mumbai local (part II)

It was a Saturday; I was heading towards UD for completing some office procedures of my viva. When I reached Kanjurmargh Station, it was already 15 mins to 12. The board near the counter said it will close at 12. Still I decided to try my luck and continued in the long queue. But for the bad luck I was not able to get the ticket before the counter got closed. Like the fellow passengers I tried to get some coupons instead of ticket for my travel and arranged it from a fellow passenger. The time punching machine was also not working so I used the date, time stamp to validate the coupons and continued my journey.

As I reached matunga station, I was welcomed by the Ticket checking staff. After checking my ticket he found out that the time stamp was of previous day so that I became a passenger without valid ticket. He asked me for fine of Rs 360. I got amazed, mistake was on both sides. First the railway hasn’t placed the proper date time stamp, second I haven’t checked the date before punching. So I was not at all ready to give fine for the partial mistake of mine. He guided me to the office and presented me to his senior. I explained the story but he was also not ready to accept the partial fault and asked me to pay the fine.  The situation was getting worse and he gave me an alternative of going to jail for not paying the fine. I told him that I am a student and currently not having enough money to pay the fine and opened my purse and shown him the id card from it. He took the purse from me and started searching for money in it. At that moment it came to my mind, there was Rs 500 note in my purse which is already kept in an open pocket of it which he can easily find and if he does, he will never spare me. Meanwhile the inspector saw the “bunch” of ATM cards in it and asked me to take money from nearby ATM counter and pay the fine. As the cards were of zero balance account ones I was not having cash in them. I told him the truth. To my surprise or for a higher degree of luck he checked all the pockets except the one having 500Rs and much later after a series of arguments, he set me free without any fine. Had he found the money, I would have been also charged for telling lie, which ultimately effects in non refund of even a single penny from the cash which I had in my purse.

Multiple Personality Disorder ??

Now a days, I am having a habit of opting Bus for my return travel from UD. Even though it takes much time to reach, has some postulates; first of all I don’t need to get crushed in the fully packed train compartment, second I can utilize my Mumbai Magic Bus Pass which is an economically feasible option, and for the last, a ride in a semi filled vessel through the streets of Mumbai in night is an awesome experience if u get a window seat to sit.

On such return trip, I was sitting on a window seat and enjoying a beautiful melody from hariharan on my ipod. It was a Friday night where the bus was not at all filled. Still all seats were pre occupied. A guy was sitting just a seat in front of me. He was buzy in filling the crossword given in a daily newspaper and as I can see, he almost finished the same. From the next stop, a young couple got in. they were standing just near to the seat in front of me. The guy, who was buzy in filing the crossword, changed his attention from it and turned towards the young girl. Couple of minutes later, he just offered his seat to the girl and joined the passengers who were standing. I was amazed by his act. Neither it was a ladies reserved seat nor he was about to get down in next stop. Whatever, it was a brilliant”sacrifice” from him.

I was nearing my destination.  When I got up from my seat, I saw the guy who sacrificed his seat was quarrelling with an elderly lady. The old lady was calling her daughter who was standing behind with a child in her hand, to a just arisen seat vacancy. The guy was also trying for the same seat and he succeeded in occupying it. It was another amazing act from him. The one who left his occupied seat for a younger, beautiful girl: was not at all ready to give chance for an older woman or a lady with a child in her hand,  Yes… it was also a brilliant act from him, may be the one holds a step above which he has performed just earlier. Does itz called Multiple Personality Disorder ??

9-1-1

“Hello Dindoshi police station..”

“Hello, I am ranjith calling from powai”

“Ok. What can I do for you?”

“Sir, some of my friends went to Karnala fort, near Panvel and now they are not able to find a way to get out of there, they are totally lost in the jungle. Can you help “

“Hello. We are somewhat away from the location that you told. This is Dindoshi police station, you are in Powai and they are lost in Panvel, and the either Powai or Panvel is not under our area, so I can’t help. You try to call 100 and register the complaint there”

“Sir, I have already tried on 100 but no one is picking up the phone, as I am not having any nearby police station number and this is the only number I have. So if you can’t help them please get me any nearby police station number so that I can call them and ask for help.”

“I don’t have any phone number of other police stations”

“Sir, please try to understand the situation, sir any contact number for nearby……”

Before I finish it was disconnected in the other end. I was making the call to police station in a Sunday eve to ask help for rescue my friends who were totally lost mid in the jungle while their weekend trekking trip. But who was supposed to help me was not even ready to hear complete from me.

