Demeaning Demeanour

A dirge for amiability

          In a fracas was I embroiled
          Early this morning as I toiled
          With attempts to reach office thwarted
          I don't even know how it started.

          Here I was about to turn right
          Out of nowhere came a biker to fight
          He was all indignant and uptight
          Blaming me for an oversight.

          I didn't flash the indicator early
          For him to notice, apparently
          I knew this wasn't true really
          And lost my temper very nearly.

          Still not sure how I kept it in check
          Merely brushing him away like a fleck
          I did switch off my stereo deck
          To hear the tirade of this jerk.

          He insisted I stop so we can chat
          I couldn't agree to something like that;
          And went on driving with no further thought
          Other than a wish to swat him like a gnat.

          At this snub to his whiny prattle
          He upgraded it to a full-blown battle
          Bulldozing his way like stray cattle
          He followed me mouthing his tattle.

          An unexpected support was given
          Not to me, but the story's villain
          The security through which he had driven
          Inexplicably chose his side to be in !

          I reached the end of my tether
          And told them not to be a bother
          In the same breath to the other
          Wanted to add an expletive about his mother.

          Better sense prevailed instead
          And good that nothing was said
          Not wanting the ill-will to spread
          I just simply drove ahead.

          If I were to objectively gauge
          All that happened till this stage
          Couldn't help; for I'm no sage
          Feeling a victim of road rage.

Novus Annum

Mellow Eve

What's the deal with midnight parties ? Be it birthdays or anniversaries or new years, people seem to think greeting precisely at 00:00 hours is a cool thing to do. While I've no particular preference either way it is amusing to be 'remembered' only on occasions.Not to mention the plans,which should include in some variation or the other all these - drinks,friends,games,movies,food. I made no such till the last day and to be frank the plan was no different to what we do on some of the other 364 days of the year. We just gathered at a friend's place and with a movie running we gorged on pizza, muffins and soda. Midnight was an excuse to add a mixed fruit cake to the list and we called it a day or night or year or whatever.

Frenzied Day

If I were sentimental or superstitious, I would have believed in making it a great day in the asinine hope that the rest of the year will follow suit. Having gone through the first half of it, I was wishing it wouldn't. My sister was planning to visit later this month and while here she wanted to renew her visa. The task of getting a bank receipt for appointment befell me.A task of no taxing proportions or unexpected twists. But life seldom goes that way.

Given that I drive a car whose registration number belongs to another state, I'm forever on the lookout for our esteemed civil servants aka traffic cops. Life on the lam like a fugitive describes my attempts to stay out of their path. Its no secret that they are the main reason I try and come to office early and leave after the dark. Add to that, the seemingly cramped quarters in the office car park and you'll know my reluctance. Taking the car out from there is the equivalent of getting up from your seat in a general compartment on the train. You'll be lucky to get into it again.

Fortunately there was a simplistic solution to my conundrum - to borrow a bike from a colleague. The first crisis erupted when I reached the basement. While it looked impossible to fit in a bicycle when I was looking to park the car, it was now obvious that at least a million bikes could be parked easily.The whole place was teeming with them and I had no hope of locating my colleague's despite his instructions on how to reach it. After a futile 10 minutes spent in the proverbial needle in haystack search, I had to call him to personally identify it for me.

The bank in question had branches all over the town and from past experience I knew the receipt could be obtained from Bhandarkar road branch which as fate would have it was located farthest from my office. More in desperation than hope, I headed to the nearest branch which was 5 min away. Hearing my request, the person at the help desk advised me to try Bhandarkar road branch. Probably seeing my crestfallen face, she added, "or the boat club road branch" immediately perking me up. The latter wasn't exactly a stone's throw away, but was better than the former. Another 10 min ride.

The cubbyhole size of the boat club road branch didn't inspire much confidence, I doubted if it could host anything more than an ATM, but I plowed on. My fears were vindicated when I was asked to visit yet again the Bhandarkar road branch or Deep bungalow chowk branch. By now I should have learnt my lesson and headed straight to the tried and tested subdivision of the bank, but I was in no mood to concede defeat so soon.

Deep bungalow chowk branch had no problems whatsoever with its dimensions and in fact assured me that I had made the right choice. The huge queues everywhere justified my decision that this buzzing area must indeed be the place. After a 15 min waiting period, the customer rep brought me crashing to earth. Bhandarkar road it is she said. This time I knew I was beaten and headed straight to where I should have gone in the first place.

The only good thing I did while bouncing like a bad cheque from one branch to another was to have the presence of mind to withdraw the requisite fee. The transaction took 10 min flat and I was out of the bank and on my way back to office in what was a good hour later than otherwise it would have been. So much for a good start to the new year. Sigh !