No, I am actually talking about domestic LPG gas :).
I recently applied for an LPG connection at a HP distributor in my locality. According to the rules, you need to pay deposit for cylinder and regulator only while getting a new connection. However, all the distributors, irrespective of the company - HP, Indane and others, force you to buy accessories like lighter, gas hose, stove etc. This particular distributor insisted me on buying pressure cooker, iron box, mixer, apron etc! Since I had all these appliances already at my home I didn't agree to purchase any of them. I was promptly denied a connection though I had all the required documents like ration card! They even said its company rule and they have to follow. Please note that the purchase of accessories is OPTIONAL irrespective of what they say.
Since I was in no hurry to get a connection, I thought I will try some alternatives. I wrote to HP on their website. To my surprise, they replied in less than 24 hours! They also me asserted that those things were indeed optional. You can check the complaint and reply from HP at http://jihaan.hpcl.co.in/booking/Search.aspx. (click 'Track complaints' at bottom left and enter the reference number: 09019740 and email id: ranjith(dot}kagathi(at}gmail.com. You might have to do this twice some times as their website seems to have some bugs :)) I showed the print out of the mail communication to the distributor and they sanctioned the connection without any more hastles immediately!
So if you are planning to apply for a gas connection, don't pay any extra fees for unnecessary accessories.
Showing posts with label Bangalore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bangalore. Show all posts
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Monday, January 26, 2009
Lalbagh flower show
I am repeatedly concerned about the growing population of India in general and Bangalore in particular (though, ofcourse, I am part of the problem :)) Look at the very long queue infront of the famous glass house at Lalbagh to witness The Republic day flower show in the picture above.
I couldn't enjoy much of the flower show because of the mad crowd there. Few of the interesting things I could capture on my iPhone below...
Saturday, January 24, 2009
MTR, resembles a refugee camp!
Yesterday I visited MTR along with my uncle and cousin to have lunch . Just in accordance with Murphy's law we reached there bingo during the 45 minutes interval between 2.45pm and 3.30pm. Since it was only 20 minutes to reopen, we thought we'll spend time in the adjacent MTR sandwich and icecream parlor helping ourselves with some pastries and fruit juices. At 3.30 we decided to go to MTR to have evening snacks and this is what we saw infront of the closed doors of Mavalli-Tiffin-Rooms.
And once gates opened, people started rushing inside to occupy the ground floor and first floor tables. In no time the waiting hall in the first floor was crowded and ground was no different. See the picture of the waiting hall below.
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Overcrowded, hungry people, people waiting for their name to be called to get food reminded me of refugee camps I had watched on TV. We were one of the first to get table reserved so comfortably got a place. But not all were lucky. We were sitting close to the doorway and I closely watched the people entering the dining hall after their names were called by the 'commanding officer' at the entrance who allots tables. I could distinctly notice a victory smile on almost everyone's face whenever they were let inside. There was an incident that one senior citizen was asked to change tables a couple of times by the 'commanding officer' and the old man really got irritated and left the place without eating anything. I pity him. It was really disgusting the way people were fighting to find a place inside.
I don't understand this: on a Saturday afternoon at 3.30 one has to wait once outside the gate to be openend and once inside the waiting hall for mere snacks - dosa, idli, coffe which will be served under not so great ambience (ambience at MTR is neither modern nor retro, its just has been left as it was few decades back 'coz there was no need to change anything as there are enough maniacs to keep the MTR hype going), by not so warm attendants, for not so reasonable costs and which anyway doesn't taste any divine. The food at MTR tastes good but then there are so many other places in bangalore, even in and around MTR where you get similar or better food. Since taste is subjective, there are these maniacs and fundamentalists claiming that taste at MTR is the superior most. With all due respect to the inventors of Rava Idli (MTR invented rava idli when the country was facing shortage of rice which was the main ingredient of the regular idli), I deny that claim. It definitely doesn't taste divine to attract this kind of attention. As my cousin correctly pointed out... "jana maruLo, jaatrhe maruLo"...
And once gates opened, people started rushing inside to occupy the ground floor and first floor tables. In no time the waiting hall in the first floor was crowded and ground was no different. See the picture of the waiting hall below.
.jpg)
Overcrowded, hungry people, people waiting for their name to be called to get food reminded me of refugee camps I had watched on TV. We were one of the first to get table reserved so comfortably got a place. But not all were lucky. We were sitting close to the doorway and I closely watched the people entering the dining hall after their names were called by the 'commanding officer' at the entrance who allots tables. I could distinctly notice a victory smile on almost everyone's face whenever they were let inside. There was an incident that one senior citizen was asked to change tables a couple of times by the 'commanding officer' and the old man really got irritated and left the place without eating anything. I pity him. It was really disgusting the way people were fighting to find a place inside.
