[SubuS]

There is a story called "All about a dog" - spitfire should read that when you have time.

Rules are made for our convenience. It is easy to be an *** about the rules and take the high ground and argue for the sake of it. The better / human thing is to let go. And no - India is not like this because we don't follow rules. India is like this because the rules we are trying to follow were laid for countries with <5 times the number of people per sq. km we got here, where the housing /roads are planned and the govt. workers actually do some work (even in non election times!). No point in trying to enforce rules in a place where there is no infrastructure to support it.

[JustCause]

@ SupremeBaleno

You did no wrong in parking your car where the Alto is parked. What probably led to the tussle was you refusing to budge. You should have moved the car & after the Ikoneer had gone in & was having dinner, you could have got it right there after a minute. That way you could've got your 30mins & also if the Ikoneer wanted to remove his car (highly improbable), he would have come(again, highly improbable) to your friend's house.

The Ikoneer made a prestige issue of the situation & you were at the receiving end.

[rohan_iitr]

@OP - I feel you are the one who has ego problems, not the Ikon owner.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Around midnight, the watchman rings the bell and says that I need to move the car since it is obstructing someone else. I assume that a resident of my friend's apartment wants to take his car out and since my car is parked along their gates, I go down to move my car.

The Ikon owner would obviously be frustrated because visitors in your friend's apartment would park their cars in front of his house, hence causing him inconvenience while parking his own car in his private garage. Even after returning home after a hard day's work, the Ikon owner had the courtesy to call you from your friend's apartment and request you to move your car. I am assuming that his tone would have been polite and civilised, at least untill this point.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

He stays in an independent home opposite my friend's flat and says I need to move the car because while he can park the car in his garage, he would not be able to get it out, if he has to take it out again at night. I tell him that I would be leaving in 30mins anyway. Also, as I see it there is more than enough space for him to park the car and take it out. Plus, if he can park in, would taking the car out be any different ? He still insists I move the car.

You would have definitely left after 30 minutes, but please keep in mind that the poor Ikon owner has to deal with visitors like you on a daily basis, some of whom may not keep their promise of leaving after 30 mins.

I don't understand why it was so hard for you to move your car a few feet without getting into an arguement with the Ikon owner. You were a visitor there, you had no idea about the parking situation in that locality. What is the point in agruing with the residents of the locality ?

And why is it so hard to understand that reversing a car (especially a sedan) is more difficult than driving it forward ?

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I tell him that I see no reason why I should move the car, since I am not obstructing the path to his garage - my car being on the opposite side of the road. He mumbles something about some sick person at home and so possibility of him having to take the car out at odd times.

Even though the Ikon owner mentioned that he may need to take out his car in the night because of a sick person at home, you didn't have the courtesy to end the arguement and quietly move your car away from the front his gate.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

He says something on the lines of &quot;If you dont move the car, dont blame me if your car is damaged&quot;. I tell him that I would like to see him damaging the car, lock my car and start to walk back to the apartment.

Perhaps he was concerned that he may (unintentionally) damage your car while reversing his car from the garage. He conveyed the same to you, perhaps you took it in an offensive manner by assuming that he would vandalise your car.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

The pic would also give an idea of how wide the road is.

I am attaching a modified version of you pic to give an idea of how wide the road is. I have tried to paste a Ford Ikon on this pic and tried to make it to scale.

From this pic, it is clear that if the gates of his garage are opened outwards, then it would be very difficult for him to park, and even more difficult to reverse his car, to/from his garage if another car is parked on the opposite side.

Agreed that his garage gates should have been sliding type instead of ones that open perpendicular to the road. But in the current situation, I feel that the Ikon owner was correct and you should have moved your car without any arguement whatsoever.

Rohan

[mayankk]

^^
this is what i call "baal ki khal".
And you seem to be treating SB's actions in isolation.
As far as his post indicates, when the guy mentioned about leaving in an emergency, he was in his car, about to move it.
So as far as justifying the guy's actions goes, all well.
but why threaten with damage when all has been resolved?
I think his "indication" as to how the car might be damaged is quite apparent.
But hey,why drag this out?
or do you know the guy?