I resumed searching contact number of any other police station nearby, meanwhile I got a helpline number of Mumbai police. I dialed the same…

‘Welcome to Mumbai police helpline, you are not selected the language yet. Please enter 1 for Marathi, 2 for Hindi and 3 for English ‘

When I pressed 3, it resumed…

‘Press 1 for information on road map, 2 to inform us about traffic jam, press 3 to inform us about an accident……’

Oh... itz Mumbai traffic police, I won’t get a help from them, they will already be buzy with solving the traffic jams in and around the city on this buzy Sunday eve…

I disconnected the phone and returned to the internet explorer on my laptop screen. Finally got a contact number for panvel station I dialed it...

“Hello, Taloja police station”

“Hello Sir, myself ranjith, calling from Powai. Some of my friends who went for a trekking near Karnala fort has lost their way and right now in mid of the jungle. Can you help them to get out of there “

“Ok, how come you know that they are lost their way?”

“Sir, they called me and asked to pass information to any nearby police station as they haven’t any contact numbers of nearby stations. Their Mobile phones are working and I can provide you the numbers so that you people can contact them directly and locate them. Or can I give your number to them? “

“Actually I am not able to locate the place what you said, we are already away from the Panvel section. Still we will try our best to help them, you give this number to them and meanwhile we will also try to contact them. And I will provide you some contact numbers of police stations nearby panvel. You gave those numbers also to them”

“Sir these are my friends contact numbers. Please do something to help them”

“Sure. We will do the needful and tell your friends that don’t panic and we are coming”

“Ok sir, thank you very much”

“Welcome”

I was totally impressesed by the way he spoke and handled the situation. He was also in the same situation as the Dindoshi police was. He was also away from the location and can’t even understand where the Karnala fort and all is. Still has an attitude to help. This was very much needed if you are a public servant who is supposed to help the public.

Later I called my friends and gave the contact numbers of nearby police stations. Surprisingly, he said that, the person from Taloja Police station already contacted them and they are on the way….. !

PS: within 3 hours, the police was able to find the trekking group and returned them to Panvel…

the silver screen

Every Friday, I am having an interesting job to finish in my To-Do list. Checking out for the new Malayalam movie releases in the town especially in the multiplexes, So that I can plan for it in the weekend. Because of either less number of Hindi and English movie releases or more Malayalam movies coming out, every weekend I have a new movie to watch.

I was thinking of the scenario 20 yrs back. When I was on 1^st or 2^nd standard. My parents took me to the theatre for a movie. It was “vaishali” the bharathan flick which was running on packed houses at that time. But I was not able to finish the movie, because in the first scene itself I started crying out loudly on seeing a snake in the screen. My mom took me out of the cinema hall and later to home. After that while going for movies I was asked to give a promise that I won’t cry or abandon the movie in the middle. So when a horror scene comes I will just close my eyes and place my fingers on ears to plug out myself from the scene.

It took another 8 Years to change the scenario. Up to that my watching movies were limited to the ones coming on Doordarsan on Sunday evenings. While I was in 8^th standard, I and one of my friends planned to go for a movie. After long time I was back to cinema hall. I can count it as the “first movie” that I saw from a cinema hall. A memorable one.

Later the history repeated, in my +2 days, I joined for entrance coaching in a remote location, where my classes are on morning sessions only. So every Sunday we headed to the nearby cinema halls to watch movies. As it was away from home no one can trace me. The freedom of invisibility…

The scene was quite different in college days. I never missed a released Malayalam Movie. either we watch them in the releasing week from the A class theater or if its not sustaining that much time there, catch from the nearby C class theater in the next week. We were not dared to walk for even 8-10 Km to reach hostel after 2^nd show. In the time of movie award nominations in news papers we usually count the number of movies in last year that we “missed“. The number never gone above 10 out of 50 or 60 movies released in a year.

I still remember the first movie from a multiplex. It was “Zinda” from, PVR, New Delhi, and followed by “Rang De Basanti” from the same while our B.Tech project days. Even though while in UD we depend on the pre-dvd rip, net and DC++ downloads of new movies, I never missed the cinema hall experience. Frequently we go out for the Malayalam and Hindi movies in the nearby single screen. After 20 years, even today also I really got excited on going for a movie and at the same level, worry that whether I will get a ticket in the rush…

PS : So Movie for this week, “Palerimanikyam, oru pathira kolapaathakathinte katha”, starring Mammootti, Directed by Ranjith on 5^th Dec, 20.00 IST, Big Cinemas in R city mall. Ghatkoper….. Would you like to join me …??

Inspiration

"Very often i must wait weeks and weeks for what you call 'inspiration' " by richard nordguist

I do believe in these words. But i waited not even weeks, but for months and haven’t found any yet to write an article in this blog…but still waiting for something to change the scene….