I don't understand this: on a Saturday afternoon at 3.30 one has to wait once outside the gate to be openend and once inside the waiting hall for mere snacks - dosa, idli, coffe which will be served under not so great ambience (ambience at MTR is neither modern nor retro, its just has been left as it was few decades back 'coz there was no need to change anything as there are enough maniacs to keep the MTR hype going), by not so warm attendants, for not so reasonable costs and which anyway doesn't taste any divine. The food at MTR tastes good but then there are so many other places in bangalore, even in and around MTR where you get similar or better food. Since taste is subjective, there are these maniacs and fundamentalists claiming that taste at MTR is the superior most. With all due respect to the inventors of Rava Idli (MTR invented rava idli when the country was facing shortage of rice which was the main ingredient of the regular idli), I deny that claim. It definitely doesn't taste divine to attract this kind of attention. As my cousin correctly pointed out... "jana maruLo, jaatrhe maruLo"...
Meeting Raghu Dixit
Guess what, I met Raghu Dixit at Coffee Day, Cunningham road last thursday. I follow RD on twitter and saw his post asking if anyone wanted passes for his next concert at Bangalore. I was quick to respond and he asked me to pick it up from him personally at CCD. I went along with BK and it turned out to be a drama.
Because of my previous experience in RD's concert at Swagath Garuda, I went to CCD expecting that a lot of crowd around RD . To my utter surprise, there were only 3-4 guys along with RD and Gaurav. Me and BK collected passes from RD himself and then started chatting casually. I was asking all sorts of stupid questions like how long does RD typically take to compose a song/tune, what is the starting point for composing a tune etc. RD has a gr8 sense of humour and he puts it in a college kannada lingo that I am very much familiar with. Yes that includes #!@% words as well :) The turning point was when BK asked when will RD release his next album. RD didn't seem to be planning any as his first album didn't fetch him good money as more people preferred music piracy over purchasing the album. RD threw a googly at BK by asking whether BK has bought his album. The obvious answer was 'no' and RD started blasting people like BK who claim to be fans of RD but doesn't buy his album and how RD is pissed off with such people. Since RD was putting it in a very casual - humorous - college kannada, I was enjoying the new RD avatar I was unaware of. But BK took it very personally and was visibly upset. I was quite embarrassed with this situation and acted quickly by deciding to leave. We shook hands with RD and Guarav and bid good bye. While leaving I asked RD whether we could take picture with him which he promptly denied. BK got angry and left the place in a hurry. To end the scene on a funny note, I asked RD whether he will take a picture with us if we bought his album :) He said yes, and I have already placed an online order for his album. And also has left a comment in RD's blog about it asking for my well-deserved-picture with him. Lets see if he replies...
Because of my previous experience in RD's concert at Swagath Garuda, I went to CCD expecting that a lot of crowd around RD . To my utter surprise, there were only 3-4 guys along with RD and Gaurav. Me and BK collected passes from RD himself and then started chatting casually. I was asking all sorts of stupid questions like how long does RD typically take to compose a song/tune, what is the starting point for composing a tune etc. RD has a gr8 sense of humour and he puts it in a college kannada lingo that I am very much familiar with. Yes that includes #!@% words as well :) The turning point was when BK asked when will RD release his next album. RD didn't seem to be planning any as his first album didn't fetch him good money as more people preferred music piracy over purchasing the album. RD threw a googly at BK by asking whether BK has bought his album. The obvious answer was 'no' and RD started blasting people like BK who claim to be fans of RD but doesn't buy his album and how RD is pissed off with such people. Since RD was putting it in a very casual - humorous - college kannada, I was enjoying the new RD avatar I was unaware of. But BK took it very personally and was visibly upset. I was quite embarrassed with this situation and acted quickly by deciding to leave. We shook hands with RD and Guarav and bid good bye. While leaving I asked RD whether we could take picture with him which he promptly denied. BK got angry and left the place in a hurry. To end the scene on a funny note, I asked RD whether he will take a picture with us if we bought his album :) He said yes, and I have already placed an online order for his album. And also has left a comment in RD's blog about it asking for my well-deserved-picture with him. Lets see if he replies...
Sunday, October 5, 2008
A visit to innovative film city bangalore
After a lot of (mis)communication, some 7 of us finally set out to visit innovative film city (ifc) near bangalore. Its located near Bidadi off the Bangalore-Mysore highway. There is a deviation to film city at around 3 kms from the Wonder-la gate. We initially planned to be there before the gates open at around 10.30 am. Since we had planned the visit on a Saturday, the morning started for most of us at around 10 am. We almost cancelled the plan since we were late according to our plan. But finally the enthusiasm overtook our lazyness. I had stayed back at Harish-Adi-Rajashekar-Mudit's (HARM) place previous night after celebrating Rajashekar's birthday at Leela palace. Varun, Modi and Ravish came over, everyone had some breakfast at HARM and we were all ready on bikes and the car by 11.30.
The Mysore road was as usual busy till the Rajarajeshwari gate and then it was quite smooth drive. After witnessing a road block due to a very strange accident (we still are not sure how the accident could have occured), we finally arrived the the ifc at around 12.30. We had only an afternoon to enjoy everything that ifc boasts about. There are two kind of entry tickets to ifc
1. The basic Rs.50 ticket which is just the entry and tickets have to be bought inside for individual museum/activity
2. The VIP pass Rs.699 which includes the ticket price for all the entries inside.
Without any second thought we opted the 1 st option of entry only and selectively purchased the entry tickets inside.
