The lost case

I've been piling up a lot of frustration over the last three days, but I've been unusually calm. It's actually not a good sign. I felt terrified about when I was going to explode, who was going to face the slack and how badly it was going to end. I say a simple prayer everyday. "God, please give me the patience to control the urge of punching someone today. I don't think I have it in me to take a return blow." So, blogging about it seemed to be the best idea. I was getting my head around a nice and subtle way to put it out there, which surprisingly was taking my mind off the frustration. But, now, I'm not going to write about that, because I woke up this morning and the first thing I read was: Andhra court issues warrant against MSD. It stumped everything else out of priority.

Disclaimer: I'm obviously going to write totally against it, so, if you are not going to like it, please exit now and we can avoid a war of words later. 

Answers to FAIQs (Frequent Asked Irritating Questions):

1. Yes, I'm such a huge fan/admirer of Dhoni and that has nothing to do about my feelings here. Even if Gambhir/Yuvraj (my least favorite players from the WC winning squad) were in this position, I'd be totally against it. Maybe if it was Nehra/Munaf Patel, I'd still be against it, but, I'm sure I would've had a bit of a laugh too.

2. I belong to the same allegedly 'denigrated' religion in discussion here and I'm a staunch believer in God. But, NO, I don't feel that my religious sentiments are protected one bit more than the way it was before this complaint was filed.

3. No, I will not 'unfriend' you on FB even if we did argue over this. We probably just don't agree about this. It's fine with me.

4. I shared the 'The Hindu' version of this article because I didn't want to hurt the religious sentiment of my blog. Content is the religion of a blog.

To me, the first most disturbing thing about this news was that when more than 50% of the population don't even have time to read Business Today, there was one guy, who (1) saw this, (2) noticed the Reebok shoe among the many other things, (3) connected it to the prospect of handing God a shoe (the brand probably bothered him - Nike/Adidas fan?) (4) got his religious sentiments fatakkk-thattaak broken (Awwww!), (5) took time and effort to file a case (and money - mostly funded, because the character profile doesn't seem the spending-from-pocket type) and (6) the worst of all - DID NOT get thrown out of court. This last point, to me, is most frustrating.

Frankly, I want to file a few law suits too.

Did Dhoni really wear make-up and pose for Business Today or was it just a Photoshop thing? It kind of feels a bit of a let down if he did. My religious sentiments got a tad hurt. Well, cricket is kind of a religion, isn't it?

Suit 1: If he did, as a cricket fan, I want to sue him for wasting time instead of spending that time training for England.

Religious (cricket) sentiments: 1, Indian Cricket: 0

This news piece has got some media publicity because a celebrity (one of the top most) is involved. But, I'm sure there are so many cases like this one which puts so many innocent victims through a lot of pain and stress. People accused of rape will not be punished severely (because that's inhuman - rape is not), people who face massive corruption charges are released on bail and their arrival is celebrated as if they went to jail for freedom struggle (point to re-note here is that they were only released on bail, not cleared of the charges - ha ha, who am I kidding?) and they contest elections, people facing murder charges are in the VIP ward of a top hospital (heart attack - as usual to the rescue), thousands of such cases pending and this suit WAS NOT thrown out of court. Ah!

Suit 2: I want to sue the judicial system itself for spending the tax payers' money for this. Trust me, if they send force to England to bring him down here, I'm seriously considering it. 

Religious sentiments: 1, Judicial System: 0

So, who is this guy? Why does he take it for granted that he is the moral police of my religious beliefs. Who made him my religious sentiment hurt-level monitor? My religion is the probably one of my most personal business and why does he get to decide? And this suit WAS NOT thrown out of court.

Suit 3: I want to sue this guy who filed the law suit in the first place, because he has made it clear that the God I believe to be most supreme can become impure or whatever because he was handed a shoe. And that bloody, hurts my religious sentiments more than anything else. 

Religious Sentiments: 1, Common Sense: 0

When I mentioned this to a colleague today, the first thing he said was, "Didn't a pair of slippers rule Ayodhya (the biggest pain point  for over 2 decades in the country, in terms of religious sentiments) for 14 years?". And this suit WAS NOT thrown out of court. 

Suit 4: Issue arrest warrant to Sage Valmiki who conceived the Ramayana (or track the current living descendant) to clarify what happened there.

Religious Sentiments: 1, Actual Religious Values: 0

And this coming from an Andhra court. Isn't NTR literally considered as Lord Krishna himself? And, this suit WAS NOT thrown out of court.

