“It wouldn’t stop beeping. There would be more than 200 WhatsApp messages on a school group in the space of a few hours. And most were of little or no interest to me, and yet, I was staring at the cellphone.” Shubh Mukherji, who turned 15 this May, is clear about what he enjoys instead: “Conversations, stories, regular dinner-table chit-chats, and fresh air.”

The Class X student of Lotus Valley International School, in Gurgaon, used the cellphone for only six months before he decided to return it to parents Shyamla and Dhiman earlier this year. “I get distracted easily… the constant urge to stay glued to the mobile, just because you have one, was actually stressful. It didn’t take me too long to realise that I’d be happier without it,” he says.

Among his closest friends — with some difficulty he restricts the count to eight — there are five who don’t use a cellphone. “My best buddies are from school and no one is allowed to carry a phone there. When we meet outside school — for coffee, group studies, birthdays or just walks in the neighbourhood — we don’t huddle around cellphones. Only if there is a funny or interesting video, a new app, or maybe a good joke, you will find us looking at someone’s phone…” he explains. As for selfies, the youngster, who loves family vacations, doesn’t deny the usefulness of the mobile but doesn’t feel the need to own one immediately.

For occasional surfing and important calls, his parents are happy to let him use their phone. “They know I won’t spend hours on it,” he says. “My mother allows me to carry her phone when I am stepping out with my friends for a movie or a dinner or a get-together. It makes it easier for her to coordinate pick-up and drop,” he adds.

Mukherji’s resolve to stay away from the device is bolstered by his 10-year-old brother, Shaurya, who doesn’t even show an interest in social media. “I created my Facebook account five years ago. That seemed like the must-do, must-have, and I gave in. I created one for my brother too, but he hasn’t visited his page in months. I am, by default, his page administrator,” says the teen, adding that his mother keeps an eye on his Facebook activities. “I don’t have a problem with that. In fact, I added my parents as friends years ago. They are more active on social media than us,” he says.

The ‘family’ iPad is what the brothers turn to for their share of games and apps. “We appreciate smart technology and it can be a lot of fun. But we are both conscious that the fun should not turn into addiction. That’s why Shaurya and I still spend more time playing badminton than racing cars, firing missiles or slaying demons on the iPad or computer,” says Mukherji, who loves to follow sports news.

Nor does he enjoy reading on the iPad. “I am not an avid reader,” he clarifies. He prefers autobiographies and biographies more than fiction. “I still get enough time to read magazines and newspapers, thanks to the school library. My mother also buys books for us. I like to turn pages, use bookmarks… the feeling is not the same when you read on devices. No Kindle or iPad can work that magic,” he says.

Not a huge fan of Apple products, he is sure that when he decides to get a cellphone next year (after his boards) or later, it would likely be an Android device.

A cricket enthusiast, Mukherji’s immediate wish — other than scoring well in board exams — is to return to the pitch. “I live, dream, breathe cricket. I played with all seriousness in school,” he says. An injury in October 2014, followed by a surgery in January this year have meant that he cannot return to cricket for another year. “The first few weeks of the injury were difficult. I was afraid I won’t be able to play again,” he recalls. Away from his team and all the cricketing action, he used the cellphone to while away his time. But it certainly didn’t feel the same.

If not a career in cricket, Mukherji wants to do sports journalism. Last year, from school, he visited the NDTV office in New Delhi and was thrilled to learn how to use the TV cameras and other equipment.

“On the WhatsApp group, one of the few topics of discussion I enjoyed was sports. We were discussing matches, sportspersons, controversies, etc. The phone kept buzzing during big, important matches. But in keeping track of those messages, I lost moments of live action on TV.”

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