💬 People who take loud phone calls on the bus. Why?

I take the 49 from Malakpet to Koti every morning. It's 35 minutes if the traffic is kind. Almost every day someone gets on and their phone rings before they've even found a seat. Within 10 seconds the whole bus knows what they had for breakfast and whose mother is ill. Nobody on the bus asked, and nobody on the bus can leave. Last Tuesday a man in a blue shirt took a call about his landlord. The call lasted 22 minutes. I know because I checked my watch. By the end I knew the rent, the deposit and his landlord's wife's name. He didn't whisper once. He stood in the aisle and leaned on the pole like he was in his own house. Half the bus was looking out of the window with a face like they were praying for the next stop. I've tried the usual things. Staring, sighing, putting my earphones in with nothing playing. It doesn't work. The people who talk this loudly aren't looking at anyone else, that's the whole thing. Once I said, brother, a little slow please. He looked at me like I'd asked for his wallet. He lowered his voice for about 40 seconds and then went right back up again. A bit of noise is fine. A full court case about your landlord is not. I know it's a small thing to be upset about. But 35 minutes is long when you can't leave. Today the blue shirt got on again at Chaderghat, same phone. I moved to the back and the conductor gave me a look.

I will be the odd one out here. On a long bus ride from Hyderabad to Vijayawada last year I ended up listening to a stranger's whole family argument. It was awkward, but by the end I knew they were fine. The video calls on speaker are still the worst. My only fix is a pair of earplugs in the bag.

Agree, especially video calls on speaker. On a quiet bus last week a man watched cricket highlights on full volume. Then his wife called and he put her on speaker too. We all heard about the gas cylinder and his mother's knees. Nobody said anything. The conductor just sighed and looked out of the window. Earphones cost 200 rupees. I nearly offered him mine, out of pity for all of us.