Suit 5: I want to sue all those who used to perform prayers/arthi in the theatre, when NTR came on screen dressed as Krishna. I won't sue NTR, he undoubtedly pulled off the best on-screen Krishna appearances ever.

Religious Sentiments: 1, Ground Reality: 0

So, if slippers and shoes are such impure things, why don't you walk around without that? In the summer heat of Guntur, you can't afford that because your feet will turn in to pulp. So, you are degrading, no, denigrating shoes which actually feed lakhs of people who belong to the industry.

Suit 6: On behalf of everyone in the shoe making industry - Denigration, it is.

Religious Sentiments: 1, Self Respect: 0

But, what will we do? We have work to do. I have a release tomorrow and I'm writing this post instead of sleeping, only because I have to wait until QA signs off. We will worry about it when it happens to us. We will write blogs. We will post on FB. We will sit at home, in front of the idiot box, enjoy the game and complain that India doesn't play well overseas. We, are the Common Man. 

Suit 7: This lifestyle 'suits' me. Let me enjoy it, while I can.

Religious Sentiments: 1, Common Man: 0

If everyone starts suing for crap that gets printed on the media, TOI would be facing so many law suits that it will have to borrow some space from CNN-IBN to store some of the paper work. Dhoni is obviously not going to jail. But, some idiot down the line is going to keep filing law suits, because he got his psoriasis treated, but the habit of scratching something all the time stuck. A politician quips against severe punishment for rape that 'Boys will be Boys'. We will not sue him, because we are looking for a ticket in to the parliament and not out of it, right?

I'm halting there - abruptly. Not because I don't have anything more to say, but because the moment I decided that my prospects of surviving existed outside the peninsula, I lost my right to complain. All I can do is let out my frustration in the form a few sarcastic quotes. Once in a while, that NRI guilt creeps from the corner of the heart, whose existence I never knew of. 

And then, days like today happen. 

Trespassing at its worst

Warning: Too long a post. Been as subtle as possible. Excuse the explicit writing, if you notice it.

Have you ever felt like cheap labor? 

Has someone picked your pocket?

Have you gotten mugged or assaulted? 

Has your best friend slept with your girl friend?

Has your boss ever abused you? 

Has someone you trusted lied to you?

Have you ever been stood up?

Have you been denied admission to a college because of your caste?

Has someone passed a racist comment on you?

Has someone stolen something very close to your heart from you?

Have you ever felt violated?

I guess if you had answered yes to any one of the ten questions, you'd have answered yes to the follow-up as well. Now answer this.

Have you ever been raped?

Isn't that the highest degree violation of one's personal space (sex/age no bar)? Which is better, getting raped or getting killed? There isn't a difference. Personally, I'd give a tiny edge to the latter because you don't have to live with it. I'm definitely not saying that someone who has been victimized by rape cannot recover from it. I'm just saying that there isn't a punishment in this world that can be given to a rapist that would make the victim feel any less violated.

All these days when I read about rape in the news, I imagined the assaulter to be a third rate criminal you'll find in the cast of a tastelessly made gangster movie. It was so naive of me to think that these people will never run in a 'normal' social circle. Yes, the use of the word normal is very deliberate because the moment one even thinks about committing such a heinous* act, the word normal automatically dislodges from their dictionary. Of all the news that has ever been reporter by TOI or any other news agency, this series grossed me out the most. The two accused are kids (read it again in capital letters - KIDS) for heaven's sake. This incident has reportedly happened in the same locality in Coimbatore where I spent my entire childhood. The victim and accused are from my Alma mater. And stressing it again, they are college kids.

It's unfair on my part to focus on this one incident, but, the fact that it could happen right next to us sends a chill up my spine. My own sister grew up in the same locality. Some of my best friends from college and my neighborhood lived and are still living there. There are 3 major schools around the area that tens of thousands of students attend. Now, I feel bad at having laughed at my dad when he got a bit worked up if my sister was even 15 minutes late from college. I finally understand why my mom used to personally accompany her tuition students to their home if they are leaving our house after darkness falls. Of all the places in all the cities of this world, I never imagined it could happen there. I'm still unable to come to terms with the fact that it can never, ever, be 100% safe.

