(You can bring that title track of ‘No One Killed Jessica’ in your mind while you read the heading ;0)
Its been a while that I have written. Life has changed drastically after marriage. Leaves you with no time to brood over things happening around or within. So many times wanted to write but thoughts scattered & sadly I just could not put them together.
Finally writing about something that happened just yesterday. I & my friend went to Khan Market & I parked my car in the ‘Free Authorized Parking’. The attendant briskly got the car parked without giving any slip, which even I forgot to ask.
After 3 hours I came back to the parking lot to take away my car. While I was moving it out of my space, the attendant conveniently decided to just watch assuming I need no help, & yes help was not really needed.
As soon as I was almost crossing the barricade, the attendant signaled to stop.
Attendant : Madam paise?
Me: Ye free parking hai na?
Attendant: Toh aise thodi na chale jaoge, aapki car nikal waayi kisne?
Me: Aapne toh nai nikal waayi
Attendant: Koi aur gaadi peeche khadi kar deta toh?
Me: Gaadi nikal waana aapki duty hai. (Stepped on my accelerator)
Attendant: (Shouting, hurling abuses)
This is just one of those incidents which Delhi people have got used to. And people have just 2 options to tackle situations like these, either shell out something extra from your pockets to shut them up or just refuse to give in. I loathe this about my city. People do what ever they want to do, with no sign of remorse or fear. Delhi is ruled by their father??? Hell Yeah!!!!!!
Even an Auto driver……….. As soon as you tell him the location, he proposes a high inflated fare he would charge. Charging by meter is nowhere in the scene only. If in any case you refuse to take the auto, he bargains on what marginal money he will charge, over the meter amount. I many a times have taken the auto paying extra, coz hello Delhi is not safe for Women!!! Rather than just standing on the road & being an eye candy for numerous pervert men, at least girls give into this coercion.
BRIBE – the tool we used to get the work faster & easily, now has backfired, so badly that now one cannot get the work done unless & until he/she offers something extra. Sad state of affairs. How many of us do really do anything about it? We detest numerous things, but rather than changing them, we accept them. Our politicians having criminal records is acceptable to us, I should not be questioning our patience at least. As Rani Mukherjee said in her movie “Delhi is about Power. The Power rests with the Powerful & the common man only has the strength to bear it”.
I started out this post by putting the headline ‘Madam… Bas Itna???’ targeted at the looters, but as my writing proceeded, I could just blame my city culture which apparently has developed out of many people like me……….. Sigh………..
