[NPV]

Was in the CBD area of Bangalore today and while crossing the road by foot, saw a police vehicle approaching in our direction, just held back to let it pass. Surprisingly, the vehicle stopped about 30 feet away and the driver started shouting at someone on the kerb and then picked up the megaphone to shout in Kannada that crackers are not allowed to be burst at that time and warned him of serious consequences.

Only then I turned towards the kerb side to see a guy from one of the big stores there rolling out what looked like a 10000 wala and he'd rolled out a good 15-20 feet of it already.

In just seconds, few more guys rushed out of the store and they packed up the whole thing and ran inside the store.

[SJM1214]

Spotted this overloaded Verna on NH48.

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Spotted this overloaded Verna on NH48.

Attachment 1816499

That's very unusual way of carrying luggage.

No one should be driving behind such a car, a flying luggage can hit your windshield any moment.

[ninjatalli]

This was an incident back in my childhood, over 25 years ago, when my age was about 8+. My grandparents were in town (Baroda) visiting us. On a sunny, hot weekend, we decided to make a visit to the Amul dairy at Anand; a ~2 hour leisurely drive, an old but faithful Premier Padmini being our drive.

So a family of 6 - 2 grandparents, 2 parents, my ~3 year old brother and I were jampacked in our car and we headed out towards Anand. About an hour and half later, somewhere on the outskirts of the city, we were a bit lost and were looking for directions to the dairy. It was a hot afternoon, no ac in the car, and we were literally hoping for a quick exit to the dairy.

We asked a local guy standing on the side of the road for directions. Pat came the reply in Gujarati
"I'm heading that way only. Give me a lift and I'll give you directions"

With an incredulous are-you-serious look, my dad looks back at the sweaty, jampacked family in the car; with absolutely no space for even a kid; and tells him we would have happily given him a lift, but there is absolutely no space in the car.

The man then steps back and looks the other direction; ignoring us completely!!!

...

And we head on. Thankfully, the next guy on the road is able to help us with directions and we reach our destination. And that was my first learning to the mantra of you-scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours

[ninjatalli]

I seem to have a lot of these anecdotes, no?

Recently on an engagement in Kathmandu, I hailed a taxi M-800 (most common taxi vehicle there) and took the front seat. The car was clearly in its last stage of existence but that was normal for a good % of the taxis in Kathmandu, so didn't give it a thought.

Out of habit, I put on the seat belt; much to the astonishment of the driver, who gives me a crazed+scary look at me, as if I just pulled a gun on him. Amused, I ask him why is he so surprised to see a passenger use the seat belt.

Pat comes the reply "Sir, that seatbelt hasn't been used for months. I haven't even cleaned it since ages".

I look down at my white shirt; now with a nice brown belt sized angled design in dust all across the shirt

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Pat comes the reply "Sir, that seatbelt hasn't been used for months. I haven't even cleaned it since ages"

Two positives I see here:

1. The seatbelts hadn't been used only for a few months and not since ages.
2. Though he admits not doing it, the cabbie believed in the concept and utility of cleaning the seat belts - unlike a lot of private car owners .

[gunin]

Last weekend, me and and a friend went to Nokrek National Park in West Garo Hills, Meghalaya. One has to drive through the forest (buffer zone) to arrive at the starting point of the National park's core area. There are only a handful of houses on this jungle route and an old man waved at us for a lift. We obliged and dropped him off at his place after some time. While starting off, I saw the old man in the RVM trying to run after us and I promptly stopped. He wanted to thank us (we don't speak each other's language) and gave us a large portion of oranges he had brought for selling. We didn't want to take the oranges as that would mean taking away some of his income. But in the end, we took the oranges as not taking them would have hurt the old man more. Every time I step out and meet such people in our rural areas, I keep wondering what we have gained and lost in our urban centres.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Out of habit, I put on the seat belt; much to the astonishment of the driver, who gives me a crazed+scary look at me, as if I just pulled a gun on him. Amused, I ask him why is he so surprised to see a passenger use the seat belt.