On one hand if we can put the blame on illiteracy and growing up in a bad environment for most cases, there's the other side of the story. There's just too much access these days. As parents, especially the ultra-rich class who just think that their kids are still kids, provide all the access they need - Credit cards, Smart phones, Ultra books, High-Speed Internet connection and what not. But, at least in countries like India where technology has penetrated into the deepest of even the rural areas, parental guidance hasn't stepped in at all. Most of the kids get their own room (in some cases their own flat) because the parents appreciated their privacy. Heck, I had my own room throughout my 4 years in college, but, I'm sure I couldn't have sneaked in as much as a safety pin in to it and my father wouldn't have found out. I'm not saying that there should be no respect for the kid's privacy. I feel it's important to talk to the kids and make them feel comfortable about discussing what's going on in school/college, who their friends are (esp in the opposite sex) and not pick on and judge every single thing the kid does.

Most victims don't come out and speak up. I wouldn't blame them either. Some reporter in TOI is always waiting to unleash his creative best in reporting this, because it's not about sense, it's about sensational (I ripped that part out of a The Hindu ad in 2011). After all the physical torture that lasted only for a few minutes, there's the social torture that's going to last a lifetime. At this juncture, how do you blame anyone for being conservative and non-trusting?

However, the most painful part about all this is that, we always find someone else to blame. Why did you go out at that time? Why did you wear this? Why did you talk to a boy? Doesn't this college take security of students seriously? Is the police department sleeping? Take the case that I had shared above, for instance. I'm sure there are at least a handful of filthy people who blame the girl to have gone to the twins' apartment. Oh yes, going to a friend's apartment is indeed a "heinous crime".

Last year, I saw an episode of Neeya Naana where a doctor said that man is a beast who wears the mask of civilization. So, provocative dressing by a woman will unleash the beast within him. She also mentioned that the middle eastern culture of a woman wearing a burka not only safe guards her from the beast but also helps her personality. I'm not sure if it's just me or did that make no sense whatsoever, no matter how scientifically proven a fact it is. This is just a classic example of mankind being an extremist. We know both extremes. We don't know balance. We don't know moderate.

Nothing, nothing ever is an excuse. Not provocative dressing. Not the time of the day. Not biology. Not geography. Not culture. Not tradition. It's just simple. No matter what, You don't rape someone. YOU DON'T RAPE ANYONE.

*Rape is a heinous crime no matter how tastefully or how violently it was committed.

Marked with shame

A minor portion of today's population has only lived during the days of freedom struggle. Most of this generation know about British ruled India as excerpts from the history classes they managed to stay awake and still listen, or from movies in which the depiction of the then India hit the right chords. A film like Indian where the hero and heroine celebrate their love for the nation by singing "Kappal eri poyaache" (Boarded the ship and left) portrays their patriotism, or so we may think. Yes, the patriotic feeling is definitely there as straight-forward and dedicated characters of that movie.

Thinking about it, how many thousands of couples, families, friends and most importantly Indians would have celebrated their love for each other that midnight, August 15th 1947. How many of those thousands do you think would have thought about the nation as a whole?

Everyone?

No, I wouldn't count on that. Though thats the big picture, don't you think a mother would have been thankful that her children would not have to go through what their forefathers suffered? Don't you think a father would have been thankful that his children, unlike him did not have to think twice about feeling at home in their own nation? Don't you think a teacher would have been happy that he could finally impart knowledge about the diverse and wonderful heritage of the nation without fear of being watched?

Obviously, it would have been a long long night, don't you think, partying and enjoying (in the 1947 style). But, when the nation went to sleep, there would have been the satisfaction of waking up to a free country, something that they had been dreaming for a long time.

The truth is that the satisfaction lasted only for a very short span, in some cases, only that night. I know you are nodding your head if you have woken up today, to the 30th September 2010. Well, what can I say? I'm just quoting "The common man" from The Wednesday (Unnai Pol Oruvan).

What did I do? What did you do? Why should I leave office at 2 PM today, when I have been working hard for the past 3 months? Why should you work from home today, when you've not hesitated to come to work even on weekends? Even if you had a severe head-ache you think twice, you think about the deadlines, you think about losing the job and most of all, your conscience tells you go on with a rub of Vicks on your forehead. True or not? I'm badly in need of that Vicks which will help me get rid of this disease that affected me because I have no choice.

Don't we all have so much in our kitty already? I have a colleague who comes to office leaving her one year old daughter at home. Everyday, she calls up home to check if her baby has eaten, slept, has any problems and so on. She is not working to live like a queen. She has her own ends that should meet. Yes, her salary is way better than the average salary of an Indian, yet it doesn't come to her for free. She sacrifices a lot, definitely more than the loss that came to a "spiritual" person (person is a common noun - any individual ANY INDIVIDUAL) who din have an "official" place to pray.

