After my initial anger and mail to the Joint Commissioner of Police, I was still agitated. I went over the receipt I had got from the constable. I was booked for three different sections. I remember that in the 'pauthi' I was only booked for two sections Section 239 and section 250. But in this receipt I was also booked for section 184. So i went online to check for the sections and what it meant.
Section 250 MVA - Jumping the signal
Section 239 MVA - Use of mobile while driving
Section 184 MVA - Reckless driving.
Now my anger had a new level. I went to the traffic control room at the _______ junction and demanded to see the Officer in charge. I thought there might be some resistance, but it was quite easy. I was led to the Inspector to whom i explained the series of events. He countered saying that the mobile phone should be switched off while driving and if caught Section 184 was automatically to be added. But I remember the constable who had charged with me for the Rs. 200 fine on two sections and had told me that they have not charged me for reckless driving! The argument and counter argument continued. I was infuriated. The constable who booked me two days ago was the best person to asses the offense. If he has charged me with two cases then how come a constable sitting here has charged me with another section and that too offers me a Rs. 100 back for not providing me with a receipt. The inspector was irritated.
Inspector: What do you want Mr. N_______?
Me: I was not charged for Section 184. That should be taken back and my 500 bucks returned.
Inspector: Sorry, that cannot be done. The receipt has been delivered. If you had a problem you should have spoken then. And we cant change the entry in the books. Sorry anything else?
Me: I need an apology at the least.
Inspector: Arrey Kadam la bolav re! (Call Kadam)
Well, he did give an apology after a lengthy discussion. I had become a moral police standing against corruption. Finally the Inspector who was mighty irritated, insisted on 5 'uthak bhaitaks' (sit-ups holding ears). My anti-corruption ego had calmed down. I got off the cabin shaking hands with the inspector and the constable. My chest had bloated up with pride and my ears felt warm with blood. As i stepped out of the cabin, i heard the inspector tell him in marathi - Dont try to mess with such guys. If he had got a reporter along with him, we would have had a tough time with the seniors.
As I stepped out of the cabin, the constable who booked me two days back stopped seeing me. 'N______ saab, got your license back?' I smiled back nodding a yes.
'Please be careful while you are driving' he said.
I was surprised that he remembered my surname. I left the place a little relieved. I also felt hurt being poorer by 700 bucks for a single moment of negligence!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
A letter to the Joint Commissioner of Police - Traffic
Respected Sir,
Recently, I was booked at the ____________ Junction for jumping a signal and for use of mobile phone while driving.
I am fully aware of the offense i committed and i promptly agreed to pay for the penalty of the offenses. It bought out a very weird expression from the traffic police on duty.
They gave me a 'pauthi' and asked me to collect the license from the Bhandup Sonapur Cabin.
Today as I presented the 'pauthi', the officer on duty at the Collection counter, Mr. S charged me Rs. 700/-. I paid him and he returned my license. However, he was reluctant to give me a receipt for the same.
When I insisted, he told me that I am not supposed to collect it from the cabin, but from the Court. He liked me as a person and hence he was doing this 'favor'.
He returned me Rs. 100/-.
I insisted on the receipt and told him that if Rs. 100 mattered to me, I would have tried to bargain with him on the day I was caught.
I also told him to return the Rs. 700/- and offered to give him back the license and collect it from the 'Court'.
He promptly made a receipt and gave it to me.
I would like to know if such a statement is indeed true. If it is, then why was I not asked to take the license from the court itself? And why did he be so nice to me and give me a receipt promptly?
It is indeed sad to see the state of corruption in the force. I understand the limitations and the difficult circumstances your officers work, but when an honest person is ready to abide by the law, I hope they are treated with respect and given the least trouble for being a law-abiding citizen.
I truly hope that you can do some little steps in bettering the system and tearing out corruption from it.
Yours sincerely,
P............
Recently, I was booked at the ____________ Junction for jumping a signal and for use of mobile phone while driving.
I am fully aware of the offense i committed and i promptly agreed to pay for the penalty of the offenses. It bought out a very weird expression from the traffic police on duty.
They gave me a 'pauthi' and asked me to collect the license from the Bhandup Sonapur Cabin.
