Basic telecom company Touchtel has launched a unique call centre in Madhya Pradesh.

Contrary to the trend, the employees of this call centre are oldies, with little expertise in English and only hands-on experience in computers.

While normal call centres do not entertain a call for more than three minutes, the employees of this call centre attend to a customer, at times, for more than an hour.

The employees reply to subscribers' calls by reading their horoscope with the help of an astro-software.

They analyse the callers' present on the basis of their vinshotari dasha, mahadasha or shani dasha (planetary positions).

The call centre operates in two shifts between 9 am and 9 pm and the employees are paid between Rs 3,500 and Rs 8,500 on the basis of their knowledge in the field of astrology.

Says Ram Naresh Trivedi, an employee who is a Shastri and a B Ed from Sampurnanad Sanskrit Vishwavidhyalaya in Varanasi, "We even suggest about gems and stones. But we have to be quick."

"During a six-hour shift, we receive about 25 calls. We attend to each call and try to satisfy the caller's queries mostly about success in business or profession or the status of marriage. Interestingly, a large number of callers are women," Trivedi adds.

The company allots a fixed number to its subscribers and a different number to BSNL subscribers. The facility is limited to Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Refusing to divulge financial details, Rohit, owner of the call centre, said: "I have invested more than Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000) and have a revenue sharing partnership with the telecommunication company. The business is going on well."

"It is not doing great business, but is adding more value to our services," said Rohtash Mal, chief telecom officer of Touchtel.

Says KK Sharma, a former employee of Barkatullah University, "At 62, I find the job quite interesting. He has masters degree in Hindi and Sanskrit, a B Ed and diploma in Library Science and Jyotishacharya from Maharishi Vedic Vishvavidyalaya.

Acharya BL Tripathi, the head of the call centre, solves caller's problems with the help of a panchang (Indian calendar).