NEW DELHI: India’s got a new caller tune — one that celebrates the 100 cr vaccination mark. A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the landmark victory with his visit to Delhi’s RML hospital on Thursday, the nation noticed a small change in their daily routine. The earlier message is now replaced by a new one, but in male voice.
Post the outbreak of Covid-19, the health ministry had come up with an innovative idea to spread the pandemic related awareness using caller tunes. The caller tune recorded in the voice of legendary Amitabh Bachchan was played by every service provider in the country. The message was simple – it told people to wear their masks, sanitise regularly and maintain social distance. Soon, as was intended, the mobile phone became the mass medium to spread the message. The reach of the message was amazing. TNI SPECIAL – Ton-Up India Raises Bat To 100-Crore Shots
As we went along and the country witnessed the highs and lows of the pandemic, Bachchan’s voice was replaced by that of Jasleen Bhalla, who prompted people not to drop guard. And now, the latest message goes a step further. While highlighting the government accomplishment, it prods those who have not yet got their shot to book a slot for themselves and make the country safer to live in.
To explore the reach of the new message, The New Indian carried out a ground check and spoke to the man of the streets. The findings were interesting.
While some people were aware of the change, there were others who were yet to hear the message. And then, there were those who expressed their annoyance at the length and repetition and admitted to having figured a way to skip the government advisory. What if one had an emergency and you needed to connect with someone on SOS basis, the caller tune serves a hindrance, argued some.
The New Indian also spoke to the “voice” of the earlier caller tune, Jasleen Bhalla, who said: “The messaging was effective. It might be mundane for a lot of people to hear something over and over again, but for a great change to happen, certain difficulties have to be faced. I believe that caller tune is the little cog in the wheel which is moving towards the direction of eliminating the virus.”
While the debate rages on whether we should continue having a caller tune based on Covid precautions and protocol, the underlying motive has been accomplished. Every Indian knows what is to be done to keep them safe.