After a couple of snaps at the entrance we entered what is known as the main street. Its supposed to be a shopping street but at the time being only Bata showroom is up. We had read the reviews of ifc before hand so we knew what exactly to visit - wax museum, 4D theatre, mirror maze, Ripley's belive it or not (which was unfortunately closed for maintenance that day). Wax museum was good with most of the statues better than what we had expected it would be. More or less real life sized (we weren't sure of the real life size of those celebrities :)) You can have a look at these pictures on my online photo album
The next was to watch the 4D movie. Most of liked it, Modi didn't feel it was worth 100 bucks though. The 4th dimension is there are nozzles around to spray water, release air/smoke. Harish and Adi even felt some tickling tentacles near their legs. Others didnt feel it... we finally concluded it was because of our thick trousers that we didn't feel it. If you want to feel every 4th Dimension, a thin trouser is recommended :) Overall, its a must watch. There are some good video games in the same complex.
Had some lunch at the food court - there are options though not very good - udupi anand bhavan, pizza corner, some kabaab centres, north indian thali etc. Had a filling lunch and it was time for the mysterious mirror maze.
We had read very good comments about the mirror maze and hence had saved it for the last. It was indeed good. Ravish suggested hide-and-seek and it turned out to be good fun. Not very easy to distinguish between real and virtual images. The best at IFC.
We didn't have anything else planned but had around 2 hours to spend. Thats when we spotted the roller skates indoor stadium. We quickly decided to give it a try... Modi opted out and without any choice he had to gaurd all our belongings while rest of us were in the arena! We were all geared up in next 15 minutes will rollers, helmet, knee cap etc. As soon as I stood up after wearing all the gear I fell down (I was on rollers :)) The next 1 hour was fun. Varun and Adi had previous experience and were all over the place. Harish fell atleast 3 times. I never left the side railings and hence didnt fall. Ravish and Rajashekar were visibly tired within minutes and quit. Modi had the last laugh staying outside - photographing, video graphing and making fun of us... saala. But if you haven't tried the rollers yet, its a very good place. No time limit, 50 bucks and unlimited fun.
Since we had read the reviews, we didn't even thought of going to Fossil museum. There was some fossil search competition going on. Varun was constantly searching around one pretty girl there throught the search.
There was one singing contest at some booth. You can choose the song you want to sing from a huge database. The lyrics appears on the TV screen and there is background music. You need to sing looking at the lyrics. Only trouble is you voice will be heard on a loud speaker and hence we thought its a risk :) Finally we convinced the organizers to sing as a group. We chose the hindi song - 'Pyaar hame kis mode pe ley aaya' since its relative tune-less :) Unfortunately they didnt have it in their database, but still let us sing. We started off and we pitied the people around us. The organizers must have felt sorry for the audience and one of their DJs joined along with us to sing. Modi, however, restrained from making any sound on microphone :)
Finally we visited the miniature city - totaly waste except one artificial water falls. It has the film city's name on a small hill shaped rock in the hollywood style. Didn't good good pics there because of poor lighting.
We left the ifc at around 7pm. Had dinner at a dabha midway and reached home at round 10pm.
Overall, the ifc is a good 1 day outing. Don't expect too much of visual pleasure. It is still incomplete yet a very good outing for a day. It doesn't even cost you much - around 500 bucks including the lunch.
I did a crazy thing there at ifc. There is a cricket game. A machine shoots tennis balls at you and you need to bat. If you achieve some target score, you can play few more overs for free. A couple of balls came out of the practice area and one of them got stuck in a bush there. Modi pointed it out and I flicked it :)
The Mysore road was as usual busy till the Rajarajeshwari gate and then it was quite smooth drive. After witnessing a road block due to a very strange accident (we still are not sure how the accident could have occured), we finally arrived the the ifc at around 12.30. We had only an afternoon to enjoy everything that ifc boasts about. There are two kind of entry tickets to ifc
1. The basic Rs.50 ticket which is just the entry and tickets have to be bought inside for individual museum/activity
2. The VIP pass Rs.699 which includes the ticket price for all the entries inside.
Without any second thought we opted the 1 st option of entry only and selectively purchased the entry tickets inside.
After a couple of snaps at the entrance we entered what is known as the main street. Its supposed to be a shopping street but at the time being only Bata showroom is up. We had read the reviews of ifc before hand so we knew what exactly to visit - wax museum, 4D theatre, mirror maze, Ripley's belive it or not (which was unfortunately closed for maintenance that day). Wax museum was good with most of the statues better than what we had expected it would be. More or less real life sized (we weren't sure of the real life size of those celebrities :)) You can have a look at these pictures on my online photo album
The next was to watch the 4D movie. Most of liked it, Modi didn't feel it was worth 100 bucks though. The 4th dimension is there are nozzles around to spray water, release air/smoke. Harish and Adi even felt some tickling tentacles near their legs. Others didnt feel it... we finally concluded it was because of our thick trousers that we didn't feel it. If you want to feel every 4th Dimension, a thin trouser is recommended :) Overall, its a must watch. There are some good video games in the same complex.
