Communication Differences

Voicemail is not commonly used in India. My cell phone has no voicemail capability and neither does my home phone. I do have voicemail at work but people don't leave messages. SMS is the way to go. If you can't reach someone, you SMS them and leave them a message that way. People use their cell phones for paying bills, and banking too. Dr's office SMS you a reminder for an appointment, airlines will send you reminders, and many stores send you SMS messages to alert you to sales. I think the main reason for this is that most people have cell phones but they don't necessarily have computers or broadband service so this is the only mode of communication technology wise. Initially, I thought it was bizarre to use SMS and thought it was form of messaging used only by the young, but now I find myself using it too. When the Mumbai blasts happened, I had SMSed my relative to ask her how she was, I thought it was better to do that then clog up the airwaves during this critical period when everyone would be trying to reach their friends and family. I received a reply from her within minutes that she was fine. Even for Diwali, I sent wishes to many of my relatives via SMS. Another interesting phone feature is that you can set music to your ringtone so when I call people, I often hear film music instead of a ring tone. Rushil and Sindhu really get a kick out of it. Once I get my new cell phone, I'll figure out how to set that.