The Venerable “Mama”
As most of the people I know. know, that I am not allowed to drive for six months. So yesterday a friend graciously offered me a lift. I had to pick up a report from poona hospital and he had some work on lakshmi road. As everyone knows that area is famous for its ever changing one ways. Unfortunately we happened to go wrong side on one such road. I can swear I didn’t see a board saying one way anywhere. As we came out at the other end we were to be stopped, by who else, but our Venerable Mama. He was actually sitting on his bike waiting for someone to go wrong side. This is our conversation( My friend wishes to remain anonymous so i will just refer to him as You-Know-Who.)
MAMA: ” Thamba!!(Sounding like a trumpet.) Kai re. Dole nahi ahet ka. Disat nahi ka he wrong side ahe.License ani PUC.
My friend obliged.
MAMA:”Hmm…(With a mouthful of gutkha.) . Chala ata 300 rupay fine bhara .
(We didn’t have that much money..actually, Plus I think the actual fine is less.)
So we pleaded our case. And usual the Mama relented and finally came down to 50.
It was literally like buying vegetables from the market. You keep bargaining till you agree on the price.
This made me think.(Something really really wrong. I am thinking too much these days.)
What is the use of Mama sitting at the other end. Shouldn’t he try to prevent rather than punish. I have never seen any traffic policeman shooing people away from a no entry. The whole purpose of punishing is that going wrong side is dangerous. So what do they want to do . Fine people after they have been in a life threatening accident??? How can people who have been given such responsible jobs be so negligent, greedy and corrupt?
I wanted to ask him all these questions. Fight about them. But then I did something that all of us do all the time.
I turned a blind eye towards it and walked away…………………………..