Today as I presented the 'pauthi', the officer on duty at the Collection counter, Mr. S charged me Rs. 700/-. I paid him and he returned my license. However, he was reluctant to give me a receipt for the same.
When I insisted, he told me that I am not supposed to collect it from the cabin, but from the Court. He liked me as a person and hence he was doing this 'favor'.
He returned me Rs. 100/-.
I insisted on the receipt and told him that if Rs. 100 mattered to me, I would have tried to bargain with him on the day I was caught.
I also told him to return the Rs. 700/- and offered to give him back the license and collect it from the 'Court'.
He promptly made a receipt and gave it to me.
I would like to know if such a statement is indeed true. If it is, then why was I not asked to take the license from the court itself? And why did he be so nice to me and give me a receipt promptly?
It is indeed sad to see the state of corruption in the force. I understand the limitations and the difficult circumstances your officers work, but when an honest person is ready to abide by the law, I hope they are treated with respect and given the least trouble for being a law-abiding citizen.
I truly hope that you can do some little steps in bettering the system and tearing out corruption from it.
Yours sincerely,
P............
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
English is a very funny language!
Amitabh's dialogue in Namakhalaal holds true if you travel into the interiors of India. It is indeed funny!
Com-fart-able!!!!
Any takers for a Chicken that 'sweat', and is sour?
GARL FRINDES - No GARL FRINDES No TENSAN!!!
Com-fart-able!!!!
Any takers for a Chicken that 'sweat', and is sour?
GARL FRINDES - No GARL FRINDES No TENSAN!!!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Coffee with a War Hero
I usually hate wars. Everyone hates wars. In a war, there are no winners. But it is necessary to protect our own interest. People in the army have always amazed me. Their persona, their dedication, their sparkle in the eye. Their eyes show the immense amount of satisfaction that they get with their personal sacrifice for the good of the nation. Many of these men and women could opt for lucrative jobs in other vocations. They do not have to go to the border, stay away from the family, put their life at risk, earn lesser than their peers in other fields, but they do. These breed of men and women are of a different kind – I realized after meeting Col. Ramesh Sharma over a cup of coffee at Costa Coffee at Connaught Place, Delhi.
Col. Ramesh Sharma is retired from the army and is now in the corporate world. What does he do? He turns around failed companies. He says passionately about his days in the army. ‘I enjoyed every single minute of my life in the army. And what I do today is also the same. Turning around situations that hang on the brink of failure.’ Col. Ramesh Sharma, for people to have an easy connect was the real life character Amitabh Bachchan had depicted in the film Lakshya.
Speaking about those decisive days of the Kargil War, he says - When the first attack of the battalion failed, I was asked to take over a new battalion and recapture Tiger hill. I refused a new battalion. ‘If the failed battalion would have not got a second chance, they would have had to live in shame for the rest of their lives for their failure.’
He went out and asked the jawans, how many of them were ready to launch another attack on the infiltrates. Each one of them put their hands up. He went to his senior and told them, he would continue the attack with the same battalion. It didn’t mattered if he was court-martialed. 12 hours later, he was given the permission. He went back and faced his battalion. He gave up his gun and refused to wear the bullet-proof jacket. He told his men – I will be walking in front of you with nothing but a chadi (a thin bamboo stick). Save me if you can, from the bullets of the enemy.
Nevertheless to say, in the battle that followed, Tiger hill was re-captured, one of the key moments in the Kargil war. A war that was standing on the brink of failure had turned around. He now does the same with failed companies. It is not much different from war, he says. ‘Only here, your life is not threatened by a bullet.’
Colonel now also visits management colleges and shares his experience to teach young people in the art of leadership. We salute to you and to the men who lay their lives for the country expecting nothing but honor!
Col. Ramesh Sharma is retired from the army and is now in the corporate world. What does he do? He turns around failed companies. He says passionately about his days in the army. ‘I enjoyed every single minute of my life in the army. And what I do today is also the same. Turning around situations that hang on the brink of failure.’ Col. Ramesh Sharma, for people to have an easy connect was the real life character Amitabh Bachchan had depicted in the film Lakshya.
Speaking about those decisive days of the Kargil War, he says - When the first attack of the battalion failed, I was asked to take over a new battalion and recapture Tiger hill. I refused a new battalion. ‘If the failed battalion would have not got a second chance, they would have had to live in shame for the rest of their lives for their failure.’