Had some lunch at the food court - there are options though not very good - udupi anand bhavan, pizza corner, some kabaab centres, north indian thali etc. Had a filling lunch and it was time for the mysterious mirror maze.
We had read very good comments about the mirror maze and hence had saved it for the last. It was indeed good. Ravish suggested hide-and-seek and it turned out to be good fun. Not very easy to distinguish between real and virtual images. The best at IFC.
We didn't have anything else planned but had around 2 hours to spend. Thats when we spotted the roller skates indoor stadium. We quickly decided to give it a try... Modi opted out and without any choice he had to gaurd all our belongings while rest of us were in the arena! We were all geared up in next 15 minutes will rollers, helmet, knee cap etc. As soon as I stood up after wearing all the gear I fell down (I was on rollers :)) The next 1 hour was fun. Varun and Adi had previous experience and were all over the place. Harish fell atleast 3 times. I never left the side railings and hence didnt fall. Ravish and Rajashekar were visibly tired within minutes and quit. Modi had the last laugh staying outside - photographing, video graphing and making fun of us... saala. But if you haven't tried the rollers yet, its a very good place. No time limit, 50 bucks and unlimited fun.
Since we had read the reviews, we didn't even thought of going to Fossil museum. There was some fossil search competition going on. Varun was constantly searching around one pretty girl there throught the search.
There was one singing contest at some booth. You can choose the song you want to sing from a huge database. The lyrics appears on the TV screen and there is background music. You need to sing looking at the lyrics. Only trouble is you voice will be heard on a loud speaker and hence we thought its a risk :) Finally we convinced the organizers to sing as a group. We chose the hindi song - 'Pyaar hame kis mode pe ley aaya' since its relative tune-less :) Unfortunately they didnt have it in their database, but still let us sing. We started off and we pitied the people around us. The organizers must have felt sorry for the audience and one of their DJs joined along with us to sing. Modi, however, restrained from making any sound on microphone :)
Finally we visited the miniature city - totaly waste except one artificial water falls. It has the film city's name on a small hill shaped rock in the hollywood style. Didn't good good pics there because of poor lighting.
We left the ifc at around 7pm. Had dinner at a dabha midway and reached home at round 10pm.
Overall, the ifc is a good 1 day outing. Don't expect too much of visual pleasure. It is still incomplete yet a very good outing for a day. It doesn't even cost you much - around 500 bucks including the lunch.
I did a crazy thing there at ifc. There is a cricket game. A machine shoots tennis balls at you and you need to bat. If you achieve some target score, you can play few more overs for free. A couple of balls came out of the practice area and one of them got stuck in a bush there. Modi pointed it out and I flicked it :)
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Samosa Chat - A humbling Experience
This incident happened sometime back around Diwali 2006...
I love samosa chat, particularly at Krishnasagar (near Divya Shree chambers opposite to Karnataka State Hockey Stadium near Nanjappa circle near... thats it if you want to know the exact address call me :) near my office. I have had around 100+ plates of samosa chat in about an years time. That explains all the extra weight I have put on. The guy who prepares the chat over there became to me. As soon as I enter the restaurant that guy used to greet me with a warm smile and just on a nod from me he would understand I was there for chat. Even before I could get the coupon for chat from the counter he would start preparing the samosa chat and customize it for me with extra curd and with no onions. I have treated few of my friends on numerous occasions there...with a samosa chat :)
I park my bike across the road opposite to the restaurant. From there you get a very good view of the hockey stadium. I would stand there watching practice matches, sometimes the real inter-club matches and sometimes even stood there just to watch the sprinklers watering the turf. On a couple of occasions I had noticed one interesting bike there - it looked like a standard bullet 350 modified as a retro looking bike. Thought the design looked like the ones in '80s with separate seats for the rider and the pillion rider, a vertical number plate on the front wheels mud-gaurd etc, I was sure it was a new bike modified for retro looks. It beared the vehicle registration number starting with KA-0... series. In '80s the numbers used to be CAT, CAE CAS etc. I even know some of my friends who bought an old shogun just for the fancy registration numbers! So, I always wondered the bike owner must be a stud with a lot of style. The third time I spotted the bike there, I also found the owner of the bike beside it. He was a mid 40's guy with a shining silver tooth! I started a conversation and he mentioned that the bike was a '99 model standard bullet and he had spent around 40k for modifying it (to look like 2 decade old bike!). Naturally my curiosity aroused about the guy particularly what he does for living if at 45+ age he was spending so much money in modifying a bike. He introduced himself as the co-owner of Krishnasagar! I spoke casually for a while and did mention that I was a regular customer there. From a distance, I even pointed at the guy who prepares the samosa chat and praised him for his skills. After a week or so I visited Krishnasagar again for obvious reasons. The guy at the chat counter greeted with his usual warm smile. And when I went to him to collect my order, he told me something which has made this entire krishnasagar episode very humbling experience for me. The contrat agreement of this guy with the restaurant was supposed to get terminated that month. But because I had spoken to the owner (the bike guy) appreciating his (the chat guy's) skills, the owner had offered him to renew the contract! After 1 and a half years since then, even now I visit Krishnasagar for the same obvious reasons. The guy at the chat counter still works there and he still greets me with the same warm smile and I have not seen that retro-bike much after that...
