Thursday, September 25, 2008

ToDay in Bits

Today, I attended a seminar on Indian Writing in English. No comments on speakers. I left the seminar midway considering that much of the knowledge they were imparting was lifted straight from any book on the topic. The papers presented were not introducing any new insight. I came out. Standing near my car, I looked for car keys. I was a common sight. A woman-standing near car/scooter with a hand in the big handbag-misplaced keys-confusion writ large on face-thinking maybe I left the keys on the reception desk. But here is the twist. An old beggar who came near me, said some incoherent words about needing money to eat a meal. I glanced at him-was in two minds-whether to shoo him away, or to give a couple of coins. I still could not locate car keys, but my hands located my change pouch, thought its his kismet, took out change for 5 rupees. He refused, he actually refused. Said he wanted ten rupees. He wanted to eat daal-chawal from a hotel. I was angry, I told him, “Go to a gurdwara, they would feed you. Go find some work.” He said, “I’m running fever, blah blah blah.” I wanted to get rid of him. Took out ten rupees, handed over to him, he went murmuring some blessings. The moment he left, my hand touched my car keys hiding away in a corner of the handbag. Providence?? As I sat in the car, I eyed three rickshaw walahs, standing there watching the whole tamasha. My mind churned out a fear. Wouldn’t these rickshaw walahs think , “It is so easy to make ten rupees. Whats the use of our rickshaw pulling?”
I was a bad example.
Cut.
Reversed the car. Ran the AC full blast. Suddenly saw the fuel indicator and it was on below zero. Oh my God! How did it happen? I’ m never this negligent. What if I run out of diesel and there is no filling station nearby? As it is, filling stations are acting pricey about selling a tank-full of diesel. What a nuisance I would be to my currently crusading qunbaa!
Cut.
I reached that blind right turn near my house, screeched on the brakes, and barely managed to escape hitting a golden Scorpio coming from the opposite side without caring for any ‘keep to the left’ rule. Within seconds I gained my composure and rolled down my window. The other fellow too did. I was angry as it is, and then I saw a cigarette stuck in his fingers and a cell-phone sticking in his hand. Whew, he was talking while driving. I was about to come out of my car and stand on the road to abuse him, but then I changed my mind. Got hold of the bhenji act, thought of not getting down on the road (imagined someone imploring, "Paon zameen pey mat rakhiyega, mailey ho jayenge..." though I was in my sports shoes) and willed him to come out of the car. He seemed to be a spoiled brat with his costly glares and spiked up hair - there are such samples aplenty in my city. I pushed my hand out of my window and gestured him to come. I doubted he would. But wow, very obediently he came. I gave four big pieces of my mind, one after the other, to him in chaste, angry, loud Punjabi. He acted equally angry. I managed to be the louder of us two and dismissed him with a shake of my head. He kept grumbling expletives but nonetheless got the message and climbed back in his baap-wali-scorpio and reversed it. I went my way, he went his way. I went abusing him in my mind for being a reckless irresponsible youth; he drove talking to the same someone on his mobile, probably making fun of a ‘woman-driver.’
Cut.
One thing is clear after today, I CANNOT carry open hair for an entire day.
Cut.
It was my today in bits.

34 comments:

Indian Home Maker said...

Interesting!!!The spiked hair sample was the best. LOL ...Glad you gave him a piece, err four pieces of your mind :))
Beggars confuse me too, we want to help without encouraging begging...

And a woman looking for car keys/change.some card etc in a large handbag is no doubt a common sight, I too am amongst such women:)

Gurinderjit Singh (Guri@Khalsa.com) said...

CUT...
Take a Vacation..

Sidhusaaheb said...

A beggar that demanded 10 rupees at the very least?

Under what regulation or law, one might've asked him.

:D

Anonymous said...

some days are just crazy, but i loved the way you wrote 'CUT'..
looks like beggars ka rate badh gaya hai from the last time i was in India !

Anonymous said...

i hope the fellow in the Scorpio would have had a head on collision with a truck somewhere and....

Not to be mean, but then with his antics he is putting the lives of other people at risk. So, there is no harm in him dying sooner. ;)

Anonymous said...

Hahaha!!! I loved the way you described the situation with the young boy. You really must have scared him I think. And you attended a seminar on Indian writing in English? Wow! What exactly do you do, may I ask please? I am asking since the subject interests me a lot too - you have made me very curious here.

Monika said...

phew!!! what a day...

he he car keys, cell phones getting lost in the bag... its my everyday life... irritates my hubby beyond measure :)

u can see enough of these spoilt brats all over the country i loved the way u handelled them... i usually ignore

and the beggar they always leave me confused... its a two sided guilt give or not give

Pinku said...

hey...hope the anger has cooled down. As for the beggar guess the guy wasnt a habitual one, those never put up these acts. I think you did a good act. Guy must have come up to you with a lot of hesitation and your five rupees wouldnt have helped he was honest enough to ask what he needed.