I have been on the receiving end too, reported it here once:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...ml#post3005845 (My Experience with Office Transportation & Hospitalisation)

I don't think I reported the other instances mostly in Uber cabs but also sometimes with colleagues in their cars
'Who wears a seat belt in the rear seat anyway.."

[paragsachania]

May not be an appropriate place to narrate this incident but still it was worth sharing it here.

The tale of a lost wallet in an Uber and how we got it back:

There is this friend of mine from Pune, who has to travel to Bangalore frequently on official purpose. Last month too was business-as-usual. He arrived to Bangalore and had a return flight ticket booked on a particular day and this incident is related to the cab service he availed to reach Bangalore Airport from Electronics city.

Wallet lost through the journey:

During the same journey, he placed the wallet/folder next to him so he could travel relaxed. Upon reaching the Airport, due to peak hour rush, the wardens were asking every drop-off vehicle to keep moving and make way for others. In the melee, although my friend managed to collect his baggage from the boot, when he went to fetch his wallet/folder from his seat, the Cab pushed off all of a sudden. My friend tried to scream but in vain and soon after called the phone number that he had as part of that booking. To his surprise, it only rang but the other party didn’t receive the call. It is known that the number is not a direct Mobile call that goes to the driver but passes through Uber.

The next thing to do was to call Uber customer care and upon explaining the situation, they denied any support claiming that the baggage or any belongings is strictly the client’s responsibility and they won’t be able to help much in this regard and they also said they were unable to trace the driver. May be by then, the driver had turned off his mobile device provided by Uber. Game over! He had a flight to catch and so he leaves for Pune.

Incident forgotten:

Soon after this, my friend calls all his banks to temporarily block all his cards. The folder contained nearly 8000 INR in cash, along with few Credit and Debit cards as well as his driver’s license. With this, my friend forgets the incident as he had no hopes of getting his wallet back.

An anonymous call one day:

After few days, my friend receives a call, from an unknown number and that person claims to be a driver of a truck heading back to Bangalore. He seems to have found his wallet on the road somewhere near Ananthapur in AP. Upon further questioning, he also confirms the presence of all the contents of the folder intact except the cash and says there was only 2 Rupee coin and no other currency. What surprised my friend was how the driver managed to get his contact number because he was sure that this was probably the first time ever he never had his visiting card in that folder which he always has. Upon questioning, the truck driver says he got it through MH RTO through his Driving license as he had contacts there (wow!).
He then says he will return to Bangalore and return the wallet once he is in the city the next day. He even promised to courier the same too.

Help? Extortion?

All of a sudden, the truck driver calls again, shares his concern that he is in dire need of 2000 INR as he has to refill diesel for his truck to return to Bangalore. It started to become evident that the game is now beginning in the name of extortion. So my friend calls me and asks me what to do although he was ready to actually PayTM the amount. I clearly said, in the name of service charge, make a deal that 1000 INR will be transferred first and remaining 1000 INR can be collected in cash in person when I meet him and collect the purse. The truck driver started to get emotional saying that he can be trusted and he is not a thug and blah blah blah….. so my friend falls victim, and transfers 2000 INR via PayTM to a different number that the truck driver gave. So now there are 2 contact numbers and probably 2 people dealing with this – 1. truck driver and 2. The recipient of 2000 via PayTM

The truck driver confirms meeting me at a popular location in my area (closer to Hyderabad road). I wait for a call from my friend that evening and upon enquiring, he says the truck driver reasoned heavy rains and his inability to come to the place we had decided to meet. And no, it never rained that evening in Bangalore, anywhere for that matter. And till now, I have not made any calls to anyone and just waiting for an instruction from my friend to pick the wallet.

Next day, my friend calls the truck driver, who picks the call and asks if someone can visit Devahanahalli and pick up the belongings. Since its hardly 30 minutes for me, I agreed and asked my friend to conference the call with him so I could speak and decide on the location to meet. That truck driver obviously didn’t speak in Kannada and the way his Hindi dialect was, I was 110% sure that he was a local to Bangalore (I can easily make out Hindi dialects of a Kannadiga, Teluguite, Tamilian or a Malayalee). So this truck driver asks me to visit Devanahalli anytime and call him.