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Police mamu - 3
This is my latest and my most favourite encounter with the bengaluru police mamu two weeks back...
I had left home early at 2.30am in the morning (okay, you can call it midnight) on my bike. The plan was to assemble at office and leave for skandagiri trek from there and reach hilltop before the sunrise. (I'll blog about the skandagiri trek separately) All the signals were either blinking yellow or switched off at those wee hours of day (or night whatever you call it). For some reason I followed the one ways even though a thought had crossed my mind to take short cuts (against one ways) Near minerva circle a couple of mamus stopped me. (Thank god I didn't violate any traffic rules... or atleast thats what I had thought until the cop started talking to me ...) and the converstaion that followed is as follows... I will refer them as mamu1 and mamu2.
Mamu1 approached me and asked me to remove my helmet. I reluctantly removed my helmet as I knew he was going to sniff (yes they do sniff - not every cop is equipped with the device to detect alchoholic content from breath). To my surprise he didn't sniff!
mamu1: Where are you going?
me : To my office near richmond circle
mamu1: Why so early in the morning?
me : Planning to go for a trek/picnic near chickaballapur (the town closest to skandagiri)
mamu1: Whose bike is it?
me : (with pride) Its my own (I have paid each and every installment of it... ICICI bank can prove it! :))
mamu1: Tell me the registration number
me : its KA-O...err.. KA-O5 ...EA6...(thats when I realised I dont remember my bike number! - what an embarrassing situation to be in !)
mamu1: come again... is it KA-O5?
me : No its KA-O2...
mamu1: (looking at my number plate) NO
me : is it KA-O4...(Bangalore's RTO numbers range from KAO1 to O5 only)
mamu1: Are you trying to fool me by guessing all the numbers?
me : illa sir (no sir)... I dont remember it. The next number starts with EA6...
mamu1: atleast complete the second number(he was fair here)...
me : I dont remember sir but it starts with EA6...
mamu1: Why should I believe this bike is yours?
me : I can show you the documents of bike registered in my name (and as I was saying this I tried to reach the documents in my pocket)
mamu1: (Stopping me from reaching my pocket) How will I know you are the one whose name is mentioned on the documents?
me : I'll show you my license as my photo id proof...
mamu1: No I dont want to look at your documents. You have to tell me your regn number
me : (how can I recollect something that I have forgotten...you dumbo) No sir I dont remember
mamu1: How long have you been owning this bike
me : around 2 years (I was really embarrassed that even after 2 yrs I dont remember the number)
mamu1: You look like a educated fellow (thanks for the complement :)) How come you don't remember the phone number?(I am like Einstein - just kidding... the legend says he had very short memory )
me : (I just smiled - what else could I have done?)
mamu1: You ppl remember your mobile numbers but not vehicle's regn numbers (so there are others also who don't remember their regn numbers... now I am less guilty :))
me : Thats because ppl usually ask me my mobile number and not vehicle's number. (with a smile on my face) infact you are the first person to ask for. Next time you ask me I'll definitely remember (Doesn't I sound logical?)
mamu1: (He gave me a pen and asked me to write the regn number on a paper and he'll let me go)
me : How can I write it sir if I dont remember it. I'll show my documents instead ...
mamu2: (Looked like he was convinced... even he was getting irritated by mamu1's stupidity)
mamu1: I'll explain you how you can get into trouble if you don't remember the regn number
me : (funda at 2.30 am in the morning... Nooooooooooooo)
mamu1: If you have parked in a huge parking lot of a shopping mall or a multiplex complex how'll you identify your bike
me : (wish I had a remote controlled security system for my bike... anyway something occured to me to save my face) There is a label on my number plate
mamu1: (Looking at the number plate with a detective look on his face verifying the label ) Describe the lable details
me : (What the heck... its 2.30 am boss) (described the details for the label)
mamu1: okay... but what if someone scratches the label away
me : (man... this guy was too much for me... why'll anyone do it ... unless if someone was as job less and as sadistic as this cop!) Then I would curse my fate and will refer to the documents for the number (this I said a little loud as I was getting frustrated from the whole episode)
mamu1: but...
me : (was getting more and more restless by then) You cops always find a way to screw us (refer to my other post Police mamu - 2) (I don't exactly remember what I told exactly... but I had managed to shut him up)
mamu2: (he was also laughing by then and came to my rescue) give me your contact details, your father name (why would he need that?! but I didnt argue with him on that as I was keen to escape from there)
mamu1 warned/advised me not forget the regn number in future and let me go... and this is the first time I escaped the 'fine'... btw I don't remember the number now ;-)
I had left home early at 2.30am in the morning (okay, you can call it midnight) on my bike. The plan was to assemble at office and leave for skandagiri trek from there and reach hilltop before the sunrise. (I'll blog about the skandagiri trek separately) All the signals were either blinking yellow or switched off at those wee hours of day (or night whatever you call it). For some reason I followed the one ways even though a thought had crossed my mind to take short cuts (against one ways) Near minerva circle a couple of mamus stopped me. (Thank god I didn't violate any traffic rules... or atleast thats what I had thought until the cop started talking to me ...) and the converstaion that followed is as follows... I will refer them as mamu1 and mamu2.