As for young Scorpio Singh...please beware of such kinds..in Delhi people have been shot at over such silly road rage arguments.

Btw the cut business was a fine cut.

Mampi said...

IHM-Yes, the beggar seemed a newly displaced person from Bihar floods.
I m so happy I m not alone in the card-searching clan.

Guri-Glad you found time to come over. Vacation is not easy. Hell, going out for a weekend is not easy with Mahesh's kind of a job.

SS-Agley da hakk ae, after all he is a beggar...

Nidhi-Mehngayee ji Mehngayee. He didnt look like a beggar though.

Philip-Amen to your hope. He really deserved to be punished big time.

Devaki-I think you missed some of the sentences in previous posts. I am a big time Bhenji, LOL, I teach in a college. Feel free to email me. Its on the profile.

Monika-We are all so alike, nahi? I am so glad I m blogging. I get to know so many of my kind, LOL.

Pinku-Thanks for supporting me.I had expected to be blasted by all of my friends here about the beggar incident, but I risked it.
Anger...Hmm...Mahesh kehtey hain Gussa paal lena chahiye...so i didnt use it up, I have stored it up.

Oreen said...

i like the moral of the story . . . baal khuli nehi rakh sakti :)

and i also like the "cut"s . . .

i too have spiked hair . . . but i don't talk and drive :)

Monika said...

agreed 100%... what would I have done if I didnt know that there are so many of my kinds :)

BTW came to tell u that I love the adida song on ur blog

Anonymous said...

Hahahah good one! :) Sometimes dont we just look back at a day and wonder itna sab kaise hua????

How do we know said...

agreed agreed, main bhi baal ekdum khule nahi rakh sakti. 1 ghanta bhi nahi.. :-)

All the other cuts were wonderful!! tuhanu editing business vich hona chahida.

DeeplyDip said...

hey the "cuts" were good!
I'm glad you helped the poor guy with some money - esp after you said he didnt seem like a pro beggar...
i so identify with the car key seraching habit - i can never get it in one go!

RiverSoul said...

Its a relative state of mind.
Just Bcoz you gave 10 bucks to a beggar, doesn't mean that God will find your car keys for you. Its a common phenomenon called coincidence.
And that beggar needs to be kicked in the shin if he is able bodied.
But a very well thought and penned post, mampi.
And the spoilt brat, well, every one has to encounter that species every other week or so, if you're in a city. . . And almost every hour if you're in a metro.
Anyways, . . . .
Nice work.
:)

Mama - Mia said...

cut cut karke bada eventful din kat gaya aapka!! :p

mobile monsters are the worst offenders! i so so get pissed with em!!

and as for the beggar, why aint i surprised! if you had l'il more time you might as well have bought him the khaana! pata nahi khaana khaya hoga ki daru li hogi!

your life is never without namoonas and incidents, is it?!

cheers!

abha

Mampi said...

Oreen-Trust only you to catch the right strain out of the entire story. You are my true friend, hehe.

Monika-Thankyou so much. She helps me come to peace with myself.

Nova-Koi koi din hi aisa hota hai...

HDWK-Labho fer koi job mere laee editing business wich.

Dip-Thanks for supporting me on the beggar issue.

RiverSoul-Dont take me so seriously about the providence issue, hehehe. Glad you liked it.

Abha-Hehehe, Mujhko peeche jana chahiye tha uske, haina? I later chastised myself for giving him the money, but then the damage was done.

Balvinder Balli said...

yaar, i think most of us must have faced such a bad day once in a while but all of us can't explain the way you have done it.

cut

Thanks for giving us an insight into your persona. I like that.

cut

All points to the beggar for his courage of conviction by refusing a fiver and asking sufficient amount to have food. But i think sending him to a gurudwara was a better option.

cut

I had sent you two mails but both bounced back. Please send a test mail on my ID. i will save your ID.

cut

Thanks for spending your precious time on my blog. I will respond to the comments in due course.

cut

And finally, while driving, please don't cut it too fine.

EXSENO said...

I really think that cell phones should be band when driving except in emergencies when a person need help, it a good thing to have like if your car breaks down or something like that.

You really did have a bad day. But the good deed that you did for that man well out weighs the bad things that happened to you and sometime in someway you will be rewarded for that kindness.
So smile now and give yourself a pat on the back you desired it.

Anonymous said...

