Satu Keluarga, Satu Komputer (One Home, One Computer): Cultural Accounts of ICTs in South and Southeast Asia

Abstract

Introduction A man in a business suit stands on the edge of the crumbling sidewalk in the heart of Mumbai’s financial district. He is holding a briefcase in one hand; his mobile phone is ringing in the other. He answers it, dodging the beggars and the vendors selling freshly squeezed limejuice and roasted peanuts. He pauses on the sidewalk, listening intently. In the background, the evening rush hour commences—goods carriers hurtle past him, black and yellow taxis spewing black smoke, and a mad crush of pedestrians, scooters, and bicycles. There are men painting billboards by hand, writing URLs and street addresses with the same precise penmanship. The lampposts along Cuffe Parade are decorated with square orange boxes, advertising a new mobile phone service, but none of the lights are working. The newspapers carry stories about the pending legal action against a local greeting card company to prevent them from selling Valentine’s Day cards. It is February 2002 in India.1