Mamu1 approached me and asked me to remove my helmet. I reluctantly removed my helmet as I knew he was going to sniff (yes they do sniff - not every cop is equipped with the device to detect alchoholic content from breath). To my surprise he didn't sniff!
mamu1: Where are you going?
me : To my office near richmond circle
mamu1: Why so early in the morning?
me : Planning to go for a trek/picnic near chickaballapur (the town closest to skandagiri)
mamu1: Whose bike is it?
me : (with pride) Its my own (I have paid each and every installment of it... ICICI bank can prove it! :))
mamu1: Tell me the registration number
me : its KA-O...err.. KA-O5 ...EA6...(thats when I realised I dont remember my bike number! - what an embarrassing situation to be in !)
mamu1: come again... is it KA-O5?
me : No its KA-O2...
mamu1: (looking at my number plate) NO
me : is it KA-O4...(Bangalore's RTO numbers range from KAO1 to O5 only)
mamu1: Are you trying to fool me by guessing all the numbers?
me : illa sir (no sir)... I dont remember it. The next number starts with EA6...
mamu1: atleast complete the second number(he was fair here)...
me : I dont remember sir but it starts with EA6...
mamu1: Why should I believe this bike is yours?
me : I can show you the documents of bike registered in my name (and as I was saying this I tried to reach the documents in my pocket)
mamu1: (Stopping me from reaching my pocket) How will I know you are the one whose name is mentioned on the documents?
me : I'll show you my license as my photo id proof...
mamu1: No I dont want to look at your documents. You have to tell me your regn number
me : (how can I recollect something that I have forgotten...you dumbo) No sir I dont remember
mamu1: How long have you been owning this bike
me : around 2 years (I was really embarrassed that even after 2 yrs I dont remember the number)
mamu1: You look like a educated fellow (thanks for the complement :)) How come you don't remember the phone number?(I am like Einstein - just kidding... the legend says he had very short memory )
me : (I just smiled - what else could I have done?)
mamu1: You ppl remember your mobile numbers but not vehicle's regn numbers (so there are others also who don't remember their regn numbers... now I am less guilty :))
me : Thats because ppl usually ask me my mobile number and not vehicle's number. (with a smile on my face) infact you are the first person to ask for. Next time you ask me I'll definitely remember (Doesn't I sound logical?)
mamu1: (He gave me a pen and asked me to write the regn number on a paper and he'll let me go)
me : How can I write it sir if I dont remember it. I'll show my documents instead ...
mamu2: (Looked like he was convinced... even he was getting irritated by mamu1's stupidity)
mamu1: I'll explain you how you can get into trouble if you don't remember the regn number
me : (funda at 2.30 am in the morning... Nooooooooooooo)
mamu1: If you have parked in a huge parking lot of a shopping mall or a multiplex complex how'll you identify your bike
me : (wish I had a remote controlled security system for my bike... anyway something occured to me to save my face) There is a label on my number plate
mamu1: (Looking at the number plate with a detective look on his face verifying the label ) Describe the lable details
me : (What the heck... its 2.30 am boss) (described the details for the label)
mamu1: okay... but what if someone scratches the label away
me : (man... this guy was too much for me... why'll anyone do it ... unless if someone was as job less and as sadistic as this cop!) Then I would curse my fate and will refer to the documents for the number (this I said a little loud as I was getting frustrated from the whole episode)
mamu1: but...
me : (was getting more and more restless by then) You cops always find a way to screw us (refer to my other post Police mamu - 2) (I don't exactly remember what I told exactly... but I had managed to shut him up)
mamu2: (he was also laughing by then and came to my rescue) give me your contact details, your father name (why would he need that?! but I didnt argue with him on that as I was keen to escape from there)
mamu1 warned/advised me not forget the regn number in future and let me go... and this is the first time I escaped the 'fine'... btw I don't remember the number now ;-)
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Police mamu - 2
This was my second funny encounter with the bengaluru cop which took place around 6 months back.
