It was around 5.30 PM on Wednesday the 17th of September 2008. I was returning home from office with a couple of friends in my car. I have been working out of the office closer home for the past couple of months and that day was one of those days.
So, there I was, happily coasting along the ECR at my usual speed of 80 KmPH in the stretch near Hot Kitchen restaurant. Suddenly in the middle of my lane, there appeared an apparition dressed in white shirt and khaki trousers and waving a big stick at me. I started braking and found out the apparition to be a real traffic constable.
He pointed me to the edge of the road using that big stick. When I pulled over, he came up to my window. I rolled it down and with my heart beating a little faster than normal, I asked him what was the matter. He responded by asking me why I was going so fast.
He confirmed my fear that I was pulled over for going faster than the posted speed limit. He then came closer to our car and said:
"400 rupees fine sir".
Me: "How much?"
TP (Traffic Police; abbreviation should not bring any other explanation to your mind): "400 rupees sir".
Me: "Ok, I am willing to pay the fine".
I then got out of my car.
TP: "Or you can pay 300 rupees fine and collect the challan."
Me: "Ok sir. Whatever is the fine, let me know and I will pay it. No problem."
TP: "Then it is 300 rupees sir."
Me: "Ok. Where do I pay?"
TP: "First give me your license"
I handed it over. He checked it. Then, he escorted me a few steps behind to where a patrol jeep was standing. He told a policeman standing in front of the jeep to prepare a spot fine challan for 300 rupees.
He then went off to the main road and I saw him do a similar waving gesture at a WagonR that was also coming at a good speed in that stretch. After successfully stopping that car, this dude came over to the patrol jeep. The policeman preparing the spot fine ticket and the receipt for the fine was quite busy with his paperwork. By then we were joined by another policeman, who looked a Sergeant-ish type. The gesticulating TP then came near his senior and said "sir, he accepted to pay whatever the fine was sir. he is a gentleman sir". I was instantly reminded of the famous Enna romba nallavannu sollittaan ma statement of Vadivelu!
Anyways, I never intended to bribe these policemen in the first place and even if the fine had been of much higher proportions, I would have paid it or at least collected the ticket to contest it in court.
My license was then handed back to me along with the spot fine ticket and the receipt. I paid the 300 rupees and before leaving the scene, I asked the gesticulating TP what the speed limit was in that area. He told that one could go up to 60 but I was going at 79! I assumed that he did track me on a radar or better still, he was able to guess my speed quite perfectly.
Ever since, my friends have been strongly cautioning me when I near that stretch, to go slow. However this does not come anywhere close to the warnings my parents were giving me while we were all in the USA and I got a speeding ticket right in front of them!
And please, do not jump to the conclusion that I am some speeding maniac on the road. Those of you who have travelled with me know full well that I don't drive that fast except on stretches that are really empty and the road is quite straight.
There is another bit of irony to this episode. It was only that same morning, that I was talking to a couple of team members that I don't drive that fast!!!
Showing posts with label tickets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tickets. Show all posts
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Random Observation # 042
I will be in Hyderabad on the 11th and 12th - Thursday and Friday of this week. As part of the travel arrangements, I have been issued an 'e-ticket'. While this is nothing new, there is this thing that struck me as being odd.
All of us invariably take print-outs of this e-ticket. So, does this really qualify as being an 'e-ticket' once it is printed on paper?
Maybe the people manning or womanning the desks of the airlines inside the airport would be able to locate our reservation. But without this print-out, the Security folks at the airport are not going to let us inside the terminal.
The situation is pretty much the same with the 'e-ticket' issued by the Indian Railways.
So, does anything called 'e-ticket' truly exist in this country?
All of us invariably take print-outs of this e-ticket. So, does this really qualify as being an 'e-ticket' once it is printed on paper?
Maybe the people manning or womanning the desks of the airlines inside the airport would be able to locate our reservation. But without this print-out, the Security folks at the airport are not going to let us inside the terminal.
The situation is pretty much the same with the 'e-ticket' issued by the Indian Railways.
So, does anything called 'e-ticket' truly exist in this country?
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
MTC bus travel - A/C Bus
I travelled by one of MTC's A/C buses yesterday evening. This was a first time for me, though the buses have been in operation for quite some time now.
Raghu and I have been talking about making a trip on this bus from the minute the announcement about the introduction of these buses were made. But since he has not really "found time" to make the trip, we couldn't make that trip.
