Profession Vs. Profession.

In those days , 1950s or 1960s I don't remember well , in our village , the valve radio set was the most modern electronic item . Very few people owned radios .People from nearby houses would visit the house having a radio to hear news , songs , concerts etc.,
A gentleman from the village ,Sarathy by name , who was working in Madras (the present Chennai)would frequent the village , once in a month or so. Along with him he would bring a transistor set , just as we carry our cell phones . It was of the size of a soap box.
Just like a doctor checking the patients with a stethoscope , he would keep the transistor on the ears of the little boys and girls around him , for about five seconds each. I also had my turn , when I could hear a song of a Tamil movie , in a low feeble voice. It was a wonder for us to hear a soap box with a single horn ( the antenna ) talking and singing . When Sarathy brought the transistor to our village for the first time , even elders had the same feeling and some were very very curious to know about its working .
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In those days no one owned a telephone in their house . If at all anyone wanted to contact their relatives at out stations they had to go to the Post Office ,( only one in our village) , fill up a form and give it to the Post Master . He will repeatedly enquire and confirm the telephone number and the person , whom we should contact .He would reach the telephone and rotate the handle attached to the telephone several times .
We would have to wait for alreast half an hour . We would go to a hypnotic nap hearing the , "did,did,da,da,..da,did,da,da......da,da..da..
sound continuously made by the clerk cum telegraphist.
Suddenly the peon would awake us and tell we could talk to the person we wished to.
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Nadhaswaram and Tavil , as you know well , are played daily in the temples ;
and in marriages and other functions.
The Nadhaswaram Vidwan , before starting to play it , would check the correctness by making a sound "pee pee " ( " பீ ..பீ .." )

Hence the instrument is well known by the children as a " peepee " and
the Nadhaswara Vidwan a "peepee Uncle "(பீப்பீ மாமா) .When the children call them as "peepee Uncle" the Vidwan would happily smile at them . But when a grown up boy or an elderly person refers to him as " peepee" he would take it as a sarcasm and an insult.
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Sivamani was a Nadhaswara Vidwan.
He went to the Post Office and told the Post Master that he wanted to talk to one Ramaswamy. The Post Master gave him the form and Sivamani filled up the form . On receiving it , the Post Master asked him to wait and he would intimate as soon as the ' call was ready '.
The front portion of the house served as the Post Office , while the rest of the house as the quarters of the Post Master . He was really a 24 hour government servant . Even at nights he would help the public , whenever they need , to attend to their outgoing and incoming calls . He was never lazy nor refused anyone , this service.
He was helped by the peon who would stay in the Post Office itself .
OK. What happened now was , the Post Master rotated the handle of the phone several times and spoke something to the exchange staff ; he then went inside, to his house, to take a cup of coffee , perhaps , and returned to his seat within Fifteen minutes .
In the meantime, that is , before he returned , Madras Ramaswamy had come on the line and we heard the ringing of the telephone bell for about five seconds.
The clerk on duty noticed that the telephone bell was ringing and the Post Master was not in his seat .
So he lifted the receiver and spoke ; learning that the requested call was connected , he shouted ( because there were many people inside the Post Office)
in a loud voice :
( "சார் பீப்பீ , கால் ரெடி ..........
சார் பீப்பீ , கால் ரெடி.......")
"Sir Peepee , call ready
Sir Peepee ,. call ready ".
On hearing this Sivamani got irritated and became very angry.
Still considering that Ramaswamy was on the line, and the urgency of the matter, Sivamani suppressed his anger temporarily , and went inside the counter , spoke on the phone and after completion of the talk kept the receiver.
By that time the Post Master had occupied his seat , and the clerk also became very busy in issuing stamps, cards etc.,
Sivamani went to the Post Master and started complaining about the clerk :
" Sir , your clerk is insulting me Sir .
He called me as ' Peepee' ."
The Post Master became perplexed ;
the clerk was shocked to hear someone complaining about him to the Post Master, for the first time in his service .
The Post Master gathered himself and seated Sivamani next to him.
He then called the clerk aside to the Postman's room and talked to him for about two minutes only.
Then he came to his seat , followed by the clerk .
When the clerk opened his mouth to talk , Sivamani started to shout at him ," You are a responsible person respected by all of us , public, but you behaved in an indecent manner . .............."
The clerk felt agitated and the Post Master signed him to go to his seat .
He said , " I will explain the matter ".
The clerk seemed to be very soft-spoken,
he took a gulp of water and kept quiet.
The Post Master asked Sivamani. :
". Did you want to talk only to Ramaswamy in Chennai ,. or anyone in the number ( telephone number) you provided ?"
Sivamani replied. : " Only to Ramaswamy".
The Post Master : " When I went to my house , the clerk received the call from Chennai . He didn't know that you have booked the call. .I have kept the form there which he didn't know. Hence when he received the call ,Mr. Ramaswamy was waiting on the phone on the other side. So he called you in great haste ..............."
Sivamani interrupted , " Then he could have called me as 'Sivamani' and not 'Peepee' "
The Post Master : " He didn't see the form ,I told you . The telephone staff at the other end have said that the "Peepee call was ready". So he ( the clerk ) said that the "Peepee call is ready ".
Sivamani " Your sarcasm has gone beyond the limit . You made me famous upto Madras as " Peepee ?"
The Post Master , with all difficulties , suppressed his smile and replied :
" Sir , you have thoroughly mistaken us.
We have , two types of calls , in our technical language. .
One is the Number Call -- If you are willing to talk to anyone who would speak from the telephone number you are giving to us , then it is called a Number Call .
Less amount will be charged on this call.
The other is a PP call -- Particular Person call. -- that is , if you want to talk only to a particular person at that telephone number given by you , then it is called a Particular Person call or a PP call.
Because you have booked a Particular Person call , in our technical language , the Staff at the other end had told that the PP call was ready .
My clerk immediately responded it and not wanting to waste your money he reacted swiftly , and in a flow , used the abbreviation "PP".
He is new to this village.
He neither knows your profession nor wanted to insult you.
He is very soft-spoken and a gentleman."
Sivamani seemed to be pacified , but he asked the Post Master ," Then why should he call me as " Sir PP?"
The Post Master told : He said that he shouted as " Sir, .........PP call is ready " only.
Please take things in the right sense ".
Sivamani gave out a sigh of relief and shook hands with the Post Master. He then approached the clerk and asked to excuse him for his hasty conclusions.
Both of them shook hands.