I had parked my bike at the end of the gandhi bazar (opposite to Anand Bhavan sweet stall) at a legitimate parking lot - even a parking board is put up there. I went to CCD along with a couple of friends and came out only at 10pm to find my bike missing from the parking area. In bangalore, if you find your bike missing, you'll suspect traffic police rather than a thief! I was almost certain that it was traffic police as I had experienced it earlier as well that the owners of expensive-looking bikes are easy victims. I had paid hugely a month before that for parking in a no-parking zone for less than 5 minutes! None of the Hero honda splendours (no offense meant to splendours - but its a real fact) around my bike were touched !! But this time I was surprised that my bike was missing even from the parking zone. I again made sure from the sign board that it was two wheeler parking area without the dates on it. (I knew that there are few areas where parking is allowed only on specific days of a month - like only on even dates or only on odd dates etc)
I went to the nearest police station(PS) - basavanagudi PS- not to give a complaint but to claim my bike. I was relieved as soon as I spotted my bike there. Two constables enquired and started alleging me for being careless. It was amusing to know that the crime I had committed was - not locking my side lock/handle lock!!! This came as a shocker to me as no one had told me that it was a crime. I even explained those PCs (police constables) that I am not informed about it - neither during the license test nor through media (I remember the extensive coverage of helmet rule in media but not any 'side lock' rule ). But they insisted that they had received a circular from SP to fine for this 'crime'. I told them I had atleast parked in the stipulated parking zone. Their argument was so dumb - since I had parked in the parking zone, police is supposedly even more responsible for the safety of my bike becuase if someone flicks my bike from the parking lot I would complain to police and allege them for being irresponsible!(what?!!) - so they carried my bike to police station (a protection meausre?) I was so pissed off by their argument that I started yelling at them in their den (read as police station) They demanded some unreasonable 'fine' and we finally negotiated at 150 bucks. By the time I and my friend could search our pockets for money, the PC suddenly felt it was too less for all the 'effort' he had put in and asked me to talk to their inspector directly. Once I entered the inspector's chamber I was introduced to him as 'the owner of that big bike' (com'on its not big - just that its heavy) Before I could speak, the inspector asked me to pay the PC 100 bucks (he he - I won ). I immediately agreed and handed over the 'fine' to PC. You should have seen the expression on the PC... in KREC lingo we would term it 'kela'. But before I could get my bike out of the police station, I was summoned again by inspector to his chamber (I guessed this PC had told about the 150 bucks) and demanded 150 bucks. I objected saying it was unfair. I gaveup when the inspector put this arguement forth (the dumbest in the whole episode) - at 10 pm there are no 'tiger's ('tiger' is the name given to towing vehicles of bengaluru traffic police - the only resemblance between the tiger and the towing vehicle is the stripes of yellow and black paint on the towing vehicle!) on duty as a result this PC had to push my bike all the way to police station (who asked him to do so - am I paying him his coolie wages?) more over the bike is heavy (and hold your breath here...best one is yet to come) and the road is uphill from the parking lot to the station and hence the premium (what the f***...)
I had parked my bike at the end of the gandhi bazar (opposite to Anand Bhavan sweet stall) at a legitimate parking lot - even a parking board is put up there. I went to CCD along with a couple of friends and came out only at 10pm to find my bike missing from the parking area. In bangalore, if you find your bike missing, you'll suspect traffic police rather than a thief! I was almost certain that it was traffic police as I had experienced it earlier as well that the owners of expensive-looking bikes are easy victims. I had paid hugely a month before that for parking in a no-parking zone for less than 5 minutes! None of the Hero honda splendours (no offense meant to splendours - but its a real fact) around my bike were touched !! But this time I was surprised that my bike was missing even from the parking zone. I again made sure from the sign board that it was two wheeler parking area without the dates on it. (I knew that there are few areas where parking is allowed only on specific days of a month - like only on even dates or only on odd dates etc)
I went to the nearest police station(PS) - basavanagudi PS- not to give a complaint but to claim my bike. I was relieved as soon as I spotted my bike there. Two constables enquired and started alleging me for being careless. It was amusing to know that the crime I had committed was - not locking my side lock/handle lock!!! This came as a shocker to me as no one had told me that it was a crime. I even explained those PCs (police constables) that I am not informed about it - neither during the license test nor through media (I remember the extensive coverage of helmet rule in media but not any 'side lock' rule ). But they insisted that they had received a circular from SP to fine for this 'crime'. I told them I had atleast parked in the stipulated parking zone. Their argument was so dumb - since I had parked in the parking zone, police is supposedly even more responsible for the safety of my bike becuase if someone flicks my bike from the parking lot I would complain to police and allege them for being irresponsible!(what?!!) - so they carried my bike to police station (a protection meausre?) I was so pissed off by their argument that I started yelling at them in their den (read as police station) They demanded some unreasonable 'fine' and we finally negotiated at 150 bucks. By the time I and my friend could search our pockets for money, the PC suddenly felt it was too less for all the 'effort' he had put in and asked me to talk to their inspector directly. Once I entered the inspector's chamber I was introduced to him as 'the owner of that big bike' (com'on its not big - just that its heavy) Before I could speak, the inspector asked me to pay the PC 100 bucks (he he - I won ). I immediately agreed and handed over the 'fine' to PC. You should have seen the expression on the PC... in KREC lingo we would term it 'kela'. But before I could get my bike out of the police station, I was summoned again by inspector to his chamber (I guessed this PC had told about the 150 bucks) and demanded 150 bucks. I objected saying it was unfair. I gaveup when the inspector put this arguement forth (the dumbest in the whole episode) - at 10 pm there are no 'tiger's ('tiger' is the name given to towing vehicles of bengaluru traffic police - the only resemblance between the tiger and the towing vehicle is the stripes of yellow and black paint on the towing vehicle!) on duty as a result this PC had to push my bike all the way to police station (who asked him to do so - am I paying him his coolie wages?) more over the bike is heavy (and hold your breath here...best one is yet to come) and the road is uphill from the parking lot to the station and hence the premium (what the f***...)