Last evening, I came out of the Guindy subway and those of you familiar with the terrain there would realise that the subway opens into the bus stop. And when I stepped on to the stop, there was a 21G A/C bus waiting there. For a brief moment, I thought of boarding the bus. Then I thought of the "pact" with Raghu but then also remembered that he would not be making the trip, in spite of his tall claims, especially after his cousin narrated a harrowing experience involving someone vomiting in the bus.
So, I decided to board the bus. But the problem with that route - 21G - from my perspective is that, it takes a left turn near IIT and goes towards Kotturpuram. In effect this means that I would have to get down at Anna University stop itself. But I decided that the main aim was to travel by that bus and so decided in favor of boarding the bus.
Meanwhile the bus driver, who was not privy to all this mental processing (it actually took a much shorter time compared to the time it takes you to read it), started the bus from the stop. As I went towards the bus, I realised that he hadn't closed the door and also that he was actually doing a speed of 1 KmPH. So I was able to easily ask him if the bus stopped at Anna University and he nodded in the affirmative and even asked me to board the bus. His exact words were "umm.. vaanga sir", which was a rarity considering that if you somehow manage to speak to a driver by virtue of your good karma, the response would typically be along the lines "yaeru paa yaeru yaeru".
I boarded the bus and instantly felt the effect of the A/C which was in full blast. The temperature was definitely set at around 18 degrees. Even as I started moving towards the back of the bus, the conductor walked towards me and actually gave me a smile - the second shock in the space of one minute for me since no one has ever really given me a welcome smile inside a bus.
I bought my ticket and sat in the back half of the bus, which by the way is at an elevated level compared to the front portion, which is barely a foot above the road.
When the bus went up the Guindy flyover, I simply didn't feel that the bus was going up a slope. There was an internal speaker system through which some Tamil film music was being played. It didn't sound like radio, but am not sure about it.
Since my stop was actually the next one, I got to travel only around 1.5 Kms. Some 100 metres before the stop, there was an announcement over the speakers about what the next stop was. I got up from my seat with a really heavy heart that the good time was getting over so quickly and got out of the bus.
And to make things worse, in the next couple of minutes a bus headed to Besant Nagar came along and it was a rick-rack; probably one that was procured by the MTC during my school days!
Raghu and I have been talking about making a trip on this bus from the minute the announcement about the introduction of these buses were made. But since he has not really "found time" to make the trip, we couldn't make that trip.
Last evening, I came out of the Guindy subway and those of you familiar with the terrain there would realise that the subway opens into the bus stop. And when I stepped on to the stop, there was a 21G A/C bus waiting there. For a brief moment, I thought of boarding the bus. Then I thought of the "pact" with Raghu but then also remembered that he would not be making the trip, in spite of his tall claims, especially after his cousin narrated a harrowing experience involving someone vomiting in the bus.
So, I decided to board the bus. But the problem with that route - 21G - from my perspective is that, it takes a left turn near IIT and goes towards Kotturpuram. In effect this means that I would have to get down at Anna University stop itself. But I decided that the main aim was to travel by that bus and so decided in favor of boarding the bus.
Meanwhile the bus driver, who was not privy to all this mental processing (it actually took a much shorter time compared to the time it takes you to read it), started the bus from the stop. As I went towards the bus, I realised that he hadn't closed the door and also that he was actually doing a speed of 1 KmPH. So I was able to easily ask him if the bus stopped at Anna University and he nodded in the affirmative and even asked me to board the bus. His exact words were "umm.. vaanga sir", which was a rarity considering that if you somehow manage to speak to a driver by virtue of your good karma, the response would typically be along the lines "yaeru paa yaeru yaeru".
I boarded the bus and instantly felt the effect of the A/C which was in full blast. The temperature was definitely set at around 18 degrees. Even as I started moving towards the back of the bus, the conductor walked towards me and actually gave me a smile - the second shock in the space of one minute for me since no one has ever really given me a welcome smile inside a bus.
I bought my ticket and sat in the back half of the bus, which by the way is at an elevated level compared to the front portion, which is barely a foot above the road.
When the bus went up the Guindy flyover, I simply didn't feel that the bus was going up a slope. There was an internal speaker system through which some Tamil film music was being played. It didn't sound like radio, but am not sure about it.
Since my stop was actually the next one, I got to travel only around 1.5 Kms. Some 100 metres before the stop, there was an announcement over the speakers about what the next stop was. I got up from my seat with a really heavy heart that the good time was getting over so quickly and got out of the bus.
