If you have recently visited Pakistan, I bet you can relate to this.
During my recent visit to Pakistan, I noticed that people are way too much into intentionally leaving missed calls on your cell phones. Not only that but they expect you to understand too what the heck it is supposed to mean at a certain time in a certain situation.
Here are a few examples of what I am talking about…
I rented a car with a driver in Karachi and asked the driver to come in at 10:00 in the morning. I receive a “missed call” exactly at 10:00 AM. The call dropped after 2 rings, before I was able to pick it up. I thought it must have been a wrong number or something. It was about 11:00 AM when I sarted to get mad about why the driver hadn’t showed up. I take out the piece of paper where I wrote down the driver’s cell number and realized that it was the number from which I recived a missed call earlier. I call him back and asked him why he hasn’t come in yet. He said “main to neechay baitha hooN aik ghantay say, aap ko miss call mara to tha…” I was like, what the heck, I asked miss call kyooN mara thaa and he said aap ko batanay kay lye kay maiN aa gaya hooN. Needless to say that I was speechless. He continued to do that for the three week period I was there. At times, he gave me missed calls to let me know that he is going for Namaz, Lunch, Dinner, etc. He once gave me a “missed call” to let me know that his kid was sick and he won’t come in. I asked him, how I would know that the missed call was to let me know that he was here or was it to let me know that he won’t come at all. His response was “O bhaijan, aanay wala to maiN das bajay ka thaa, agar aap ko Nao bajay miss call karay gaa to bachay ka beemaree kay lye hee karay gaa naa”. At this point, I was thinking to myself, boy, it was going to be one heckova vacation.
My old buddies and I were planning to go out for dinner on a Sunday evening. I was to pick one of them up from his house. When I get there at house, I call him up, on his cell. He picks up the phone at like 6th ring. I tell him that I am here and the first question he asks me, is why I didn’t just leave a missed call. He said, he would have understood that I am here. He goes, “you amricans!!!” I was speechless, once again.
My dad told me to leave a missed call if I was going to be late coming back home.
These are just a few examples, there were many more that I can’t remember now. I know that they are trying to save a few ruppies here and there but come on!
its not kanjoosi , u cant expect a driver to afford cell phone bills. If someone else wants to call them up and talk to them they can, but why spend money where it can be saved. This is pretty common in Pakistan. Unless its absolutely necessary you dont pick up ... i always do though just to piss people off :D
'miss calls' r just the way to communicate for ppl who cannot afford the bills of the cellphone....
here in bahrain, they dont just 'miss call' to let u know something, but they do it expecting u to call back (as if my phonecall is free or something)....
This sounds pathetic! Why have a cell phone in the first place? I had no idea such a thing even exists. I admit one of my friends have done it, but on rare ocassions and it has never been a regular practice.
This is the difference between mobile phone networks in Pakistan, UK, etc and North America.
In North America, you pay for the time spent on the phone. In Pakistan and the UK, you pay only for calls that you make. Receiving calls is free.
The point of the missed call is to avoid paying for the call, when someone else can pay for it instead.
We did it all the time at university in the UK. We knew which people had lots of free minutes, so those of us without would give a missed call and expect them to call back. They could talk for free and we couldn't.
It actually prove my point that not only you americans have over rated dumbness Aap loag bohat bholey ho
and you do not know that rest of the world actually moving towards conservation of resources …
A missed call is free, but it is a good way of comunication !! most of the time other person knows what it means … and if he doesnt then he would make call. after all, phone call is cheap too
missed call pe ek lateefa yaad agaya
Once there were two friends, they had nothing to do all day so they used to sms,chat or call each other for time pass. one day one of them said we are getting so used to , to these gadgets what would happen if the all of a sudden disappear, both pondered and bought two pigeons… they trained them for delivery of letters like they were used few decades ago. Once trained, they thought to experiment. The guy attached his note and pigeon left for it destination. When the other friend recieved the note, he was excited…he hastely opened the note but there was nothign written there.
Suprised , he ran to his friend and told him that there was nothing in the note ! what was the message you wrote ??
