Insta Story

Suchi was looking at him intently listening to what her boss was saying to the bunch of sales guys huddled up in the conference room for the morning meeting.

It took more than half an hour for the every day 15 mins of morning meeting today. Coming out of the room, the day that looked brighter went on to become gloomy.

She moved to her desk and checked her phone and replied to a few messages, checked a few apps and then went about her work leaving a few of them unread.

Across the city, Rishabh had just put up a story on his Instagram sitting on his desk having his sip of coffee and looking at the monitor now and then. After every sip of his coffee, he would check on the number of views of his story but still looked dejected. 

He got up to keep the coffee mug back to its place and poured himself into the work that awaited his attention. 

Time felt still. Every now and then he would check on his Instagram story views and that would make him more restless. He looked at his watch and only 15 mins had passed away since he started his work. It looked like a long day ahead.

It was past dinner time Rishabh kept checking on his phone and the Instagram story. As the night had set in, Suchi was already in bed trying to fall asleep by watching random reels on Instagram. As she got bored of it, she started watching Insta Story of the people she followed.

As the story moved from one person to another, she landed on Rishabh's story. It was about him holding his ears and doing sit ups and saying he his sorry in a hilarious way that got her smiling cheek to cheek as she turned on the other side of the bed.

As she was reading his messages, she got a call from Rishabh whose restlessness got the better out of him as they finally spoke...

My Doppelganger

 

Recently I got in touch with my Doppelganger.

Not face to face but yes something that was buried in the memories got a jolt. I have know about it for years now.

I assume she does not about me, but I know about her for more than 10 years now.

A whatsapp message took me back in time when I was first mistaken for her. I remember vividly being at home in the evening when I got the call. The whole conversation then turned around me being employed in a bank, which I was not.

I let it go thinking that it must be a wrong number. Then again who knew the calls were only going to increase.

I started getting calls for visit that I never made to a building for flat purchase, an appointment at a parlor and what not. The calls started getting so annoying that I could not take it and decided enough is enough.

I had to get to the root of it. This was the time when the truecaller app was not around and I had to put the hat of detective once again. Read this post to know more about it.

Did my digging through the calls that I received and came to know her name. My doppelganger had a name to identify with.

Over time, the calls reduced and I too let it go as it was not a nuisance anymore and would receive a call once in a blue moon that it did not affect me.

Then it happened few years back, I got a call when I was in office. An unknown number and I picked it up and said hello and I heard the other person stating that I (as in her) have joined the call and they started discussing their office topics making me realize that I was in a con-call with other people.

I said hello again and my male voice got the attention it required. They realized their folly and I kept the phone down. This time I got her number as they confirmed with me.

I thought of calling her many times but would stop thinking what I am doing? This does not make any sense. The frequency of the calls that I used to receive had watered down. I then let go my thoughts of calling her and telling about me being her doppelganger.

In fact, whenever I used to get a call and they said her name, I would guide them to her.

All was good enough until the calls stopping coming for about 3-4 years now, that it became a distant past.

Until I received a whatsapp message few days back sharing her laundry bill and informing me to make the payment.

Reading her name on it made it all clear. Informed the messenger that its a wrong number. I now got to know where she lives.

Here I am who knows so much about her and almost connected in a twisted way and her not knowing about the connection nor me.

She is not my doppelganger neither I am. She though is my cell number doppelganger and I am hers. The only difference between our mobile numbers is of one digit.

Strange are the ways the world work and I do not intend to cross path until I must...

P.S. What do you think you would have done in my place? Would love to hear them out.

OTT Ka Power Play

 

 

I am/was a television addict and the ones who have been following this blog can vouch for that.

Coming home from school/college/work, it was sitting in front of the idiot box watching movies, good content was the way days would be spent.

I have written about the change of content on the idiot box that it was perhaps time that someone put those tv channels into place who would show regressive tv shows all in the grab of this what people want to see.

