Monday, August 11, 2003		Feature

THE days of writing love letters are pass`E9, thanks to the mobile revolution that is ringing in new tones for the lovestruck wannabes! The fear of being caught with a love letter and the hazards involved in its safe delivery are now things of the past as short message service (SMS) has become the most reliable and quickest tool of exchanging sweet nothings — be it college or work place.

Rachita Sood, a final year undergraduate of Delhi University, says: "I cannot part with my phone even for a minute. My friend calls up or sends SMS whenever he is free and it keeps me in touch with him even when we cannot meet for days.

Manoj Kashyap, a student of M Com, says cellphone is a boon. "With landline, there used to be the constant fear of parents answering the call. Once they picked up the receiver, my girlfriend would not respond, obviously. And I would be at the receiving end for the dumb calls which we received in dozens those days."

For long distance married couples, mobiles are the "lifeline". Mona and Amit, living at distant places due to professional compulsions, say: "We are almost surviving on SMSs. It is instant and a message can be sent anytime and at any place. Whenever we miss each other, a quick SMS brings us together."

The lovers are further assisted in their "mobile" endeavours by some Websites like www.poettext.com. By completing a short form, one can submit micro poetry on the Website’s gallery and send a poem via SMS message to friends and relatives for free.

Just a click of the mouse and your beloved can receive as SMS poems of Robert Browning, John Keats, William Wordsworth, W B Yeats, S T Coleridge and a host of other poets at any time of the day. And the best part is, you don’t have to hunt for the book or for a beautiful writing pad to pass on the message! —IANS