He went out and asked the jawans, how many of them were ready to launch another attack on the infiltrates. Each one of them put their hands up. He went to his senior and told them, he would continue the attack with the same battalion. It didn’t mattered if he was court-martialed. 12 hours later, he was given the permission. He went back and faced his battalion. He gave up his gun and refused to wear the bullet-proof jacket. He told his men – I will be walking in front of you with nothing but a chadi (a thin bamboo stick). Save me if you can, from the bullets of the enemy.
Nevertheless to say, in the battle that followed, Tiger hill was re-captured, one of the key moments in the Kargil war. A war that was standing on the brink of failure had turned around. He now does the same with failed companies. It is not much different from war, he says. ‘Only here, your life is not threatened by a bullet.’
Colonel now also visits management colleges and shares his experience to teach young people in the art of leadership. We salute to you and to the men who lay their lives for the country expecting nothing but honor!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Homeless in Mumbai
Yesterday as i was returning home after running some errands, I heard a voice calling out from behind a parked taxi. I wasn't sure if they were calling out to me, but I paused to turn back and look. A middle-aged guy, probably in his fifties waved out to me as he walked closer. He had a 'Sundaram' notebook in his hands.
Man: Are you a Mallu Christian?
Me: No... not a chrstian...
Man: There are a lot of mallu christians in this area
Me: Really, I never bothered to count.
Man: Ha ha... you have a dry sense of humor.
Me: Was born like that
OK i must admit that i was apprehensive about this guy. He was clean shaven, dressed well in a white shirt and blue jeans but i was very uncomfortable by his smile.
Man: Can you help us?
Me: How do you want me to help me?
Man: You know we have been homeless... (He pointed to a couple who were sitting behind the taxi on the curb. All of them well dressed.) We are roaming like this since a week.
Me: Why?
Man: We were thrown out of our house, our own house.
Me: So how are you surviving since the last week.
Man: God has been taking care of us.
Me: Well, good for you.
Now i got ths sense that he was going to ask for money and if he did, I knew that this was another kind of a scam a colleague had told me long back. He was duped of a thousand bucks a couple of years back when a couple with a child, approached him and he out of sympathy gave it to them. They promised they will return it and took his address. They never got back and a couple of months later, there was a burglary in his house. They could never link the two, but that incident was tapping on my mind's shoulder.
Man: Can you help us by donating some money? We will return it to you.
Me: NO!
Man: Why such a loud No? People have contributed. I am taking their addresses and will repay them when I earn it back.
Me: there are a couple of reasons. One, Your smile. You look too happy that you have lost your home. Second, if you had lost your home, your friends would have bailed you out, if they have not, then you don't have any friends, and three, if you lost your own home to someone else and didnot know that it was coming, you sure are a fool.
Man: (a little angry) you are cruel.
Me: Cant help it. Have been like that since childhood.
I walked away. I dont know if I was right for not helping them. I dont know if they were really speaking the truth. Probably I might have one more curse on my head now!!
Man: Are you a Mallu Christian?
Me: No... not a chrstian...
Man: There are a lot of mallu christians in this area
Me: Really, I never bothered to count.
Man: Ha ha... you have a dry sense of humor.
Me: Was born like that
OK i must admit that i was apprehensive about this guy. He was clean shaven, dressed well in a white shirt and blue jeans but i was very uncomfortable by his smile.
Man: Can you help us?
Me: How do you want me to help me?
Man: You know we have been homeless... (He pointed to a couple who were sitting behind the taxi on the curb. All of them well dressed.) We are roaming like this since a week.
Me: Why?
Man: We were thrown out of our house, our own house.
Me: So how are you surviving since the last week.
Man: God has been taking care of us.
Me: Well, good for you.
Now i got ths sense that he was going to ask for money and if he did, I knew that this was another kind of a scam a colleague had told me long back. He was duped of a thousand bucks a couple of years back when a couple with a child, approached him and he out of sympathy gave it to them. They promised they will return it and took his address. They never got back and a couple of months later, there was a burglary in his house. They could never link the two, but that incident was tapping on my mind's shoulder.