I asked him what is the assurance that I reach there and call and the call is answered. He replied that even if he is not around, he will share a phone number of his Boss who I can contact when I am in Devanahalli and he would have handed over the purse to one of the many shops in the town where I can pick it up from. I and my friend both knew that this is not going to end easily so we were sure that neither was I going to Devanahalli to collect it and nor would we expect them to hand over the wallet this easily. Remember that 2000 INR was already paid quite easily on demand. There was also a 3rd person who got involved in between saying he stays near Hebbal and can handover the wallet to anyone around here. So now the team includes 3 members..no actually 4 including the Boss and this fella who claims to stay near Hebbal.

Incommunicado for the next few days:

As expected, the truck driver and the Boss as well as the 3rd Person, all went incommunicado over the next few days. There were quite a few conversations over WhatsApp by the duo with false promises and assurances but all of a sudden, they stopped receiving calls and also blocked my friend on WhatsApp as well as calls.

Actual investigation now:

My friend didn’t want to give up and wanted to really teach these thugs a lesson not for a lost wallet but for the extortion game. So what next? How do we even find out further details. Here I go:

The cab was an Innova and being a Toyota, it was no brainer that maximum owners get them serviced from the ASC only. I called up my friend who owns a Crysta, to talk to his Service advisor and fetch details of the owner of this Innova. The vehicle number was something that my friend had saved the day he had booked this can and the incident happened. We get all the details (address and phone number) of the owner. We don’t call anyone of them till now.

In between:

The actual cab driver reached out to my friend once, and pleaded to take back his complaint and said he acknowledges that he drives fast but only on occasions. He pretended that the complaint against him by my friend was for rash driving. Upon telling him that it was not for the driving but for a lost wallet, he is amused and said he is not aware of any such wallet.

An inevitable visit to the Police station as last resort:

My friend returns to Bangalore, again for an official purpose. Let us now involve the cops and let us see where we get to with all the phone numbers we have. I suggest my friend to visit Electronics City station only because the cab was booked from here although the incident happened at the Airport which again falls under a different jurisdiction. However, visiting Airport Police station was not a sensible approach due to the proximity too and the fear that we may have to visit there multiple times. So I accompany him to the Electronics City Police Station and knowing Kannada always helps beyond normal. The Senior constable at the Electronics City station greets us, pulls up 2 chairs and listens to the story carefully. He then gives a plain piece of paper, asks us to write down the name of each of the person involved in the past few weeks and his phone number. I also ask my friend to include the phone number of the owner.

Cop makes the calls:

The cop was super smart. He didn’t call anyone else but just the owner. The owner confirms that the said vehicle number is an Innova and then the cop tells that there is an incident of cheating involved with this car and an FIR is getting registered. The owner is stunned, and seeks more details and upon learning that it had happened only 3 weeks before he expresses a sigh of relief and shares the fact that few months before he sold his car to someone else. The cop insists that the owner’s name and number be shared and he does immediately. The cop then calls the 2nd owner of this car who again acknowledges the ownership of the car and also confirms that he had lent it out for Uber.

The best part, when the owner shared the phone number of the driver who was driving that Innova on the said day, it matched one of the numbers of the team above. In fact, the truck driver of Ananthapur had called from this number!

So by now, we have zeroed in on the owner, the latest one.

The cop explains in short that there is a cheating case against this vehicle and an FIR is getting registered and if the owner cannot come with the driver associated with this car, the vehicle will be seized. The cop was also clear and super confident that since he has directly involved the owner, all the others who were part of this plan will be pulled by the owner as his vehicle is at stake now.

Next day:

I couldn’t accompany my friend the next day as I was working from home but my friend did visit the Police station as soon he got a call from the cop. Upon reaching there, he could notice that 3 people were standing out and waiting while one of them was the same driver who drove the Uber from EC to the Airport on the said day. As soon as he spotted my friend, he started pushing his elbow indicating the other two that he was the passenger and the complainant. By now, my friend’s wife who is related to a higher up in ministry also pulled few strings and ensured a call was made from one of the minister’s office to solve this case. She did that without the knowledge of my friend as she was in fear that these thugs would cause harm if he visited the Station.