And to make things worse, in the next couple of minutes a bus headed to Besant Nagar came along and it was a rick-rack; probably one that was procured by the MTC during my school days!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Tirupati travelogue 9-Feb-08 to 10-Feb-08: Part 3
While leaving the hotel, we had no option but to take the auto to the bus stand. There was a futile bargain attempt to get the auto drivers to drop us off for 15 bucks and we settled for the standard 20.
Once we reached the bus stand, which I must mention is one big cesspool, we went hunting for a bus that would take us to Tirumala. We got one that was going to leave in a few minutes and parked ourselves comfortably in the available seats. Having been influenced to austerity measures in the past few hours, I noticed a board that said that the onward journey up the hill cost 24 bucks and if you buy the return ticket, it was only 45 in toto. I spread the word to the gleeful ears of the listeners around me, but unfortunately, the conductor put a spanner in the works and told use that he would issue only unidirectional tickets.
After a very eventless trip, we reached up the hills and got down near a petrol bunk, as instructed by our contact person. This person works for the IOC and the whole special darshan was being arranged through him (the wife of one person in the group works for IOC and hence the contact).
At the bunk, we were informed that the issue of tickets had been suspended temporarily due to the heavy rush at the temple. Though we couldn’t associate any special value for that day/date, just the fact that it was a Saturday evening could have very well been the reason for the crowd. After waiting for nearly an hour there, we were finally escorted to the temple. We went through a maze of doors meant for the special tickets and joined a line that had quite a few people already waiting.
While we were all eagerly expecting a royal romp right into the main area near the sanctum sanctorum, the big rush that day ensured that we didn’t get to enjoy that privilege. As we were saying to each other, whatever be our plans, Lord Balaji has other ideas.
After being jostled around in the queue for more than an hour, we were finally near the main “praharam” of the temple. Our guide hoarded us near a door, away from the crowd. It was only from now that we realized the power of the special entry. One of the temple authorities came by and opened the rather big lock on the door and when we went inside, we found ourselves very near the ramp that everyone comes by for darshan.
The guide showed us a couple of carvings on the pillars and we found that one of them was of Kubera, the lord of wealth. While the crowd was moving along the ramp, our group was waiting on the sides. We were then taken one after the other closer to the edge of the ramp and allowed to stand in front of Perumaall for almost half-a-minute. It sure felt like much longer, but if I really think back after a week, I think it would have only been 30 seconds. And all things considered, the darshan was really fantastic.
[To be continued in Part 4]
Once we reached the bus stand, which I must mention is one big cesspool, we went hunting for a bus that would take us to Tirumala. We got one that was going to leave in a few minutes and parked ourselves comfortably in the available seats. Having been influenced to austerity measures in the past few hours, I noticed a board that said that the onward journey up the hill cost 24 bucks and if you buy the return ticket, it was only 45 in toto. I spread the word to the gleeful ears of the listeners around me, but unfortunately, the conductor put a spanner in the works and told use that he would issue only unidirectional tickets.
After a very eventless trip, we reached up the hills and got down near a petrol bunk, as instructed by our contact person. This person works for the IOC and the whole special darshan was being arranged through him (the wife of one person in the group works for IOC and hence the contact).
At the bunk, we were informed that the issue of tickets had been suspended temporarily due to the heavy rush at the temple. Though we couldn’t associate any special value for that day/date, just the fact that it was a Saturday evening could have very well been the reason for the crowd. After waiting for nearly an hour there, we were finally escorted to the temple. We went through a maze of doors meant for the special tickets and joined a line that had quite a few people already waiting.
While we were all eagerly expecting a royal romp right into the main area near the sanctum sanctorum, the big rush that day ensured that we didn’t get to enjoy that privilege. As we were saying to each other, whatever be our plans, Lord Balaji has other ideas.
After being jostled around in the queue for more than an hour, we were finally near the main “praharam” of the temple. Our guide hoarded us near a door, away from the crowd. It was only from now that we realized the power of the special entry. One of the temple authorities came by and opened the rather big lock on the door and when we went inside, we found ourselves very near the ramp that everyone comes by for darshan.
The guide showed us a couple of carvings on the pillars and we found that one of them was of Kubera, the lord of wealth. While the crowd was moving along the ramp, our group was waiting on the sides. We were then taken one after the other closer to the edge of the ramp and allowed to stand in front of Perumaall for almost half-a-minute. It sure felt like much longer, but if I really think back after a week, I think it would have only been 30 seconds. And all things considered, the darshan was really fantastic.