[poloman]

And what the heck of paste job is that? How can the ikon end up in that psotion while parking? If you cannot park an Ikon in such a space, one is not fit to drive on Indian roads.

[supremeBaleno]

@rohan, the moment he mentioned "sick person needing medical attention", I decided to move the car, though I knew that I had parked with more than enough space for him to enter and exit. At that point I was not anymore bothered about who was right or wrong & the problem would have been over at that point itself, if he had got into his Ikon and driven into the garage. But when he started with "all guys visiting this apartment, park wrongly like this", I had to know what I had done wrong.

And the paste-job you have done does not depict the actual situation.

Regarding his comment about damage to the car, I could clearly infer from his tone that he did not mean inadvertent damage due to his lack of skill or lack of space.

BTW, if you did not know, sometimes reversing into a slot would not only be much more easier than driving in nose-first, but in some situations could also be the only possible way. Ever wondered why parallel parking is done rear-in first ?

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

@OP - I feel you are the one who has ego problems, not the Ikon owner.
Rohan

I thought I'll not poke my head into this, but first "spitfire" and now rohan
First thing first ,the photoshop work is absolute crap, why would the ikon be behind the Alto in the photo when the gates are a little in front of the Alto? Why would the Ikon owner turn towards his parking from near the backside of Alto??
Secondly, I have a Ikon, and it can squeeze through tight spaces and reversing a sedan is not a issue if you have been driving a car for a long time and is used to it. And trust me a week of driving is more than enough to get used to reversing a sedan.
Probably a person who drives a hatch might think that a sedan is difficult to reverse.

And if you have read SB's post thoroughly, he had no issues in moving his car but for the attitude of that Ikon owner.
I think the issue is being blown out of proportion.
This has been the way people park all over India. And if,anybody has issues with it, they should either improve on their driving skills or migrate to other countries, moreso, when SB was not blocking the Ikon owner's way at all.
How irrational can a person get!!!?? That Ikon owner was out to make a mountain of a molehill. I accept some situations would have been there when others might have parked blocking his way but he should have had a little control over himself.

[markmytravel]

If this guy buys a Safari ... your friend will have to move his house a meters back so he can park his car.

[Recompose]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

Even after returning home after a hard day's work, the Ikon owner had the courtesy to call you from your friend's apartment and request you to move your car. I am assuming that his tone would have been polite and civilised, at least untill this point.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Around midnight, the watchman rings the bell and says that I need to move the car since it is obstructing someone else. I assume that a resident of my friend's apartment wants to take his car out and since my car is parked along their gates, I go down to move my car.

Rohan, evidently, Mr Ikon did not make the effort of calling SB himself. I dont see the courtesy part of this. From the way Mr Ikon has behaved ( " Fighting with mother ") and other quips of his, it is clear how courteous this guy is. Sending watchman to fetch or "If you dont move the car, dont blame me if your car is damaged " does not reflect courtesy.

How exactly have you tried to scale the Ikon onto the image. Comparing the length of the Alto's rear and then scaling it down for entire length of the Ikon which would probably have been another 2-3 mts away?

The only reasoning I see in Ikon's argument is that he parks in from the right (assuming here) and needs to remove the car on to the left side (hospital towards left? Again an assumption), which probably could have been hindered by the Baleno. Plus with the darkness, he probably couldnt judge the distance. But its his attitude that is annoying.

[huntrz]

Since any other point of view is not welcome here hence the heading needs to be edited from "Who is right?" to "I am right".

Not all people are excellent drivers like team bhpians and they may not be aware of the finer aspects of driving. I guess we may allow them a little margin to be wrong and forgive and not ask them to leave country just because they can't do some fancy driving and squeezing though narrow spaces. We live in very densely populated cities and it is natural that issues may arise over encroachment of space etc.

[SubuS]

SB - if you were either way going to move it, his minor comment about how the apartment guests always park there shouldn't have bothered you - looks like you got kind of tiffy at that point too

Also, though as everyone else I also agree he must be a very timid driver (There are too many of these btw - we have to live with them), he almost showed restraint when he didn't escalate the fight (may be he was afraid too!) and directly involved your friend. I guess everyone would have been on your side if only his dad was not ill. The crowd is split because many of us would have backed off at that point.