Wallet received with all belongings:

The wallet was lying on the cop’s desk. All the cards were intact including the driver’s license. Of course, there was no money in that and my friend anyway had no hopes of getting that 8000 INR back. However, he ensured to get that 2000 back that he had PayTMed the other day. Upon asking about the cash in the wallet, the driver literally begged that he will pay back in installments as Uber also has blocked the paycheck for that month due to the incident.

Few things -

• It was very clear that the Uber driver would have used some tactics to get hold of the mobile number of my friend, and that truck driver finding out his phone number via MH RTO was anyway a story not to be believed
  
• The purse was retrieved first by the Uber driver but he played smart and involved 2 or 3 more people to play this game of extorting
  
• Cab being an Innova immensely helped – I simply used the logic of Toyota ASC and asked my friend to get the details of the owner
  
• Electronics City Police was very cooperative even though this was a very petty incident – The cop listened very carefully and made the right moves and solved it in a day
  
• My friend had taken screenshots of the Display Pictures of each of the actors whoever had communicated to him via WhatsApp and as soon as the owner would have flagged about this complaint to the cops, they removed their DPs

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The tale of lost Wallet in an Uber and how we got it back:

Why do people indulge in such acts when they know very well that getting caught is just a matter of when and not if.

In the instant case, the Uber driver was indeed foolish to believe he could pull off an extortion attempt. It was just a matter of time before the cops would connect the dots and come calling on him. Your commonsense and presence of mind hastened his downfall and of course limited your friend's trips to the police station to just two.

Though one could dismiss this as another petty case that ended well, I am perturbed by the following:

1. First, the driver's dishonesty in driving off with the wallet. His subsequent actions prove that he knew the wallet was on the seat; he had probably seen (through IRVM) it being kept there and when the opportunity presented itself, he drove off.
2. Uber's initial response to your friend's complaint was unbecoming of a global giant. That they course corrected is evident due to the existing complaint that the driver spoke about on phone. Still, one would expect a bit more support from Uber. Though its true that neither Uber nor the driver can be held responsible for passengers' belongings, a minimum level of customer centeredness and honesty is not too much to expect.
3. Your friend's delay in reporting the matter to the cops is baffling. He could, in lieu of physically going to the police station at once (he couldn't, while he was in Pune), should have either tweeted or mailed a complaint to the Bangalore City Police. That would have set the investigative ball rolling; he could have lodged a formal FIR on his next visit to the city.
4. Even later, when he received the truck driver's call asking for money, he should have approached the cops. But all this is being said with the benefit of hindsight and is therefore of only academic importance. But then, it is such lapses on the part of the victims that the criminals would be counting on; to survive and succeed.
5. The head constable (probably the writer) needs to be thanked for his willingness to solve the seemingly small case, instead of passing the buck citing jurisdictional or delay in reporting issues. Hope no money changed hands from your side at the station.

This episode reminds me of two incidents involving hired vehicles. The first one happened in 2009 or so. My (then) friend (now relative) was on his way to airport in a MERU cab and stopped over at our place to say bye. By the time he went back to the cab (10 minutes tops), the driver had pilfered a couple of dollar notes from the hand baggage left behind in the car. My friend realised it only after reaching his destination, the US - from where he wouldn't be returning for quite a while! He thought the sum was too insignificant to warrant a long drawn complaint - to MERU or the cops. (I can see your friend's viewpoint now )

The second one happened a few months ago. My colleague got into an auto at Chikkamagaluru Bus Stand and got down at our workplace. He paid the fare sitting inside the rickshaw, left his wallet on the seat and got off. It took him a while to realise his loss. Immediately, he came looking for me asking for the customer care numbers of banks to block his cards. Before handing them over, I had a brainwave - I got him another colleague's Activa and sent him looking for the autowallah. Meanwhile, I also kept the office peons informed and requested them to redirect any queries about a lost/found wallet to me. In less than ten minutes, I was told that an auto driver is waiting in the corridor. I met him, confirmed he had the wallet, called my roving colleague and got them together. Pleasantries and two hundred rupees were exchanged and my colleague got the wallet back. It was also a tale of a wallet lost and found.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Why do people indulge in such acts when they know very well that getting caught is just a matter of when and not if.