Whatever be the outcome of today, what is going to be built on a place that, in the name of God, but actually fanaticism, claimed the peace and happiness of an entire nation, according to me does not pass as a place where I can find God (again GOD is a common noun - ANY GOD)! I'm no atheist, yet I think God is someone who gives me shelter. Don't you think this is the other way around?

Every time I see a mail or a mention about why I should be "extra" careful today, it pains me. I feel like my life is taking a big, deep dive into the ocean of shame. I feel like I've not lived here for 23 years. One may wonder why I'm making a big fuss about it. Can't I be a bit alert for one day? I can. If there's a tsunami alert, I'm not going to complain that I'd not be able to spend an evening with my girlfriend at the Marina Beach. Its not that I have a girlfriend, but I'd like to have the options. If there's a cyclone formation alert, I'm not going to crib that I need to carry an umbrella/rain-coat. Well, I'd be happy if the Home Ministry is as good as the MET department. When the MET says its going to rain heavily, it most often doesn't. I always feel that a natural disaster such as an earthquake is nature's way of telling mankind to slow down. Maybe, its trying to convey that nature has evolved patiently over thousands of years to attain this degree of strength and beauty.

Today, we did not wake up fearing a natural disaster. The disaster that we all have been warned, the precautions that we have been advised to follow tells us in simple words to hang-down our heads in shame. And 99.9% of us have willingly come forward to do it. The irony is that some people including me are more worried that if everything did not go our way, we might not be able to catch Endhiran on October 1st, 2nd or 3rd. :(

I know that like me, there are millions of people who claim "If I have 10 people with me, I can bravely fight those elements that is trying to shut me in my home for political and economic benefits". But, there is the issue that has not been fixed till date - "But, who will bell the cat?" I've not written this long post to draw that this is the way things are going to be and that the cat is waiting to pounce anytime now, so its time run for our lives. What difference are we going to make? What can we do about this? I say ignore the cat. Yes, the cat will come after a mouse at a time. If there are 10 rats and only 1 cat? If there are 50 rats, 500 rats, 5000 rats or say 5 million rats and still a considerably less number of cats, its still doesn't matter.

The only thing that counts, no matter how many of us there, is how united we stay. How we interfere to help another, how that every one of us matter to every other person and how each of us try to look upon the other as his friend.

I can't change anything.

You can't change anything.

We can. My point.

Easily said, impossible when attempted is a very valid argument here. How can someone who can't love/forgive another person going to attempt this voluminous change? How can someone claim to be spiritual by fighting for a place to pray and cause harm to a fellow being? We say that the CWG situation brought us shame, where people from other country are worried about the living conditions in the CWG Village. What is happening today? Aren't we ourselves worried about the living situation here? Which is the bigger shame?

Its 3AM already and I'm going to bed, my heart pounding with anxiety and echoing with shame, with a dream, which our forefathers thought came true on 15th August 1947. The words are mine. The voice is on behalf of a billion. Be Safe today! Jai Hind!

Confusingly clear contestants

Jam packed weekend would be an under statement. The Palakkad heat is in its peak and literally the sun was putting a straw straight into our head and drinking out of it (dinggggggg!!!! an ad striking???) Thanks to the so many maamis who offered us nannari sharbath, we were able to cover up to 50 houses on saturday. Well, I'm dedicating a separate post to that (I hope so) because it was a too good experience listening to the childhood experiences of our parents from their friends. Well, listening to good things is always great.

On Sunday, after all the invitation distribution, my dad and me dropped off Srinath for his bus and returned home. My train was at 22:20 and I had booked a cab to reach the station. I had about half an hour to kill and I spent half of it lying down idly. The rest, I thought I'd dedicate to some last minute TV watching. I turned it on and a gorgeous Trisha was talking with pride (too much pride for one good film) in Coffee with Anu. I hate ads for a reason and BAM they came up. I went to the next channel and saw Kushboo in Jackpot*.

I remember the last time I saw this show. It was back in June 2006. I was in Chennai (my then home) for my semester holidays. After a heavy Sunday dinner, we were just switching channels uninterestedly, when my classmate sent me a message saying, "See Jaya TV". I told my sister to turn it on and to my surprise, saw 4 of my classmates participating. As I was explaining to my sister, who each of them is and stuff, my mobile sounded once again. The SMS from one of batchmates read, "Ellarum olunga football match paarunga da" (Everybody better see the football match).

