For a couple of rupees extra!
November 2007,City Bus Stand, Mysore..January 2008, Majestic bus Stand, Bangalore..March 2008 Main Bus Stand, Chandigarh..May 2008, Main Bus Stand, Shimla..June 2008, Main Bus Stand, Ludhiana..Since Ages, ISBT, Delhi..And God knows where else, I found something peculiar. One common thread is woven into the fabric of these places. The feel of belonging to same country which you get here makes you wonder about existence of lines that people have drawn based on language and customs!
The boldness with which a Punjabi vendor sold half litre pepsi bottle was akin to the nerve with which a Kannada chaiwala sold his tea, and made me wonder whether same mother bore them? The whiff of biscuits at ISBT, Bangalore reminded me of ISBT at Delhi and a smile came on lips at the thought of the similarity with which I get lost in the crowd at both places!And almost same story repeated itself at Shimla, Chandigarh..everywhere! Welcome to the grandeur, majesty and generosity with which the multitude of The Republic of India carries itself, day by day, negating the adversities and... huh..I got carried away.. I almost started to feel proud at the striking similarity at these Main Bus Stands spanning length and breadth of the nation..Alas! I would have to stop myself here..
Half Litre Pepsi..MRP is Rs 20, sold at Rs 23-25..Any Biscuit priced at Rs 10, sold at Rs 12-14..Any damn mineral water bottle, sold at atleast 2-4 Rs higher than its price..The rates are shamefully in unison at these places. Not even a single item for which you would pay on its MRP! As if the overpricing racket is run by the same cartels there..
The question for me is not about parting off with a couple of rupees extra. How would that matter to me? The question is about having to pay extra on a mineral water bottle for which I have already paid tax in its MRP which is decided by the blasted manufacturer themselves!! Not even a shard of integrity and every time I buy such material, I become a party to this racket. And if you even try ever to argue about overpricing, you are shown other way with utmost repect reserved only for an elderly lady beggar!
I have shared this with many people at the expense of inviting ridicule from some fellas who find it imprudent to carry any concern about overpricing. "After all you are a software engineer, you are not going to be poorer if you part with a few rupees extra!".The thing as I said above is not about a few extra rupees, its about being at the effect of a disgustingly unworkable and preverted system. The same, abovementioned people are found cribbing at the horror inspiring stench coming out of public toilets! Weird it might sound, but those deluxe facilities are a result of the same attitude which lets the vendors at the ISBTs of almost all of our cities,come out with whatever they want to take from us for something definitely worth lesser.We sell ourself cheaper, bad enough for us! The joke is on us actually!
Been there, done that! I once asked a fella after all why does he take extra-MRP money for something? Its cheating! He said bhaisaab bijli-paani ka kharcha kaun dega? aur ye police-walo ka kya kare? And I got, every penny looted from me goes to stuff someone else's pockets! No counter arguments, I sort of pitied poor guy bullied by the havaldars and took out the Rs 15 for a Rs 12 mineral water bottle and handed it to him,which I immediately regretted. Some mindless pervert, who has never been to these bus stands must have coined - "Jaago grahak Jaago"
JAAGO!!lol..my foot!!
The boldness with which a Punjabi vendor sold half litre pepsi bottle was akin to the nerve with which a Kannada chaiwala sold his tea, and made me wonder whether same mother bore them? The whiff of biscuits at ISBT, Bangalore reminded me of ISBT at Delhi and a smile came on lips at the thought of the similarity with which I get lost in the crowd at both places!And almost same story repeated itself at Shimla, Chandigarh..everywhere! Welcome to the grandeur, majesty and generosity with which the multitude of The Republic of India carries itself, day by day, negating the adversities and... huh..I got carried away.. I almost started to feel proud at the striking similarity at these Main Bus Stands spanning length and breadth of the nation..Alas! I would have to stop myself here..
Half Litre Pepsi..MRP is Rs 20, sold at Rs 23-25..Any Biscuit priced at Rs 10, sold at Rs 12-14..Any damn mineral water bottle, sold at atleast 2-4 Rs higher than its price..The rates are shamefully in unison at these places. Not even a single item for which you would pay on its MRP! As if the overpricing racket is run by the same cartels there..
The question for me is not about parting off with a couple of rupees extra. How would that matter to me? The question is about having to pay extra on a mineral water bottle for which I have already paid tax in its MRP which is decided by the blasted manufacturer themselves!! Not even a shard of integrity and every time I buy such material, I become a party to this racket. And if you even try ever to argue about overpricing, you are shown other way with utmost repect reserved only for an elderly lady beggar!
I have shared this with many people at the expense of inviting ridicule from some fellas who find it imprudent to carry any concern about overpricing. "After all you are a software engineer, you are not going to be poorer if you part with a few rupees extra!".The thing as I said above is not about a few extra rupees, its about being at the effect of a disgustingly unworkable and preverted system. The same, abovementioned people are found cribbing at the horror inspiring stench coming out of public toilets! Weird it might sound, but those deluxe facilities are a result of the same attitude which lets the vendors at the ISBTs of almost all of our cities,come out with whatever they want to take from us for something definitely worth lesser.We sell ourself cheaper, bad enough for us! The joke is on us actually!
Been there, done that! I once asked a fella after all why does he take extra-MRP money for something? Its cheating! He said bhaisaab bijli-paani ka kharcha kaun dega? aur ye police-walo ka kya kare? And I got, every penny looted from me goes to stuff someone else's pockets! No counter arguments, I sort of pitied poor guy bullied by the havaldars and took out the Rs 15 for a Rs 12 mineral water bottle and handed it to him,which I immediately regretted. Some mindless pervert, who has never been to these bus stands must have coined - "Jaago grahak Jaago"
JAAGO!!lol..my foot!!
posted by Aditya at 12:08 PM
5 Comments:
When you travel by train,this feeling increases to the optimum level..
same thing happened with me when i was coming from bangalore.. i asked that fellow that why he was charging that couple of rupees extra and he said , "Saab,sub rishwatkhor hai yahan,ismein se sirf ek rupaya mujhe milega,sub yahan khaane ko baithe hai!" Those were the exact words..
We can't do anything dude.. because we are alone.. i have thought so much on this.. its like a Bermuda Triangle, you can think over it,can do lot of research,but there is no result.. the only thing we can do is to write about it.. doesn't help.. doesn't matter.. as nobody cares..
aahh..I thought that the last thing I wanted was a pessimistic reply..but to think of it, I am pessimistic about it too!! not even hoping for a miracle...
we are not pessimistic dude.. this situation is pessimistic..
same difference yaar..watever way we say it..nothin is happening!
Hm, it affirms that we are a nation of beggars. Amidst all this humanity we've learnt to be selfish instead of a compassion that can evident in the smallest of services that we provide to our fellowmen (yes, lets at least start with the men).
That "I will get nothing" man is only begging you, but obviously there is nobody to put the concept of dignity in their heads; if he were to be making one ruppee in selling a bottle then he'd rather be begging at temples and he knows that. But obviously he has to show himself in a state of helplessness and us rich overlords to bring him out of it.
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