Police mamu - 1
This was my first encounter with bengaluru's traffic cops actually a couple of years back.
The first time I had been to IISc on my then new Bajaj Avenger to meet my friends there, I had found myself in a 'situation'. As you come out of the IISc main gate to head towards malleshwaram, you'll find the traffic signals confusing. It will take sometime to figure out which traffic signal be followed. Who ever has been to IISc would definitely understand what I am talking about. In such cases I follow this rule - just follow the main traffic instead! I followed the main traffic. But the lady luck deceived me this time around...
I was the last one among the main traffic to cross the signal and the first one to be caught by the cop alleging me to have violated the signal. He made me wait for 5-10 minutes (which actually felt like half an hour then :)) before he actually 'attended' me as he was busy attending other 'offenders'. As he questioned me and noted my registration number, I tried to explain him how confusing the signal was and how new I was to bengaluru in general and IISc in particular etc. While we were negotiating the 'fine' I felt that having a cruiser bike can actually hurt you as you are seen as a 'bade baap ke bigde beta' (forgive the grammer) by the cops!! He even threatened me that he'll inform my father by sending a notice to my house. He somehow had assumed that I was still a student and my father had bought me the bike. Anyway I didn't want to clarify him as he would have charged more 'fine' to an IT professional. He started with 200 bucks and finally demanded 100 bucks. I told him that I didn't have enough money and my girlfriend was waiting near Sampige theatre (the one near malleshwaram 1st cross - see the knowledge of movie theatres help at times :)) to watch movie with me and that she'll be disappointed if I didn't go with enough money to buy tickets ;-) I had brought appropriate expressions on my face to gain sympathy. He somehow was completely convinced at my 'frank' and 'genuine' excuse and finally agreed upon 50% discount at 50 bucks. That still remains the lowest 'fine' that I have paid the traffic cops at b'luru. Thanks to my imaginary girlfriend. I owe her a treat for that :)
The yellow
As I write this blog I am very much disturbed by the sight of an accident I witnessed at Lalbagh gate near Urvashi theater yesterday evening. This is the closest fatal accident that I have witnessed till date - a van infront of me and the victim, a 25-28 yr old guy on a two wheeler, was infront of that van! I hadn't noticed the guy until he flew 4-5 ft in air when a mini bus/maxicab hit him at 90 degrees. Before I could pull out my bike aside and reach out to my mobile to call up emergency ambulance number, a couple of traffic cops took control of the situation and informed the ambulance. I even heard one of them saying its too late... and it all happened because of the yellow light...
Conventionally, color red is used to indicate danger but I would recommend yellow...
I have often noticed that this yellow signal has caused more harm than good. In fact all the 3 accidents that I have witnessed till now are during the yellow signal. We all know that when a green signal turns yellow one is expected to decelerate but its quite common that everyone (including me) accelerate so that one can cross the signal before it turns red. Similarly, when a red signal turns yellow, it is to indicate one should get ready to move, particularly if one has switched off the engine. I guess this is required for all the old scooters where the kick starting is quite a trouble and time consuming. With more and more two wheelers coming up with the electric start even this 'start time' is short. If you choose to wait till the yellow turns green, you will hear a lot of honks from the vehicles behind you and few of them will give you a disgusting look and few might even verbally abuse you ! If you notice its hardly 3-5 seconds is the transition period from red to green and vice versa. During this 5 sec window one expects to see the crossing/junction without any traffic. But it has rarely ever occured and this 5 seconds window is when vehicles from all the directions try to occupy the junction. Such one consfusion costed this unfortunate guy his life. I have been driving extra cautiously the entire day today. My speed has drastically reduced to a max of 40 kmph since yesterday evening!
Yellow is also the prominent color on bangaluru's autos/ricks (or autorickshaws - a 3 wheeled car as described by one of our korean customers during their visit to bangalore :)). Thats one more reason why I want to associate yellow with danger. In last two years of my experience on bangalore roads I have concluded that its the autos that you need to watch out for once you are on driving seat even if there are other delightful sights on other vehicles around :) The way these autos use their indicators (again yellow in color) is quite interesting. In first place, most them don't have them. Even if they have they are used in pretty innovative ways. I have seen few autos turning both the indicator lights on (yes ON and not blinking) as if they are supplementing their dim headlights. I have no idea how they manage to switch on both the indicators without blinking... or why should such a control be provided by the manufacturers. I have tried to suggest the auto drivers (whenever I travelled in a rick) to use the indicators but in vain :( Some of the drivers use the indicators to indicate the opposite direction that they are about to turn!! I have noticed that the 3 wheel design of these autos give them the maneuverability comparable to a two wheeler - they sometime take such a sharp turns which can put the even the designers of fighter jets at shame.
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