Man: Can you help us by donating some money? We will return it to you.
Me: NO!
Man: Why such a loud No? People have contributed. I am taking their addresses and will repay them when I earn it back.
Me: there are a couple of reasons. One, Your smile. You look too happy that you have lost your home. Second, if you had lost your home, your friends would have bailed you out, if they have not, then you don't have any friends, and three, if you lost your own home to someone else and didnot know that it was coming, you sure are a fool.
Man: (a little angry) you are cruel.
Me: Cant help it. Have been like that since childhood.
I walked away. I dont know if I was right for not helping them. I dont know if they were really speaking the truth. Probably I might have one more curse on my head now!!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
India Vs. Zimbabwe
Would you buy a loaf of bread for 1000$, 1000 Zimbabwean dollars? Well, that is what a loaf of bread costs in Zimbabwe. The country is supposed to have the worlds highest inflation rate - of 11.2 million%.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20080820/882/twl-zimbabwe-inflation-now-11-2-million.html
Gives a little heart to Indians where the annual rate of inflation has grown to 11%. I wonder how survival is possible where the Government does not take any measure to better the situation than keep printing higher currency notes. In such a case, wont printing those currency notes be costlier than the currency note itself? It might be like making a Gold coin of one Rupee denomination.
The Zimbabweans have now resorted to a better system in trading. Its a method which was adopted when trading was a new theory. The Barter system. Exchange commodities for commodities. This atleast ensures survival of the hardworking and denounces the Government currency, which thrives on usage of currency as means of renumeration for their misgivings.
Personally, i feel much relieved that we, the Citizens of India are relatively in a much better scenario than our counterparts in Zimbabwe, but we should take heed from the signs of what can go wrong, if the citizens of India dont check the Governments economic policies from time to time.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20080820/882/twl-zimbabwe-inflation-now-11-2-million.html
Gives a little heart to Indians where the annual rate of inflation has grown to 11%. I wonder how survival is possible where the Government does not take any measure to better the situation than keep printing higher currency notes. In such a case, wont printing those currency notes be costlier than the currency note itself? It might be like making a Gold coin of one Rupee denomination.
The Zimbabweans have now resorted to a better system in trading. Its a method which was adopted when trading was a new theory. The Barter system. Exchange commodities for commodities. This atleast ensures survival of the hardworking and denounces the Government currency, which thrives on usage of currency as means of renumeration for their misgivings.
Personally, i feel much relieved that we, the Citizens of India are relatively in a much better scenario than our counterparts in Zimbabwe, but we should take heed from the signs of what can go wrong, if the citizens of India dont check the Governments economic policies from time to time.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Creating the Big Bang!!!
Physicists at CERN are elated. Now that the proton beam has been successfully tested in clockwise direction, CERN plans to send it counterclockwise. Eventually the two beams will be fired in opposite directions with the aim of smashing together protons to see how they are made.
They say this is how the big bang had occurred and the planets and stars were formed out of nothing. The skeptics say that the result of the tests will create micro black holes in the universe that can suck in planets and stars. James Gilles, the official spokesperson of CERN rubbishes this theory.
Now going by the whole big bang theory that I had read in school, the entire universe was formed out of nothingness. Sanskrit texts claim nothing is everything and everything is nothing. I see a link between these two theories which in one line talks about similar concepts in different contexts. The secrets of the universe are far vast than we know, at least vast than what I know. But if the existence of the universe depended on the two theories that have been hammered into my head as a kid and if I believed it to be true, I would be a skeptic. For recreating a big bang would recreate the universe one more time.
Only this time it would be man made. What if huge planets are created, a new sun, new stars… What if everything the theories spoke about were really true? I guess that is why Stephen Hawkins wants the test to fail. It would humble human scientists by letting them know that they don’t know everything. The hunger for knowing all, will fuel them to continue living. It will stop them from being God. But what happens if the tests succeed and they are really able to create the Big Bang. Will it create planets stars etc, one more time? Will the earth explode? If none of these things happen and the physicists call the test as a success, then how would you define that they actually recreated the Big Bang? Would they be lying? Only time will tell… for I am curious to know how everything was formed at the risk of losing everything.
Because, nothing is everything and everything is nothing.
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