The Video Call In the old days in India, Pakistan or Africa, we had the letter, telegram and telephones. There were no mobiles then - only landlines, which were very expensive. Telegrams were sent across oceans as a quick way to share happy or sad news. Faster than a letter. Cheaper than the telephone. A middle way. Then phone cards came. When I moved to England, landlines were still very expensive. So I’d buy a £1 card to ring abroad. I would call home every Saturday. 5 to 10 minutes max because I couldn’t afford more time. Beep beep beep, there are 5 mins remaining… Then email came. Younger relatives fired off emails to each other. But our grandparents and parents still wrote letters, with occasional phone calls. Beep beep beep there are 4 mins remaining…
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