[To be continued in Part 4]
Friday, February 08, 2008
Off to Tirupati
I am going to Tirupati this weekend. There is a campus recruitment initiative in one of the colleges there, on Sunday. This college is apparently owned by popular Telugu actor Mohan Babu.
One of my colleagues is using his influence to get special darshan tickets at The Temple. So, we are all leaving tomorrow morning from Chennai and will return on Sunday night.
Hope I get a better darshan than the one I had last time.
In all, there are going to be 11 people in the tour party - 6 panelists and an assortment of parents and siblings of some of these panelists.
One of my colleagues is using his influence to get special darshan tickets at The Temple. So, we are all leaving tomorrow morning from Chennai and will return on Sunday night.
Hope I get a better darshan than the one I had last time.
In all, there are going to be 11 people in the tour party - 6 panelists and an assortment of parents and siblings of some of these panelists.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
MTC goes hi-tech
I was surprised and pleased to see the local Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus conductor issue me a printed ticket. :)
Monday, June 25, 2007
Fantastic 4 - Fantastic nonsense
The fantastic four of us watched the "Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer" at Sathyam yesterday.
The movie was seriously utter nonsense. The scientific jargon thrown at us were practically bordering on absurdity. And then the bloody Indian movie sentimental formula that was made to form the crux of the climax was ridiculous.
Imagine an entity in space coming from some galaxy far far away. The sole purpose of it is to consume matter and energy for its own existence. Such an entity sends out a Silver Surfer who on seeing Jessica Alba (who by the way has managed to look bad in the movie) starts getting a change of heart and when it finally sees her dead (killed by a harpoon none the less and that too while trying to save the surfer), restores life back to her and then goes back to its own planet and destroys it.
What the hell? How many bollywood movies did the "brains" behind the movie watch? Why is Hollywood starting to get all too senti with these sci-fin and superhero movies?
If this is the kind of $hit these guys are gonna roll out, I'd rather watch the emotional drama churned out in millions by the local movie industry. At least, there's no science to worry about in these.
On a related note, Nilu practically raped me throughout the evening. The fundamental theme being that I had no moral right to advise him about things like he not having a driver's license and yet driving a two-wheeler or he watching pirated movie cds or jumping signals etc. All because I bought tickets for Sivaji at a premium. Well, he did have a point I guess. But the continuous rubbing it in for like 2 or more hours, didn't obviously go well with me and I took it out on a two-wheeler idiot who crossed my lane when I was trying to go right. Since there was a mini traffic jam he stopped to my left. I lowered the side window and asked him the traditional Chennai question of whether he had informed his people at home about his "departure". I went further and equated him to a body part which is basically like the gate through which trash is taken out of a house. Actually, were it not for Madhu's presence in the car, I would have gone further to question his parentage with a prefix about the process that lead to his parentage being questioned.
Raghu at least stopped doing his 'ching-chak' to Nilu after that, though Nilu did stop after a few minutes.
And at the start of the article, I said the fantastic 4 of us. That was Nilu's theory. He equated Raghu to the elasto man since he has the capability to stretch his imagination and also he is like an all-rounder. Then Madhu is like invisible when compared to the rest of us in terms of weight. And it does help that the real life couple also match up to these characters who get married in this movie. Then I am supposed to be the guy who creates fire coz I am like the angry young man. And Nilu is of course the hulk-like guy.
We went to City Center for dinner. :)
The movie was seriously utter nonsense. The scientific jargon thrown at us were practically bordering on absurdity. And then the bloody Indian movie sentimental formula that was made to form the crux of the climax was ridiculous.
Imagine an entity in space coming from some galaxy far far away. The sole purpose of it is to consume matter and energy for its own existence. Such an entity sends out a Silver Surfer who on seeing Jessica Alba (who by the way has managed to look bad in the movie) starts getting a change of heart and when it finally sees her dead (killed by a harpoon none the less and that too while trying to save the surfer), restores life back to her and then goes back to its own planet and destroys it.
What the hell? How many bollywood movies did the "brains" behind the movie watch? Why is Hollywood starting to get all too senti with these sci-fin and superhero movies?
If this is the kind of $hit these guys are gonna roll out, I'd rather watch the emotional drama churned out in millions by the local movie industry. At least, there's no science to worry about in these.