Wishful thinking or should I say false hopes? Digital era it is and most of such cases get solved through call data records. Yet, few think they will get away. This will continue and it is certainly not unusual, funny or heartwarming but lets just say, very usual!

In the instant case, the Uber driver was indeed foolish to believe he could pull off an extortion attempt.

May be, may not be. May be those involved wanted to make some money and still return that wallet through a different pair of hands? After all, who would not tip someone for finding a lost wallet and returning it.

It was just a matter of time before the cops would connect the dots and come calling on him. Your commonsense and presence of mind hastened his downfall and of course limited your friend's trips to the police station to just two.

Honestly, we would have not even bothered for that lost wallet or cards. Every card was hot-listed and each of it could be requested again, new, including DL and PAN card. The triggering point was not even the demand (that sounded like a nice request) for 2000 INR but what happened next - Each one going incommunicado! This was not done.

[*]he had probably seen (through IRVM) it being kept there and when the opportunity presented itself, he drove off.

Most likely yes and the drivers are always wary about each action that takes place in the back seat.

[*]Uber's initial response to your friend's complaint was unbecoming of a global giant. That they course corrected is evident due to the existing complaint that the driver spoke about on phone. Still, one would expect a bit more support from Uber. Though its true that neither Uber nor the driver can be held responsible for passengers' belongings, a minimum level of customer centeredness and honesty is not too much to expect.

At that point in time, Uber could not have done much, especially after a failed attempt to track and locate the said vehicle soon after the call was made by my friend. So the next best thing to say which also is a disclaimer that comes free, is the fact that any belonging is the responsibility of the passenger. It really didn't matter at that point of time on what Uber would do next.

[*]Your friend's delay in reporting the matter to the cops is baffling. He could, in lieu of physically going to the police station at once (he couldn't, while he was in Pune), should have either tweeted or mailed a complaint to the Bangalore City Police. That would have set the investigative ball rolling; he could have lodged a formal FIR on his next visit to the city.

I thought I could narrate this incident with all details. As explained earlier, it wasn't the wallet or the contents that mattered. So the first thing done was to block all the cards and forget about that cash. It would never come back. t was nearly forgotten as an incident, a bad one at that. So there was no real need to visit the Police station and lodge an FIR.

[*]Even later, when he received the truck driver's call asking for money, he should have approached the cops.

The inability of a human being with varied emotions to differentiate that thin line between extortion and request. This is exactly what happened here. That said truck driver sounded too genuine to my friend. At the same time, my friend also assumed that it would indeed be a case where the next passenger boarding that cab may have laid hands on his wallet, taken out all the money, and then threw that wallet somewhere on the road? It may not really be that cab driver at all who was in possession of that wallet? And after few days, a call from the same cab driver pleading my friend to withdraw his complaint and acting totally oblivious to the lost wallet. Finally, the fact that my friend had to travel back to Bangalore in few days (all this happened in under 15 days) and the constant promises by the truck driver to hand over it to someone in Bangalore. With all this, it was blind trust that didn't make my friend approach the cops, because what was lost was mainly the money, something that he could earn back again. Cards or other IDs could be made again.

But then, it is such lapses on the part of the victims that the criminals would be counting on; to survive and succeed.

Those emails from wealthy landlords with a fortune to share with you; They are surviving and also successful.

[*]The head constable (probably the writer) needs to be thanked for his willingness to solve the seemingly small case, instead of passing the buck citing jurisdictional or delay in reporting issues. Hope no money changed hands from your side at the station.

A tech giant within the jurisdiction of Electronics City, this mattered here. Right when we were discussing, he even got a call on his phone from the Security head of this Tech giant for some usual task/chore and he told how he knows folks in that organization. Oh, and my friend works for that organization and didn't forget to mention this to the cop while he introduced himself.

He thought the sum was too insignificant to warrant a long drawn complaint - to MERU or the cops. (I can see your friend's viewpoint now )

Good lord. And you made me write all this now .

