Here’s a story that may seem almost unreal, but it’s true…

Have a look at the image (screenshot grabbed from a WhatsApp forward). It features price slabs of Internet access in India, circa 1995. That year marked the beginning of the Internet in India, thanks to an organization called VSNL (now Tata Communications) – for those who could afford the princely sum of nearly 20 grand a year (in 1995 money), that too for a dial-up connection with speeds less than 10 kbps (not a typo!)

A year or two before that, there were rumors that it’s coming. Until then, only advanced institutions of science and engineering (like some IITs) had access to what was then known as ERNet (Google it!). Me? I was obsessed about the ‘World Wide Web’ since the moment I first learned that there was this new tech that could help you connect with folks all over the world, in minutes!!!

So, in 1993-94 when I was still a graduate student, I managed to find a way to “log-on” by going directly to the VSNL HQ (where they were still testing the technology). Those were the days of usenets and online discussion groups… The prevalent OS was DOS, Wordstar and Lotus 123 rocked the corporate world, the browser of choice was a text-based thing called Lynx, and email could be accessed via a University-created (again, text-based) software called PINE!

In 1995, once the official launch happened, students like me could gain access to a subsidized ‘student-only’ account for Rs. 500 a year, provided you had a personal computer and a modem at the time – both luxuries that only a few could afford. This stripped-down account provided text-only access to the Internet, while the ones that cost 15k upwards (remember, 1995 money!) could browse with full GUI.

I first logged-on to the Internet before the launch of the first ever cybercafe in the country. And, it was 1996, when I would buy my first PC (40k in then money) and invest in the full-service GUI access. Needless to add, there has been no looking back since…

What’s your story?!