It was not the first time that mama had caught me.
'wtf, not now', I thought. I was already late to the class. And moreover, I had everything that could make him happy. DL, Insurance certificate, RC book, Emission...
Unnecessary waste of time, I told myself.
'Oh! Hosa gaadi. Ella torsbidappa(!)', he said.
(Oh! New vehicle. Show everything)
I showed him my driving license. He looked at it and murmered something.
After that, he bent down and picked up a few Re. 5 coins that I had dropped unknowingly, when I took out my purse, and gave them to me.
'Enayya, tumba dudd ittidya?'
(Have lot of money, eh?)
I smiled wide so as to both respond to his quip and also thank him.
He turned away as if to look out for another giraki.
Now I turned leftwards. A guy dressed like a Kannada film industry upcoming star(Ganesh, say) was smiling unnaturally and handing out 200 bucks to the inspector. He was obviously bribing him.
I rode away.
But while I was still riding, I thought 'Why did he give me my money which he could have easily pocketed while I went away, if all that he wanted was money? That too, he took extra pains in bending down, a loss of his prestige!'
'May be, we are all inherently good, we become bad.' I thought.
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hahah... nice.. maybe the poor guy was hinting u to give some money considering his sincerity..
ReplyDeletehaha.. I hadn't thought from this angle!
ReplyDeletehad he taken ur money...that would amount to stealing right? which is not the same as taking bribes...u can expect a policeman to accept bribes(it is wrong, but a truth widely acknowledged) but u can't expect him to steal!...and Ganesh is not an upcoming star...he is a superstar! :)
ReplyDeleteok, accepted. Ganesh is a 'Superstar'.
ReplyDeleteDoes he eat '5 Star'?
I am not sure about the exactness but i have heard from people that all the money that is being collected doesn't go to the inspector or other people. Whenever a party wins in some region, the MLAs and MPs ask other officers(to even IAS and IPS) to collect money for the political parties (money to spend in elections). They have deadlines and fixed amount that they need to collect in a given time period, from a particular region (like we have assignments or projects in IIT). And this system is in every city of India that works underneath. So mostly those who collect the money, are not that dishonest and receive a very small percentage of it (the money is distributed in the hierarchy according to their position).
ReplyDeleteI will again say, i have heard from people and don't have any authentic source of information.
Anyways, nice posting.
I too had an idea about this thing happening. I think it does happen. Also, I know of a few exceptions who evidently have to sacrifice one thing or the other. As always, there is no free lunch!
ReplyDeletehey saako ninn expert opinion.. wen u had all the documents wat can he do? and obviously he may not like to steal.. so wats the big deal man.. yeno last alli style alli one-liner bariteeya.. we are all good anthe..
ReplyDeleteAccepting(demanding) bribes is also a form of stealing. What I hinted at was the habit pattern we are accustomed to.
ReplyDeletePicking up the coins, I felt, was a not so conscious an act, while bribing was a behaviour, put on for various reasons(peer pressure, survival of the fittest and whatever other reasons which we, corrupt, give).
hmmm... I remember somebody bribing me to comment in the blog :P....
ReplyDeleteyou owe me a pound mate :D
I agreed for only half a pound :D
ReplyDeletejokes apart... short and sweet agi chennagide :)
ReplyDeletehinge blog madta iru nan comment madta irtini :D
Hehe...nicely written. Also, i didn't know u call 'em mama in Bangalore. Thats wat we call policemen in Nagpur n elsewhere in Maharashtra.
ReplyDeleteThey are called by more names man. Only I dont want to name them all here!
ReplyDeleteRs. 5 gey... yenu sigalla maga..nowadays adhakke
ReplyDeleteWouldn't he have picked up a Rs. 50 note for me had it fallen off? I think he might have. Just might have!
ReplyDeletebtw, yaaru maga/magLe nivu?
ReplyDeletehmmm...nice short clip
ReplyDeletemaga.. neenu next time Rs.50 note bekoo antha keLage beeLsu.. amele nodu kodtaana illa antha.. but leave this apart.. i have problem only with ur final line.. y do yu first project a mama as bad and then make him a hero.. all mamas may not be like him.. moreover.. once he knows that he cant demand bribe from you.. wat he does next (picking up ur 5 Re coins) is just normal behaviour..
ReplyDeleteNinu Rs.50 note nange kodu modlu, beeLsthini.
ReplyDeleteaithu blore bandaaga koDteeni..
ReplyDeletebega baaaaaaaaaa
ReplyDelete