There seems to be no limit to price tags on status. Even so, paying a
jaw-dropping Rs 15.50 lakh for a fancy cell phone number is clearly India's most
expensive ring. That's the amount Ludhiana lad Amit Malhotra coughed up for
9780000000.
Even for a city
known for its if-you-have-it-flaunt-it attitude, Ludhiana, which has the most
Mercs per capita of any Indian metro and where Rs 6 lakh suitlengths are common
sartorial acquisitions, Amit's new number has become an emblem of
status.
"What do we say?"
chortled a Hutch employee who didn't want to be named. "If people have the
money, let them buy the
moon."
Amit, the son of a city
garment manufacturer and property dealer, won the number at an auction organised
by Hutch. He learnt last week that the phone company was going to release VIP
numbers and applied for one. Then he was told that the company planned to
auction these numbers. The auction was conducted through a phone-conference,
with the bidding process having begun on Tuesday morning and running into
Wednesday evening. In the final round, there were five men battling it out for
the big-draw number. The results were released on Thursday
evening.
The company executive refused to divulge details of the
auction, the names of rival bidders or the bid amounts. In the Malhotra
household, there was celebration. Vijay Malhotra, the father, wasn't a bit fazed
about the amount his son had blown on a phone number. "It's not something new.
He has always chosen VIP numbers for his belongings. Only this time he has spent
a huge amount on it."
Swamped
by questions, the 26-year-old ‘VIP' said he didn't just dust his pocket
out for the money. "I borrowed money from friends and relatives and will repay
them soon," Amit said.
Many, of
course, saw it as new India's unabashed exhibition of both success and
confidence, in line with the glitzy multi-crore apartments dotting city suburbs
and with the spiralling salaries. Only recently, there were reports that
Chandigarh, which has the highest number of mobile phones and cars per capita,
also has more than 4,000 millionaires. |
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