Fleece While You Can

As I a turned at a red light to take what I thought was a free-left, I was pulled over by a cop, who was part of a group of three and told sternly that I had run a red light. I politely pointed out that there was no board saying  "No Free Left" -- which is when one is supposed to stop at a red light for a left turn.

No, the cop insisted, if the left turn is regulated by a light, then there is no need for a board. Please hand over your license. I did -- he looked it over and then said -- since this is an out_of_state_license i'll offer you a discount (50%!). I politely declined the discount and said I would pay the entire amount in return for a receipt. And I did.

"Courtesy" to state guests apart, here's my point. A fundamental traffic rule changed overnight -- no free lefts allowed any more at signals with traffic lights. If I reach a traffic light that is already red, I have no way of know whether the traffic light governs the free left or not.

Neither was the rule socialized, nor was a "No Free Left" board placed at the junction. The method of communication was to stop me and fleece me (pay a bribe or pay a fine).

The cops were lying in wait precisely because they knew that drivers were not aware of the change. Once people get to know, there will be no cops at the junction. Which basically means -- the purpose of a traffic cop is to fleece unsuspecting drivers, not punish habitual rule-breakers.

Isn't this totally unethical?

Thugs, Robbers and Dacoits!

I've already blogged about HSBC's thuggery and unscrupulous banking methods. The call I got today, however, completely took away the cake, the baker and the bakery for good measure.

HDFC wanted me to take their lifetime free Titanium credit card which apparently comes with a slew of great "features" (the CSR took more than a minute to describe them). I listened politely and then politely refused. The CSR, however, was persistent and began to tell me how very beneficial the card would be and ... At that point I politely told her that I had had a bad experience with "lifetime free" credit cards and didn't want another one.

She asked, was that an HDFC card I had problems with? No, I replied, that was HSBC. She brightened immediately. Ma'am, she began -- HDFC is different. Our lifetime free card is very different. It actually carries an annual fee of Rs 199. Only if you SPEND more than Rs 5000 within the first three months, you become eligible to call and ask for a waiver of the fee!

This would classify as funny if only it didn't seem so totally unethical.

Kailash cannot be

Years ago my sister lived in Delhi and laughed at the names of places. There were, she said, areas called "East of Kailash", "Greater Kailash I", Greater Kailash II". But where was Kailash?

Well, I now live in Bangalore and understand...

We have two Ring Roads. One is called the Inner or Intermediate Ring Road. The other, in order to completely avoid confusion is called Outer Ring Road! So where, exactly is RING Road?

I am certain, even if a circular road gets built between the two Ring Roads, it will be called something like Middle Ring Road or Second Ring Road (correct whichever way you start counting ;-)). Ring Road cannot be ;-).

Neither can Kailash ;-)

Perfection is Illusory

I was asked, "Have you straightened your hair recently?" for the third time in one week. My reply was the same as always, "No, I was born with this hair". The response "Oh, I straighten my hair periodically, otherwise it looks awful" set me thinking about contemporary "issues".

Is my hair straight enough?
Is my skin fair enough?
Are my eyebrows shapely enough?
Are my nails shaped enough?
Is my figure perfect enough?
And on and on ...

As we answer these questions to the satisfaction of the bottom-lines of the "aesthetics" industry, till reach what is the most important question of all: Is my self-esteem high enough? I wonder what percentage of the population will be able to say yes to that one ...

Why Fight?

As we wait for the Ayodhya verdict, I was trying to explain the issue to my 7 year old. I said, people couldn't  decide whether there should be a temple or a mosque in Ayodhya, so they started fighting. Now the judges will tell them what there should be.

His reaction -- but they are both places of worship. So then why fight?

Indeed. Why?

Update: here's how I explained the judgment that came in. The judges said, stop fighting and build BOTH!