That little gadget called a modem is the open sesame of our age. If you want to a) keep up with the news b) stay in touch with friends abroad c) simply Internet-crazy, you have two options. You could buy yourself a computer, a modem and get a friendly web guru to set the whole thing up; or you could simply drop in at a cyber cafe.
A cyber cafe or club offers internet links, e-mail, telnet and the facility to download from the Net. Many cyber cafes also have an eatery in addition to terminals where you can surf. Others also offer a business centre from where you can monitor your mundane but necessary office-work.
The terminals at the better-run cyber cafes offer you a great deal of privacy. But the staff do a certain amount of policing with younger customers. Jaishree Menon of Delhis Maurya Sheraton Hotel says, Our aim is to help people enhance their knowledge. But, if they try to go to sites which can corrupt their minds then we ask the guests to surf elsewhere.
Delhi offers quite a lot of clubs that serve as jumping off points into the world wide web. The Maurya aside, theres Leisure Bowls Cafe Wired World, the Internet Home and hosts of others. There were initially far more, ranging from hole-in-the-wall affairs to proper cyber cafes, but competition saw a lot of the smaller ones falling by the wayside.
Mumbai,too, has its share of cyber cafes Indian Express Cyber cafe, Data Business Services Interzone Cyber cafe, Indian Merchant Chambers cyber cafe, YB Chawans Internet Plaza, Cafe 209 and Space Jam, to name a few. Surprisingly, Indias answer to Silicon Valley appears to be a late starter. Bangalore has just two haunts for surfing enthusiasts Indian Express and the Cyber Club at the Windsor Manor.
How expensive is surfing at a cyber-cafe? Prices vary sharply across the board, and most quoted rates wont include what you might spend on meals. At the Maurya Sheratons Cyber Club, a hotel resident has to pay Rs 200 per hour while non-residents have to shell out Rs 400 per hour. For downloading material from the net, the club charges Rs 500 per floppy. You will need to pay Rs 150 per message if you use the e-mail facilities. Annual membership fees are Rs 25,000 for ordinary members, and Rs 40,000 for corporate members. Others, such as Cafe Wired World, will bill you on the basis of the time that you spend online. Many places dont charge extra for downloading.
The cafes are more popular among the younger lot, says Menon. Adnan Alam, a frequent user, agrees: The younger generation is computer friendly. And while older people have computers in their offices where they can surf in their spare time, most youngsters dont. If you dont have access to a computer and wants to surf or chat with someone, cyber cafes are ideal.
Youngsters in the 15-21 age group, in fact, are surfing in such large numbers that they have forced some clubs to fight a price war. At Mumbais Indian Express Cyber Cafe, a student pays just Rs 50 half the usual rate for an hours surfing.
Some cafes also offer happy hour charges are reduced during certain hours of the day. Seasoned surfers at cafes advise you to check on club timings. The higher rates at the Maurya are justified not just by the five-star ambience, but because the club is open 24 hours a day. But if your needs arent going to wake you up at 4 am, you might be better off with the normal working hours of clubs such as the Indian Express Cyber cafe.
Watch out for clubs that have dial-up lines rather than leased lines. You could lose out on your surfing time if the connection is not immediately established, or if it breaks off in between.
Some clubs go further than others to provide good service. The Mauryas Cyber Club lets you chat with politicians, bureaucrats, economists and CEOs. They claim to have VP Singh, Manmohan Singh and others as their distinguished guests. Getting to chat with them might be expensive, but its probably worth it