Before handing them over, I had a brainwave - I got him another colleague's Activa and sent him looking for the autowallah.

It was Chikkamagaluru and glad it happened here. There is no traffic or dense areas to blame if the Auto escaped too.

Imagine my friend with his baggage, a flight ready to take off in few minutes, and of course, no such friend or relative or a commoner around who could lend a vehicle to chase that Innova! The actions of forgetting what was gone and the common sense to get all the cards blocked speak about a fact that the loss was not irrecoverable and day shall go on. Whatever happened during the later days is what got narrated here.

Pleasantries and two hundred rupees were exchanged and my colleague got the wallet back. It was also a tale of a wallet lost and found.

There you go! My friend sent 2000 INR via PayTM thinking of it only as gesture that the good samaritan indeed has intents to help and return that wallet. The only difference is he did that before he got his wallet.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The tale of a lost wallet in an Uber and how we got it back:

Originally Posted by dailydriver

It was also a tale of a wallet lost and found.

Tales of wallets being lost and found are abounding on this thread - let me also contribute my situation of last week

I had put up the situation on my blog (part 1 and part 2); re-copying it here (apologies for the long post and pardon the language wherever applicable)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was turning out to be a good day. A very good day indeed. Things were flying off my workdesk, long pending tasks were getting closure, I was on a good roll! So I decided to do myself a favor and leave early for home – the idea being I’d continue later from the comfort of home while bypassing the rush hour traffic.

And that, I did for sure. A route that generally takes 45 min at the bare minimum was coming to an end end in less than 40 mins (yes in Mumbai 5 mins count). But I wasn’t really paying attention, my 110% focus was on the mobile, on a whatsapp conversation that really did not go very well with the vibe of the day. Maybe a reckoning of what to come? Retrospection is a bitch.

“Aa gaye sir, 120 bees hua bhaada. Chutta zaruur deejiye pleej“

One hand responding to the chat messages, the other to get the purse out. But hey, I had the change in my pant pocket! Voila, out came the cash and the grin was back on his face, delighted that I gave in so easily. Well, to be honest, I wasn’t really paying attention. I got out and entered the gate and headed towards my building block. The happy bugger turned around and went on his way.

A minute must have passed; no probably at the most 45 seconds I guess. It suddenly hit me, I do not have three hands – one for the mobile, one for the cash from the pocket, so the purse must have… A quick check of the pant pockets (there weren’t that many, huh) reconfirmed that. I turn and run back towards the gate. The auto is nowhere to be seen. The bengali guard (whaddayknow, that’s a first – I never have seen a bengali security guy in my life; must ask him how did he get into that profession; alertness and bengalis don’t really go together, no?) looks at me with a lazy-do-not-disturb-me look and waits for me to say something.

“Aap ne eak auto jo tha idhar usko jate hue dekha?“

“Nahi saab, kyu kya hua…“

“mera purse reh gaya...”

“aapke paas number hai uska… fir toh kuch nahi ho sakta“

Like I didn’t know! People really like to rub it in, no! The realization then hit me – 3 credit cards, 2 debit cards, 2 driving licenses (why I was carrying my US license I have absolutely no idea!!!), some 4-5k inr cash, and other documents of minor importance – all gone. I rush out to the main road junction, hoping for some luck, maybe he went and waited there to get a new passenger. Fat luck – there were three autos there, but I could tell jackshit if any of them was my guy. Kinda reminded me of Sherlock’s first episode – no one notices the cab (/auto) guy, no? Anyway I digress; so I went and asked them the stupid Q. All deny, one even nods his head wondering what was I smoking.

So I trudge back home, searching for a purse shaped item on the road, hoping against hope, but without any luck. So much for my great day. Ah I forgot the whatsapp conversation; I quickly jot down my current situation and a “BRB” message (ironically I didn’t) and call up a few friends. This was unknown territory – my friends have absolutely zero pointers for me, one guy even (almost) laughs at my predicament. And like a dream (heh) the boss calls; I gleefully cut the call – I really did not want to entertain any thoughts on work now. Then realization hits in, and I call him back and update him about the situation. He understands and cuts the call. I then call another friend who had gone through a similar situation and get the first real pointers on what to do (you know it already) – block the cards immediately, and also do a visit to the local police station, doesn’t really help but it is required.