I am always up to prove my point with A**hats - but once they bring in women/sick family, there is no point. I am also assuming he told your friend that you were fighting with his mom because you were talking to her too (tones don't change that quickly) when he was gone to call your friend.

All in all, cool down a bit and accept timidness /idiocy. It's a way of life here - not much can be done. (The latest ceat ad is impressive in touching this fact).

[markmytravel]

Huntrz - That's the point we are making. If you are not skilled enough to do what is needed, then don't put the blame on others instead ask for help. I am sure our good friend SB would be more than 100% willing to help Ikon guy with his parking (infact even willing to park it for him) but that doesn't mean you blame the apt guy for his visitor. SB is not blocking the road and not in front of his parking and after those two points, I think if the Ikon guy is no table to park his car, it's his problem. The best he should do is ask politely and not make issues with it.

Originally Posted by huntrz

Since any other point of view is not welcome here hence the heading needs to be edited from "Who is right?" to "I am right".

Not all people are excellent drivers like team bhpians and they may not be aware of the finer aspects of driving. I guess we may allow them a little margin to be wrong and forgive and not ask them to leave country just because they can't do some fancy driving and squeezing though narrow spaces. We live in very densely populated cities and it is natural that issues may arise over encroachment of space etc.

[SilentEngine]

I agree with Spitfire and Rohan here.
Point is not about if it is legal/illegal to park in that place. The Ikon owner may have had reasons why he asked SB to move his car. We don't have the other side of the story here. It's quite possible that he may have faced problems earlier due to visitors to the apartments, so i think he is just trying to be prepared if he had to take his car out in case of emergency.

If you go by the rules, may be it's ok to park there. But, after being asked to move the car from there, i think the most sensible thing to do is to move the car.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by huntrz

Since any other point of view is not welcome here hence the heading needs to be edited from "Who is right?" to "I am right".

The query "Who is right?" was not about whether his attitude was right or whether I was right in not moving the car. My query was only about whether I was right in the way I parked my car and whether it was obstructing him as he claimed.

Originally Posted by SubuS

I am also assuming he told your friend that you were fighting with his mom because you were talking to her too (tones don't change that quickly) when he was gone to call your friend.

Actually not, because the lady was talking very calmly (a request to let things be and move on) and I replied in the same way. Infact my friend later said that from what the guy told him, he came rushing down thinking that I am having a big showdown with the lady, which was not what he saw.

Originally Posted by SubuS

All in all, cool down a bit and accept timidness /idiocy. It's a way of life here - not much can be done.

Agree. Like others also mentioned, maybe the whole thing was not worth it. And next time (some other place) I might just move the car without checking who is wrong.

Originally Posted by markmytravel

I am sure our good friend SB would be more than 100% willing to help Ikon guy with his parking (infact even willing to park it for him)

Would have gladly parked his car for him. But from what he said and the way he said it, I never got the impression that he is a novice or someone who finds it difficult to park the car. It sounded to me like, "Hey, you cannot park there." Infact when I told him that there is so much of space to get his car in, he said he can get the car in, but getting it out would be a problem. And him being a young guy, the thought never crossed my mind that he would not have the skills. With a woman or elderly person, I would have assumed that - though I know that it need not be a correct assumption.

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

Point is not about if it is legal/illegal to park in that place.

The whole point of this thread was indeed about the legality/illegality of my parking - My query in the opening post was
"I know that parking in a "No parking" zone is illegal. Plus even when no signs are there, parking in front of someone's gate is wrong. But is there any logic in what this guy was saying ?"

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

If you go by the rules, may be it's ok to park there. But, after being asked to move the car from there, i think the most sensible thing to do is to move the car.

You are saying that I was within the rules, but still need to move the car on being asked by someone who has no authority on that place (public road) without even attempting to know what I had done wrong. Hmm.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

You are saying that I was within the rules, but still need to move the car on being asked by someone who has no authority on that place (public road) without even attempting to know what I had done wrong. Hmm.

Yes. Again it hasn't got anything to do with who has authority on that place.In this case neither you/your friend nor the Ikon owner has authority over that.

From your posts, it seems that he apparently had problems earlier with visitors to the apartment. So i would give him the benefit of doubt.