The entry of the different OTT platforms had begun and it took a Jio to break the internet access and offer data services for a reasonable price which a majority of the Indian people can afford and provided accessibility to.

The pricing of the OTT platforms still keep it restrictive to a small piece of the cake instead of a bigger piece of the cake. Something that still needs to be worked out.

Cutting the chase to the pandemic, most of us are stuck at home thanks to the lockdown with the exception of people employed in the essential services. 

With me being stuck in the work from home routine, the television set had to be provider of entertainment to provide some relief. Have to say that I had only a year of Amazon Prime Subscription which got over before I become a prisoner in my own home.

The television set became nothing more than a binge watching of Crime Patrol. I will not suggest it for the weak hearted. Apart from that it would be the Kapil Sharma show which for a change had a few good episodes on it.

Movies is what I used to binge on and guess what no new movies would be available on the movie channels. I have to say the Setup Box did no good to the television industry restricting the number of tv channels to a few. Soon enough it is going to be a death knell for the television. 

It came to such a point that we actually stopped watching tv in our home. Few months down the line decided to pull the cord on the cable tv as their was no good content to watch, entertain or binge on...

I guess the next question would be how would I survive without my tv?

Thanks to Reliance Jio, I was hooked on to Youtube before the entry of the OTT platforms and they became a crux of my daily binge as and when I was bored on what to watch. Then again it also offered to me to do some thinking. REAL THINKING.

I see that there are a lot of OTT platforms offering an array of web series, movies and a whole lot more content than the tv channels could cater to. In other words concentrate on that segment of the population who would avoid the rona dhona saas-bhau types serials and pay for good content.

The entry of the OTT platforms is a good thing that has happened and would save the people who would have to depend on the idiot box for content and have no say in it whatsoever.

The audience that never existed before came alive for these OTT platforms. The success of some of the web series, movies being launched on OTT platforms are a proof to it.

However the penetration is still very low as much as 32 millions approx. which is spread across different platforms. Here not counting the regional OTT' platforms like Cave, Hoichoi, etc. 

The OTT platforms monthly/yearly subscription seems to be priced reasonably. However they seem to have not undertaken the other factors that impact that penetration.

Firstly, though the mobile data have been cheaper than what it was earlier priced. The data does not last long and no wonder we can always find links in the telegram channels for download of their content.

A typical household has a cable connection, which let say cost around Rs. 500 and wifi monthly costs around Rs 500. With so many platforms offering an array of content, why would one stick around with them with a yearly subscription? Also do others have the same kind of purchase power to subscribe to other OTT platforms? This is where the real thought needs to be put in.

There will always be a set of people who would be loyal to their OTT platforms irrespective if good content is offered or not. Then again there will be also the other set of people who would try to utilize every bit of the money they spend. If you remember the ad "Kitna deti hain" ad.

Yes that's the mentality of a majority of the Indians who want every worth of their penny. They would only want what works for them.

Now YouTube has also come with a YouTube Premium plan. I think that says a lot about the spread in OTT.

The big question is how to have the bigger piece of the cake. The solution would not be the liking to the OTT platforms as everyone like to a monthly fixed income and not a variable one. Then again how does fixed income+variable income looks? Better than fixed income and yes increase in revenue...

For this one needs to look at the telecom industry. The number of prepaid users outdo the number of postpaid users in India. Though prepaid is considered of low value they are still reckon with and yes the opportunity to convert them into a postpaid user is also there. From variable to fixed income that sound like an opportunity  knocking at the door.

The OTT platforms can come with similar plans and offer complete or limited access as they deem it to be self serving.

I think any OTT platform which consistently offer good content would be the King.

Did I mention that customer would be the one who would decide on that? :)

P.S.: This was suppose to come out around 2 years back but never late than before ha!. In terms of disclaimer, I have a subscription of Amazon Prime, Disney Hotstar and not forgetting the free ka Youtube.