So the trudge back home is continued – and the calls happen; ICICI doesn’t allow temporary blocks so out go those cards. Standard Chartered does allow temporary blocks on debit cards only (thank god) – I avail that immediately. HDFC customer care puts me on an infinite loop but I do see the option on the website and I block it immediately. A check again downstairs with the bengali dude reconfirms the situation – the purse is gone for sure.

Next Day:

5 a.m. The early morning wake-up call wasn’t helping. Neither was the filter coffee, made out of Kenyan Arabica beans (procured at a idiotically premium amount from the Starbucks outlet at my office) that tasted as similar as the local Matunga based coffee powder. I wisely turn down the thought to go down and check if by any divine luck, the auto driver would have had a change of heart and returned the purse. Nada – that’s not happening for sure.

7:15 a.m. The maid comes in, with a bit of gleam in her eyes, certainly more than any other day; after all it was the end of the month; it’s pay-day. And just the day earlier she had requested this month’s payment in cash (now you understand why a purse that generally has peanuts in cash was holding thousands of rupees; ah the sweet irony of it). I update her about the situation; more important – the lack of a working card meant I really couldn’t give her money in cash. Her face falls. Then for the first time, in her 6+ years of working at my place, she makes a valuable comment

“Bhaiya, aap ne CCTV check kiya?“

“Eh? CCTV?“

“Haan bhaiya, woh hain na gate pae camera... Usme pata chalega auto ka number“

BRILLIANT! Honestly, I could have kissed her for that piece of information (Disclaimer: no way that was going to happen). I get up to go down when she makes shares another piece of valuable information (seriously, this lady is on fire! How does she know all this?)

“Woh society office abhi nahi khula hoga. 10 baje khulta hai“

I still run down to check the angle of the cameras. Yup, she was right. Infact there were two cameras at different angles. No way am I going to miss the auto. Our bengali babu who just arrives looks at me with a weird look (seriously he needs to relook his profession; all that time spent, and he couldn’t figure out to bring up the cameras even once?) I ask him if these cameras are active to which he stutters and stammers that he’s not sure. Of course. Not that I expected him to know.

I drop a chat to the office team on the new findings. I literally hear a groan from my boss (he understands I ain’t going to be in office till af’noon without me saying it). Well, waddyaknow, maybe today might turn out to be a good day, for multiple reasons.

10 A.M. Dheeraj, the security admin is at his seat with all the camera up and running. I inform him on the situation. He whips up the keyboard, punches in a few keys and voila, we are looking at yesterday’s video recording – I’m making the payment and I walk inside. Like a formula 1 car, the auto makes a 180 degree turn and heads out. And right there, right at the 133rd angle of turn, a brown colored object falls out. As if on cue, a security guard walks up and picks up the object and quickly turns back disappearing out of the camera’s view. Incredibly, I’m still in the camera’s view in the bottom corner, doing the walk towards my block; all while this has happened.

Dheeraj switches off the application, with a wide grin on his face. I just made his day, probably his week or even the month. Events like these are rare for him – where his job description responsibilities are actually realized. He gets to be the hero – the Sherlock who just solved the nation’s biggest mystery. I stammer – asking him if we can zoom in; look at the security guy’s face, any more details that we can use…

“Nahi sir, muje pata hai woh kaun hai. Aap chaliye, abhi purse dilata hu“

We walk out towards the gate, and then move ahead to the building opposite to us. The security guard looks up to Dheeraj and comes to the gate. Pat comes his tort

“Arre woh purse dena, jo tune kal shyaam ko paanch baje uthaya“

The guard looks as if he’s just been asked to handover his kidneys “Sir, kaunsa purse….“

“Arre hamne dekha camera pae, tumhara chehra pura dikh raha hai. Ab time waste mat karo”
Boy, was he in his element or what! Our hero’s been watching too many detective shows, methinks.