On a related note, Nilu practically raped me throughout the evening. The fundamental theme being that I had no moral right to advise him about things like he not having a driver's license and yet driving a two-wheeler or he watching pirated movie cds or jumping signals etc. All because I bought tickets for Sivaji at a premium. Well, he did have a point I guess. But the continuous rubbing it in for like 2 or more hours, didn't obviously go well with me and I took it out on a two-wheeler idiot who crossed my lane when I was trying to go right. Since there was a mini traffic jam he stopped to my left. I lowered the side window and asked him the traditional Chennai question of whether he had informed his people at home about his "departure". I went further and equated him to a body part which is basically like the gate through which trash is taken out of a house. Actually, were it not for Madhu's presence in the car, I would have gone further to question his parentage with a prefix about the process that lead to his parentage being questioned.
Raghu at least stopped doing his 'ching-chak' to Nilu after that, though Nilu did stop after a few minutes.
And at the start of the article, I said the fantastic 4 of us. That was Nilu's theory. He equated Raghu to the elasto man since he has the capability to stretch his imagination and also he is like an all-rounder. Then Madhu is like invisible when compared to the rest of us in terms of weight. And it does help that the real life couple also match up to these characters who get married in this movie. Then I am supposed to be the guy who creates fire coz I am like the angry young man. And Nilu is of course the hulk-like guy.
We went to City Center for dinner. :)
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Moral conflict
A couple of days ago, Raghu called me a COP. Apparently, it stands for Chennai's Ozhungu Pillai.
I don't know what made him get such an idea, but I guess he was probably swayed by my general stance against piracy or sticking to road rules to the max extent etc.
So, he was naturally offended when I told him about my intention to watch Sivaji with the ticket price costing me Rs.350/-.
Unfortunately, I think he is under the impression that I bought a "black" ticket. I better clarify to him that its not the case.
Actually, I am only buying the tickets at a premium, and the cost also includes service charges. I am being given the tickets in the office tomorrow and from the theatre to my office, its at least 60 kms. So the guy has to factor in the cost of delivering the tickets to me.
Its just like the earlier days when we used to have the travel agents book railway tickets for us.
I don't know what made him get such an idea, but I guess he was probably swayed by my general stance against piracy or sticking to road rules to the max extent etc.
So, he was naturally offended when I told him about my intention to watch Sivaji with the ticket price costing me Rs.350/-.
Unfortunately, I think he is under the impression that I bought a "black" ticket. I better clarify to him that its not the case.
Actually, I am only buying the tickets at a premium, and the cost also includes service charges. I am being given the tickets in the office tomorrow and from the theatre to my office, its at least 60 kms. So the guy has to factor in the cost of delivering the tickets to me.
Its just like the earlier days when we used to have the travel agents book railway tickets for us.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Sivaji - The boss
Me eagerly waiting for Rajini's latest release. Totally impressed by the trailer. Especially the "adhiridhu la" and the gun rolling along his shoulder bit.
I am in the process of trying to arrange for a special show for my unit at work. In the meantime we are also trying to book tickets for a show in the first week itself.
I have no qualms in admitting that I like Rajini movies, in spite of numerous loopholes that logic may present.
And its been my desire for many years now, to watch a Rajini movie in the first week itself. Purely to see how the fans reach in theatres. I keep hearing and reading so many stories about it that I actually want to see/experience it first hand.
I hope I get the tickets soon.....
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Last Friday night was my first time
Last Friday night, was the first time that I booked train tickets over the Internet.
That evening, an aunt of mine (my mother's manni) passed away in Trichy and so my folks had to go there. Since we got the news only after 9 PM, we couldnt go right away. And considering my parents' age, it was not possible to send them by bus either.
So I logged on to the net and tried my hand at booking tickets over the net. After much help from Raghu (which by the way was a help that was timely as usual and has increased my debt to him manifold), we were finally able to reserve two tickets for my parents' onward journey to Trichy.
Unfortunately, the server was too darn slow and the whole process took nearly an hour. Then, for the return journey, we were unable to make a reservation. Since it was quite late in the night by then (almost 11.30), it was finally decided that I would go to Rajaji Bhavan the next morning and book tickets.
Saturday morning started with Mr.Aditya reporting for duty on time. I too woke up, had my shower and was at Rajaji Bhavan at 8.30AM, assuming that the booking counter opened only then. But, there seemed to be more experienced people and I actually had to stand in line for quite some time.