Well, coming back to yesterday.

Kushboo (to Team 1): Nadigar Vikam, thaan thayaarikkum padathukku yaarai iyakkunaraaga niyamithullar?

Translation: Which director has Actor Vikram appointed for the movie he is producing?

I immediately said, "Sasikumar", to my dad.

Team1 Captain: (Thinks for a while and says with little confidence) Shankar!

I was like, "Oopsy! Well, do you think Vikram has that much money to crap?"

Kushboo: BOAAard?

And there was papaaaan sound. (Wrong Answer)

Kushboo: Chennai team? Unga Badhil?

Translation: Chennai Team? Your answer?

Chennai Team Captain: (Pauses, hesitates and says) Sasikumar.

I was like, "Cool!"

Kushboo: BOAAard?

And there was a kilikilikin sound. (Correct Answer).

Claps and other announcement of what gift hampers they won followed.

Kushboo: Team 1, Aduthu vara rendu kelvigalukkum neenga correct answer solliyae aaganum, Jackpot round valayadarukku.

Translation: Team 1, You have to get the next two questions right, in order to play the Jackpot round.

For a team thats almost losing, the captain seemed very cool and confident. I thought, "She's gonna nail it. Probably, she's a nerd who doesn't know much about movies, especially, tamil movies. Not a mistake."

Kushboo: Padhaviyil irukkum podhe maranam adaindha Indiya Janathipadhi yaar?

Translation: Which India PRESIDENT died when he/she was in power?

She smiled and I thought she got it. With confidence and spontaneity, she spoke.

Team 1 Captain: Indira Gandhi!

There was heavy laughter. I was dumbstruck. So was Kushboo.

Kushboo: Indira Gandhi was assassinated!!!!! And she was the prime minister.

Team 1 Captain: Answer maathamudiyaatha?

Translation: Can't the answer be changed then?

Kushboo: Maatha mudiyaadhu! Board?

Translation: No, It cannot be!

Papaaaan was the sound and she turned to Chennai team. For a moment, the camera showed a few faces in the audience and they were all in roaring laughter.

Kushboo: Neenga Jackpot round velayaada poreenga!! Unga answer?

Translation: You are gonna play the Jackpot round. What's your answer?

Now, I din know the right answer too. So, I never expected Chennai team to give the answer, but I hoped they'll name a president. She was also very quick.

Chennai Team Captain: Nehru?

The crowd again went for a roar of laughter.

Chennai Team (all 4 together giggling): Chumma oru guess thaane!

Translation: We just went for a guess!

I was like $$!%$#%!@%#$!#@%$#!%@

These ladies I believe, are part of the 33% crap thing. So, they just chose to learn only 33% of everything and Indira Gandhi happened to fall on the 67% side of the history they learnt. Can we blame them?

PS:

1) I even went through the list of Prime ministers and Presidents of India in order to reassure that people (not the illiterate, at least the ones who come to participate in game shows for money) are still unaware of who was president and who was prime minister. Well, you don't have to know the entire list. But, at least about Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

2) Jackpot is a game show that has two teams of four ladies each. You have to play 3 rounds and only one team goes to the jackpot round where you can win lot of money.

3) Is it ironic that I'm writing this on Women's day??? :P

4) Well, No! Though I know a few of them dumb to the core, most of the women/girls I know are smart!

Centuries ago, Centuries later

Centuries ago, there lived a couple called Sorimbe and Avipaa, by the banks of the Ganges. They made a living out of the agriculture in the piece of land they had. Though, it was a hand-to-mouth kind of life, they lived contented and tried to save as much money they could. They were hard-working, truthful, helpful to the neighbors, thankful to whatever they had and fearful of God!

God was taking his yearly census of good, bad and ugly (appraisal); he noticed the good nature (kiss ass) in Sorimbe and Avipaa and decided to give them outstanding. So, he appeared in front of them and blessed them with good health, ample wealth and a donkey. As an appreciation for their addition in devotion, he broke the convention and gave them a promotion (Sorry for the TR mode); he told them to wish for a boon (performance appreciation). Avipaa, first thanked God for all that He had given them till now (feedback) and added that they wanted to have a child so that they can bestow all the care and love; God blessed them with a baby girl. He told them to name the girl as Nellaranma and the donkey as Hatalizethuhu.

