings be showered on the Young Couple
17 Wish you Both a Happy and prosperous wedded life
18 Kind Remembrances and all good wishes for the Independence Day
19 Sincere Greetings for the Republic Day Long live the Republic
20 Heartiest Holi Greetings
21 Wishing the Function Every Success
22 Many thanks for your kind message of Greetings
23 Best Wishes for your Success in the Examination
24 Best Wishes for your Success in the Election
25 Blessings to the Newly Married Couple
26 Heartiest Pongal Greetings
27 Heartiest Gur Parb Greetings
28 Greetings on the Occasion of Paryushan a day of universal forgiveness
29 Heartiest Onam Greeting
30 Best Wishes on your Weeding Aniversary
31 Wish you a Happy Retired life
32 Wish you a Speedy Recovery
33 Heartiest Ugadi Greetings
34 Congratulations on your Victory
35 Wish you a Happy Bihu
36 A Happy Easter
37 Heartiest Greetings on Buddha Jayanthi
38 Heartiest Congratulations on Graha Pravesh
39 Heartiest Guru Ravidas Prunima Greetings
40 Heartiest Greetings on Navroz
41 Heartiest Greetings on the Occasion of Jhulelal Jayanti
42 Heartiest Greetings on the occasion of Makara Sankaranthi
44(a) Happy Varsh Pratipada(Hindu Nav Varsh)
44(b) Happy Gudi Padwa (Hindu Nav Varsh)
100 Our Deepest Condolence
I remember once bemusedly looking at the only entry in the printed telegram when I happened to be at the receiving end - '5'. Laziness (read Effort-saving) can tele-propagate, apparently. I fervently hope my uncle does not have to decipher 'सोलह' when the postman comes visiting later today...

Comments

  1. YOSEE04 December, 2010

    Oh yes the Phonogram ! Had quite forgotten about it ! I wonder if they have upgraded their design ? I remember it always used to be that lotus and bells picture with a red-yellow-orange colour theme ! :-)
    Enjoyed reminiscing about a similar case of getting a gram with just the "number" !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pradeep Nair19 December, 2010

    Hi Lata... a good refreshing point to write about... Frankly never used this facility even once. Must try. Now my greetings are plainly on email.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN19 December, 2010

    Very useful, Swarna. we still continue to use this service - naturally, belonging to the older generation!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Swarna20 December, 2010

    Yosee, Raji - thanks, :)
    Pradeep - If we all use it we will help in a small way the cause of the postal services, perhaps. I have several 'grams to be sent out over the next few weeks, and I look forward to the task!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sreeni19 May, 2012

    Thanks for the complete list. I had seen only about 15 greetings in the older paper based directory. Now this list does'nt seem to be around anywhere on the BSNL websites.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

i appreciate that you have some thoughts to share, and are taking the effort to do so.

Popular posts from this blog

The Power of Vishnu Sahasranamam- Vani's rebirth

A real 'story' as told by a close friend: "Vani was in her early thirties when I first met her in a Mumbai local sometime in the late ‘70’s. She never talked much but her helping tendency was obvious. She boarded the train at the starting point and always found a seat. Instead of sitting through the hour-long journey, she would offer her seat – a luxury - to another lady. My acquaintance too began this way – a few pleasantries exchanged over the train’s din. After a couple of months, she was not at her usual seat. Everyone presumed that she was on leave. In the busy buzz of the Mumbai life, no one thought twice about her till she came back after nearly 4 months. None of us could recognize her. She had lost weight, her cheeks were sunken, eyes lifeless, and to top it all, she had an almost bald head. Out came the rude shock that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo radiation therapy. She hoped that she had won over the disease, but even before
Read more

"Did Hanuman return the mountain?"

Image
The query was popped while we were travelling in Srinagar by road, trying to have a fill of the valley's humbling views of the Himalayas all round. Here are a few glimpses of Gulmarg and Pahalgam My son's query caught us unawares, and also got us thinking about the doubt that we never raised during childhood sessions of the Ramayana epic , and I decided to call my mom, our free encyclopaedia for all things religious / spiritual / cultural. "Yes, Hanuman was disciplined, and he did return the Dronagiri mountain to its original locale". (was our spot answer) Pahalgam Back to the query - Anyone, any idea? There are several versions, all quite satisfactory, if you spare a thought. - Rumassala is one of several places identified by the Sri Lankan Tourism Department as being associated with Ramayana. Hanuman carried a part of the Dronagiri Mountain that was rich with medicinal herbs including Sanjeevani from the Himalayas to revive Lakshmana. 'When the chief physicia
Read more

The Mughal Gardens

Image
The Mughal gardens at India's Presidential residence are open to the public for a few weeks in Feb-March every year. We were able to log a visit on Sunday, just a couple of days before Gate No 35 is closed. And now I attempt to describe the visual delights on offer without the right kind of pictures. That's right - being a VVIP enclosure, you are not allowed to carry the camera / mobile / handbag / car keys. (Good ideas of course for a proper, unencumbered stroll). Even my son's small notepad had to be deposited at entry. How to get there - Reach North Avenue in the Presidential Estates, then you'll find ample parking. Sufficient arrangements are available for visitors - lockers, lounge areas, waterholes (only water), first aid, a horticultural info stall. Herbal Garden - India's rich daily-use herbs basil, mint, fenugreek, ginger, garlic, asparagus and so many more , are well marked out. [If I had blindfolded my life-partner, he would have easily scored full mark
Read more