I finally reached the counter - nearly an hour or so after waiting. This period incidentally witnessed me and everyone else in the queues, having to park ourselves in a seat, for say 3-4 minutes and then having to move two seats ahead.
There I encountered one of the rudest and probably the quintessential Government employee. I had chosen the credit card counter ok. So, when I presented the reservation form, she asked me if I wanted to pay by cash or card. I answered that plastic was my choice and she pushed the form back to me. And said, "You have to write your card number, expiry date, bank name and cardholder name on the form. Its there on the board sir, didn't you read? Fill it up and come back. Next.".
I was flummoxed. This bloody bleep was asking to me leave the counter just so that I could fill in a few alphanumeric characters on the form and that too when the form didn't even have any explicit provision for the same. I just had to write it in the white space available.
I even searched for the board which, she said carried these instructions. After much scanning I realised that the dark, dirty and piece of cardboard which I had mistaken for a shoddy patchwork of the counter, was actually a notice board. On closer inspection, I was able to unscramble the symbols - a la Robert Langdon - and told myself that the bleeping lady was indeed right.
But what really irked me was the fact that she asked me to return to the front of the row to fill up this data. I mean, couldn't that bleep have at least started scanning for availability of tickets? She could have had me fill it out before issuing me the ticket. But no. That bleeping bleep had to demonstrate her bleeping superiority over me.
Finally, after more irritating comments from that female, I finally got the tickets I wanted for my parents' return journey.
But the experience was an eye-opener for me. I have made a solemn promise to myself that I shall henceforth not set foot into that bleeping office. I will endure countless timeout messages and connectivity issues with Railways' online server, but I will buy my tickets only through the Internet.
I simply don't want to interact with any of these relatives of Satan and Lalu.
That evening, an aunt of mine (my mother's manni) passed away in Trichy and so my folks had to go there. Since we got the news only after 9 PM, we couldnt go right away. And considering my parents' age, it was not possible to send them by bus either.
So I logged on to the net and tried my hand at booking tickets over the net. After much help from Raghu (which by the way was a help that was timely as usual and has increased my debt to him manifold), we were finally able to reserve two tickets for my parents' onward journey to Trichy.
Unfortunately, the server was too darn slow and the whole process took nearly an hour. Then, for the return journey, we were unable to make a reservation. Since it was quite late in the night by then (almost 11.30), it was finally decided that I would go to Rajaji Bhavan the next morning and book tickets.
Saturday morning started with Mr.Aditya reporting for duty on time. I too woke up, had my shower and was at Rajaji Bhavan at 8.30AM, assuming that the booking counter opened only then. But, there seemed to be more experienced people and I actually had to stand in line for quite some time.
I finally reached the counter - nearly an hour or so after waiting. This period incidentally witnessed me and everyone else in the queues, having to park ourselves in a seat, for say 3-4 minutes and then having to move two seats ahead.
There I encountered one of the rudest and probably the quintessential Government employee. I had chosen the credit card counter ok. So, when I presented the reservation form, she asked me if I wanted to pay by cash or card. I answered that plastic was my choice and she pushed the form back to me. And said, "You have to write your card number, expiry date, bank name and cardholder name on the form. Its there on the board sir, didn't you read? Fill it up and come back. Next.".
I was flummoxed. This bloody bleep was asking to me leave the counter just so that I could fill in a few alphanumeric characters on the form and that too when the form didn't even have any explicit provision for the same. I just had to write it in the white space available.
I even searched for the board which, she said carried these instructions. After much scanning I realised that the dark, dirty and piece of cardboard which I had mistaken for a shoddy patchwork of the counter, was actually a notice board. On closer inspection, I was able to unscramble the symbols - a la Robert Langdon - and told myself that the bleeping lady was indeed right.
But what really irked me was the fact that she asked me to return to the front of the row to fill up this data. I mean, couldn't that bleep have at least started scanning for availability of tickets? She could have had me fill it out before issuing me the ticket. But no. That bleeping bleep had to demonstrate her bleeping superiority over me.
Finally, after more irritating comments from that female, I finally got the tickets I wanted for my parents' return journey.
But the experience was an eye-opener for me. I have made a solemn promise to myself that I shall henceforth not set foot into that bleeping office. I will endure countless timeout messages and connectivity issues with Railways' online server, but I will buy my tickets only through the Internet.
I simply don't want to interact with any of these relatives of Satan and Lalu.
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