With the health and wealth, Sorimbe expanded his farm (not farmville) and did the bread winning, meanwhile, Avipaa took care of Nellaranma and Hatalizethuhu. Soon, they prospered good enough that their farm grew to such an extent that they hired workers from the nearby villages. Eventually, there were no homes in the surrounding villages, that did not have earnings from Sorimbe's farm. Even Avipaa did an excellent job of bringing up Nellaranma to a beautiful young lady. Also, Hatalizethuhu was well-trained to help in the farm, for Sorimbe's transport to the market and other household work.

As their status grew, Avipaa only became more innocent and humble, whereas Sorimbe was becoming rude, selfish, lazy and greedy. He was treating the workers very badly by being a miser in giving them their wages, getting them to work so impractically hard and not considering their feelings. He had become so money-minded that he even got Hatalizethuhu to work thrice harder than before. When Avipaa noticed something and asked about it, Sorimbe used to lie and the innocent she is, believed it all.

One day, Avipaa reminded Sorimbe that it was high time that they got Nellaranma married. She suggested that he go and talk to the landlord of the nearby village, whose son seemed to a perfect match for her. Sorimbe was definitely not in a mood to get his lazy ass up and do the job. So, everyday, he gave Avipaa some reason or the other to keep pushing it away. Finally, one day, when Avipaa pressed so much, he replied that it was the month of Margazhi and it is bad to proceed with any good deeds till it got over. Months later, Nellaranma's marriage got fixed and when asked about the date for the marriage, Sorimbe, who did not want to start working soon for his daughter's marriage, said, performing marriages in the month of Aadi is not good omen.

The marriage happened, days passed by, Sorimbe(Somberi) kept becoming lazier, Avipaa(Apaavi) kept believing Sorimbe's stories, Nellaranma (Nallaneram) got married and went off to another place and Hatalizethuhu (Thalaiezhuthu) kept working harder but sincerely, though at some point it realized that it was God who predestined its life.

Centuries later, people still believe that Marriage (a fantastic thing) has to be put away during Aadi (July15th - August 15th). Infact, if you go through the checklist, man, its tiring (not to fix a date, just to read the checklist once). I was amazed at the fact that the registrar office is not busy at all during Margazhi (Dec15th - Jan15th) because its not good to buy houses during that time, or for that matter its even inauspicious to start working for the most auspicious things. People don't buy houses that has the gate straight opposite to a street or opening (they call it Moola Kuthu in Tamil). If you tell me that some drunken lorry driver is gonna come and gate crash, then probably it is a valid reason. These are just three weird things. Yet, there are so many million rules in this society. I just broke one rule today! :)

I just believe, there is no good time to do anything bad and no bad time to do anything good. What say? :P

Glossary (:P)

Somberi - Lazy

Apaavi - Innocent

Nallaneram - Good Time

Thalaiezhuthu - Fate

PS:

1) I saw the eclipse today for the first time in my life. It was so beautiful. Please get over the myth (if applicable) that its inauspicious to see the sun/moon during an eclipse. Of course, looking at it directly is not good for the eye. Use coolers or an x-ray film and look at it the next time. Its awesome! :)

2) This would be one of the bed-time stories for my kids, in future.

You live in the city if....

1) You spend more petrol waiting for the traffic signal than you spend for driving.

*2) The chief minister has taken for granted that he, his family members and party members bring good luck and prosperity, hence posted their smiling faces on the dividers of every main road; you can look at it on your way to school/college/office - for a good day's start . I know Tata Docomo does that for advertisement. Well, ....

*3) On your way home you see both sides of the road lighted brighter than the sun with tube lights (ruling party's some number anniversary celebrations) and reach home to see there is a power cut for maintenance work.

4) You pay 25 bucks more for a dosa just because the hotel's got smooth flooring, ambient lights, a jug of water on every table and a menu card; forgotten is the fact that it has an equally dirty kitchen as any other hotel.

5) Auto-rickshaws replace the vehicles you saw in Tokyo Drift.

6) A lorry/GOVERNMENT bus honks right into your ass even before the traffic signal displays 10 seconds more to green.

7) You are held by traffic Sergeants who skipped the course on Charge-Sheets and why they are issued.

*8) The cement built dividers in the main roads are dug to hold the flags of the ruling party.

9) Your work never gets done if you go by the rules, but people reach you at home and provide services, if you are good at fraud.

10) As a common man (in Neeraj Pandey's script), you notice all this, yet adjust with it, busy on your adventure to make money. :P

*Conditions applied - Local Politician's creativity must.