I woke up to the music of my cell phone at 6:00 am and checked the weather on THT live. It was predicted to be a gloomy day ahead. On the way to college, my favourite music started playing and I began to jam. But ere long, my cell went off again. It was my mom calling in to remind me that I had left my homework notebook at home. I hastened back and retrieved my work. Thanks to this small gadget, I was spared the punishment. This is just one example of the countless instances my cell has spared me considerable trouble.

As they make our lives simpler and more efficient, cell phones have become an integral part of our lives. Indeed, they have come a long way from being rare and expensive pieces of equipment used by business elites to a pervasive low-cost personal item carried by those below twenty, among other groups. In many countries, especially the developing ones with very few landline connections, the use of cell phones has mushroomed. And the scenario is no different in Nepal.

A mobile culture has evolved with cell phones playing the role of an important tool for socialising. The cell phone is no more a wireless two-way conversation device as many people choose to keep in touch only through SMS and MMS. Furthermore, mobile internet allows one to send and receive e-mails on phone, consequently reducing the communication gap to a great extent. One is never out of touch.

The mobile phone set itself has become a fashion object with users decorating, customising and accessorising their phones to reflect their individual personalities. And with the new models coming out in the market every day — which come affixed with amenities like camera, flash memory and FM — they are almost indispensable. Go to any sporting event or music festival, and you are sure to find spectators holding aloft their camera phones to capture the spectacle.

Even while taking a ride on the local transport, you are bound to see, at least, four or five people chattering away on their cell phones. No time and place constraints anymore! Cell phones increasingly guide our day-to-day lives. Every man dreams of making his life easy and hassle-free; cell phones have, undoubtedly, helped us achieve that aim.