Wednesday, January 16

PARKING AT OWNER'S RISK !!!!!

It’s six thirty in the morning and you have the entire day planned out for you,you promise to write something meaningful on your blog,promise to keep your cool,when madness descends at eight in the morning (and since effective planning is not really your forte), it fills you up with tremendous pride…read proud. You have an interview, (the third and the final one).You rehearse the last minute, as to how shocked you will be at the un(expected )pay packet offered and how you would coolly and professionally refuse the meager offer, and bargain a hike and in the end finally emerge a winner.But,then life would be such a plain piece of vanilla cake, had it not been for the unexpected slosh of events that are the chocolate icing on the cake. You impress the panel, with your answers, but can’t press them enough to give you what you asked for. It’s a fact well known and discussed but never acted upon,that teachers are the most underpaid of all professionals.They expect you to bring in a revolution, but want to pay peanuts because it’s a noble profession. You buy a little more time and carry your fragile ego carefully down the steps of the building.

DESTINATION 2… local friendly bank, that refuses to acknowledge that your cheque is missing and wants you to believe “what is yours will come back to you…if it doesn’t it never was”, a fraction of that interview confidence is discreetly used here too. As you head back, you speculate ,whether the consumer court would take up your case, and you catch the familiar sight of your two wheeler being scooternapped by the police tow away truck. You watch helplessly, for a second completely numb with shock. Several agony uncles, who had been a witness at the crime scene advise you to negotiate with the driver and get the vehicle off in 100 rs. An angel in the disguise of an auto comes by and actually agrees to take you to the police station(for auto drivers consider below their privilege to go distances less than 5 kms)


Like devotees outside a holy shrine (with green offerings), you patiently wait for your turn to pay up (that’s what it’s all about) in front of the inspector. “Ninna hesaru,madam”,(whats your name)the madam doesn’t really cover the arrogance in his voice.You make the mistake of asking him why your vehicle was the chosen one amongst all the others,and he answers by mouthing some incomprehensible mumbo jumbo, with a few madams thrown in for courtesy. Later, you are informed that all vehicles in the second and third line are targetted to be carried away.You wonder why in spite of all the rights that one follows ,why one is caught at the first wrong turn. A trip to a police station is always a humbling experience, both for one’s ego and our pocket.Three hundred rupees,to get your dear one back ,is a small price to pay.
I shall retain the slip, to remind myself, that parking is as dangerous as driving.So, look before you park, and that parking has it’s own set of rules and regulations,to be followed. I wonder if I hadn’t been to the bank,I wouldn’t have ended up being caught,but then realized that some roads are destined to be journeyed, some fines destined to be paid, and some posts destined to be written, by the sheer force of spontaneity.


13 comments:

satish said...

mazzaaa aa gaya maidam.

well, its only human to laugh at others' misery. so let me laugh first. hehehhehehehehehhe..(my disturbing ridiculous girly laff) Ha HAA ha HAA ha! (my mardon wali laff!)

you need a crash course on negotiation. i mean first you fail to negotiate your salary to a higher 'respectable' level then you end up paying 300 bucks where you sud have paid just 100.

aah that didnt help i know.

but this will.

you are adorable.

cheers!

padma said...

heyy gazal.....
I have different comments for diferent situations...

When peopel pay peanuts.. they only get monkeys.. ( Thank god u dint acept the offer coz u r surely not a monkey ;-))
teaching is the most underpaid job.. & people often say... Ohh u r a teacher.. ( but what the heck!) we are still the ones who bring change....:-))
well, about the fine part.. i agree some fine shave to be paid!!! I saved u once in Pune- DECCAN but sad i wasnt there in Bglr this time to save u!;-))

cheers
Padma

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan said...

Hehe.We all have our experiences involving vehicles and police, dont we ?
They've become richer in mangalore, thanks to my inept directions and friends' equally inedpt driving ..
get used to it.. khaki is power !!!

Gazal said...

@satish

pls mail me addresses of any institutes which run crash courses on negotiation....
and secondly negotiating with Mamu's not a good idea,esp when a huge crowd gathers around to stare and sneer at you.

that did help !!!

@padma
i guess there are very few like you who are so spirited,even when surviving on peanuts!!!!

@roshan

i was the wronged one,so it was one of those rare moments when i keep my mouth shut and don't fight !!!!

Amandeep Singh said...

Destined indeed!!
:)

Reni said...

u kno wat?....u r a luk-alike of a moral science teacher i had in primary school....dat post made me imagine her payin da fine wen all she ever stressed on was "following road safety rules"....wats ur subject young lady?...

Gazal said...

@standby mind

thanks for dropping by...

@reni
is it true that after a while all teachers sound and look alike!!!i hope not!!!!
i teach English.

dharmabum said...

teachers are underpaid (except the CG pay scale, which, imho, is quite decent), and it is sad nobody wants to do anything about it. i am proud to be associated, of only through the blog world, with a teacher. my salutations - may you touch many young lives and ignite many more sparks.

when it comes to the cops - i'm with you, i hardly break any rules, yet get caught for something silly, and yes, i been to the police station quite a few times and know exactly what u mean.

loved the apparent ease with which u narrate the happenings - enjoyed this post and identified a lot too. thanks so much for sharing

Anonymous said...

hmmm...nice reading....this is the reality of our society but we have to still live with it....everyone has made their own set of rules & we live in a society where everyone tends to forget our humane side....but as they say...life moves on...!

Gazal said...

@dharma
thanks a lot for that.

@kalyan

so true...

Guruprasad said...

have you noticed how the traffic police come up with amazingly ingenuous ways of collecting fines and boosting up their revenues (official and unofficial) year after year!

you had half-painted headlights (but we hardly need to use high beams in the city!), then the shade of sun-films (what's the point of applying the film if it doesn't keep the sun out?!!), then the seat-belt (i need them when i'm zooming away at an average 20 kmph on the city roads!), helmets for two-wheeler riders (it doesn't matter if the pillion rider's head is smashed to pulp!)... the list is endless!

so you can feel honored that you contributed to the GDP of the country, unplanned though it was!

zzzzzzz said...

next time take someone who speaks kannada alongwith u....u could have cut the bribe costs by 25-50% if u can negotiate in kannada :)

hehe

Gazal said...

@guruprasad
prob they could have a standard deduction in our pay,which could go towards this noble cause....taxable or non-taxable ???

@prax
din want to take a chance!!!!