'ToDay in Bits' is an interesting posting with beautiful cuts, between seminar, beggar, rikshawala, scorpio gauy and fuel funda.
Actually it all happened because of your keys playing peek-e-boo
with you.
Keeping a key alarm with you for emergency will be safer. Howz it?

Giving to a needy one is good. But every begger is not needy
now. Its now a profession-means dhanda.Withot work they grab hundreds of rupees by evening, while rikshawala have to pull passengers from day dawn to dusk.

Today's Bits are keys for many problems we people have to face daily on the road while driving, which can be the titles of your next blogs.

Your good hold on expressing your thoughts needs applauds.

God Bless you!

Dhindsa

Devika Jyothi said...

Hi Mampi..
remember me?

Not read you much --may be one or two earlier...

So I do not know to which city you belong..Sounded Delhi..Always wondered does the city make a snob out of one?? I could relate..try hard to keep my calm.

Good cuts!
will come again...
blogs (first two in my profile) updated) Do come when you find time...

my space said...

mampi..Lol!! Badi eventful jindagi haigi ji!!Itti saari baatein kewal kuch minto mein??
As for seminar...they are ALWAYS bad...Prof`s are so full of themselves that there`s no place for new insights and ideas...
Beggar..Yara kabhi kabhi koi genuine bhi hota hain...har baar baal ki khaal nahi nikalni chahiye
Scorpio..Good...6-8 suna deti toh bhi sahi tha..
On the whole...sahi hain boss ;-)
btw...u teach English in a college? Degree or junior?

Salil said...

Mampi,
My suggestion would be to help people as much as you can. From what I understand a Rs.10 would hardly mean anything to you, but it means a WHOLE LOT for the beggar.
And anger, well I guess you need to learn to control it, particularly on the roads. Anger never helped solve matters; it only helps complicate matters.
I hope you wouldnt have to meet the guy in the Scorpio ever again. And don't jump to conclusions on his upbringing please. Appearances never mean anything.
CUT...
Chill. Have a good weekend.
Cheers,
Salil (an old mellowed person :-))

Anonymous said...

Take it easy dear. I know you need a break.........
Enjoy your vacations.
Love u.

Sudipta Chatterjee said...

Wow.... you've been having an interesting day! :)

Am back here after a long time, and will take me some time to catch up with all of them. Can you take a look at the issue here and spread the word?

Pinku said...

u been tagged...so quickly to comply :)

and no being a lazy goose on it...I know you have two others also waiting in queue...but u know me not much patience...so for your sanity's sake make it quick.

PARRY said...

All I'm sure of is that you did not 'cut' short that day's 'bits' by narrating the incidents and experiences without leaving any 'bit' to our imagination.

Anonymous said...

Some days are like that ... and seminars - they are just to inflate some peoples' egos, that is all! The dude in the Scorpio should go to Papaji and ask him for a blue tooth for his phone. That may help him live longer

~nm said...

I was quite amused by the time I finished reading the post. Diversity in unity :D

Mampi said...

Balvinder-I am glad you enjoyed it. Beggar nu sarey number, meinu kinney?

Exsenso-Oh you really think I did a good thing?

Mama-You are right, actually it was the keys that played the mischief. Alarm is a good idea. Lai aona ikk.

Devika-Of course I remember you dear. Thanks for coming again. Well, yes I think city does make a snob out of one-to some extent.

MySpace-Kuch minto mein nahi yaar, its only like a film, lifetime guzar jati hai 3 hours mein, nahi? so it is all that happened over the day. I teach in a college.

Salil-Thank you. I do try to guard myself against road rage. It does no good to anyone.

KiranG-thankoo.

Sudipta-You were missed here. You got too busy eh? I got the link and will try to do something about it.

Pinku-Homework done. BTW there are 4 tags in the waiting, not two, hehehehe. Height of laziness.

Parry-Nah, I narrated almost everything, except the boring seminar thingy. Want them details?

PhoenixRitu-Absolutely, the ‘scholars’ sounded very confused, they tried to confuse us and the entire confusion was led to the lunch room where all that everyone did was socialize. No one talked about the theme or the issue involved in the seminar.

~nm-Thank you busy bee. Keep coming back.

Devika Jyothi said...

Mampi:

so nice to have your response...

infact I was waiting for this..
was feeling a bid bad myself,if my comment was offensive..that was not intended at all.

I am happy that you agree largely to it..


My Socio -Politial blog is updated..would love your comments.

man in painting said...

LOL
i love your style..
like a script...
are you planning one?
MIP

Parry said...

Hmm! takes me back to the now posh Sarabha Nagar Gurdev Nagar dividing road. Thanks for the virtual trip!

Inexplicably said...

He he he ! That sounds just like me ! And thats a scary thought :))))))