And the guard gives up. All pretense. Tells the purse has been handed over to the office “as-it-is” and the admin is out. Says he’ll personally come and hand it over by lunch.

Dheeraj looks at me with a look that ACP Pradyuman would have had trouble beating, that was literally shouting out to whoever was listening I’m da man, yea am I da man or what! I tell both of them that were 3 credit cards, 2 debit cards, 2 DLs and about nearly ~5k cash. Dheeraj reaffirms this point to the guard again and we walk away.

Case solved.

Elementary, my dear Watson.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: The purse was returned later in the afternoon. The cards and IDs were all there, so was present the other useless stuff. The cash? Only 700 Rs left. Apparently that’s all that was in the purse. No amount of threats (complaints to society chairman, police station complaints, etc) could improve the situation. Ah well, you can’t win them all

[ninjatalli]

This was an incident back in early 2000s when I was visiting a friend in Mehsana, Gujarat. His father who worked in the PMD department was posted there and we were traveling around with him in their car which had a non-GJ number plate. Those days (and probably now too) it was common for cops to stop such vehicles, and demand papers etc, and mostly would be satisfied with a 50-100Rs "fee", irrespective of whatever your situation is.

So we got stopped at a similar checkpoint - the cop's asking my friend's driver to get out and meet "saheb" who's standing in a corner. Out comes my friend's dad reply

"Beta, jara mera ID dena usko"

My friend does accordingly. The constable looks at the ID, then looks at my friend's dad, hands it back and silently asks us to move on.

It was that day I understood the subtle nuances of working in the government

[luvDriving]

This happened about a month ago here in Pune.

It was a Sunday morning and I was at an event with my wife. My 70 year old mother was at home. Now I get a call from my mother's cellphone and I answered it.

Anyway, as soon as I said Hello ? a young male voice on the other end said - Hello, who's phone is this ? Now this is a normal way of starting conversations here in Pune, especially if the caller is elderly. I was confused as to why was some unknown person calling me from my mother's mobile.

Well further conversation revealed that my mother was at an exhibition with her buddies and she had dropped her phone somewhere at the exhibition venue. This gentleman had found it and was trying to find it's owner.

I called up my mother's friend and then they called up my mother's cellphone, got in touch with the guy and after asking a couple of questions like what was the colour of the phone, he handed it over back to my mother.

So this was not a funny but a heartwarming experience. You know how it is when you have to give a new cellphone model to 70+ people and how hard it is for them to start learning something new. Well god bless that gentleman.

[gopikb]

Dear all, wanted to share this experience yesterday. I usually take the office cab for commute from my home in RRNagar to Prestige tech park in ORR. Only on Mondays onward and Thursday return from office I commute by bike to visit a temple enroute.

Yesterday morning, I was just two kms from office and riding at about 30kms per hour on an empty stretch. I really dont know how I fell and all of a sudden I realize that I am being dragged along with my bike for a good 5 meters before I came to a stop on the road. Came out with a deep bruise on both hands, hurt my left shoulder and ended up with a swollen knee on the left leg.

Two IT folks who were riding behind me stopped immediately and as I was about to pass out, offered me water and ensured that I remained conscious. They also helped wash the wounds and waited for a good 10~15 minutes until I could get up and ride again. I dont even know them and I am not sure if I will recognize them if I ever see them again. But they were the real GOD to me at that moment.

Lesson 1: The timely help that we do to a fellow human being, not necessarily accident, but whatever may be the situation is truly the real worship and defeats 1000 visits to a temple.

Lesson 2: We keep screaming about government enforcing helmet not only for rider, but for pillion drivers as well. But that helmet was a life saver to me yesterday. As I got dragged for 5 meters yesterday, I could see my helmet dragging along the road. If not for my helmet, I could have lost my life yesterday. Please please wear full faced helmet (not the duplicate ones which covers half the skull) and wear it however short the distance is. When I ride within RRnagar, I hardly care for my helmet so far. Now onwards it is not going to be.

I really hope atleast one of the guys who helped me would be a bhpian and will see this post and contact me. Cant thank them enough. All I can do is to say a prayer that he and his family will always lead a happy life