9089 and 9347 are two telephone numbers that Iam not able to forget. These are the PAX telephone numbers of my Father's workplace within ITI (Indian Telephone Industries).PAX means PRIVATE AUTOMATIC EXCHANGE...a modern equivalent of Intercom with every part of the township connected very well by the PAX system.I dont remember a single day when this system did not work.
Everything was well ordained within the ITI complex with a PAX telephone avaliable for the public at the main gate. As a kid I could not reach up to the phone and had to prop myself on some slab to get access to the phone to speak to my Father and at times some elderly person or security staff would help.
Along with the PAX system ITI also had the PABX system meaning PRIVATE AUTOMATIC BRANCH EXCHANGE with the help of which we could call BSNL telephones in the city. However this facility was only available in the hospital. Note that in the 1970''s and almost through the 1980's telephone penetration in India was very poor.There must have been one BSNL land-line for every say 10,000 (ten thousand) people and people had to look at some public outlets to make telephone calls. Sounds strange. Land line penetration improved drastically in the 1990's with Electronic Exchanges made by C-DOT(centre for the development of telematics) From the ITI hospital I used to call the cousins of my mother PRABHA SANKARANARAYANAN on 75695 and PREMA BAKTHAVATSALAM on 74453 and also the house of Dr.P C Nambiar in Cox-town on 51188.
Recently I was riding near the ITI main gate and happenned to remember those times and as I stand near the Main Gate of ITI can somewhere here the faint voice of my Father even today.