Fact- One can be hauled up quite simply. It does not matter if
your credential is among the nameless professionals who go about their lives
paying taxes, not disturbing peace, adjusting to the footpath-less streets,
potholed roads and perennially choked traffic and bad vibes at work. One waits
for the weekend to drain the toxicity to start anew awaiting the fresh batch come
Monday morning. However one has to make sure that their capacity to tolerate
far exceeds the norm. One has to master in bending backwards, playing supine or
bending over for whatever. However, sometimes the capacity can get breached
where the whole of it can inundate ones presence and at such times something
emerges in the self that won’t take shit.
The day started in a fairly normal manner- exercises and
bath and with getting the kid ready to his daycare. My wife leaves earlier
making her contribution of preparing a wholesome breakfast for her husband and
her son. I give him his bath and drop him at his daycare close by here at
Kasturi Nagar. I come back do the rest of the chores of getting the kids cloths
to dry. After that get into my formals with laptop bag by the side and proceed
to walk to the bus stop. I usually drive to office but with the horrible
traffic at Nagwara junction during the peak hour getting a little out of hand I
off late contemplated availing the public transportation service offered by the
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation.
As I walked to the bus stop a bus with route no. 500A/34
moved into to halt. This was a bus with two bodies attached into junction
describing as such because of the lack of technical word for this contraption,
vestibule seems to be word but I am not quite sure. I get in through the door
of the first body with a ticket Inspector lady named B.S Yashodha (pertinent initials coming to think of it now
as I write) who was standing at the entrance. I proceed to get my ticket from
the Bus conductor and see him behind another Ticket Inspector (TI) in the rear
body of the vestibule. I ask him and in a quite offhand manner my request gets
dismissed. On persisting he directs me to the TI and on so doing this gentleman
charges at me as to where I boarded the bus and “Kasturi Nagar” comes the
retort. He directs me to speak to the lady TI and proceed to do the same and
present the same case to her. Shaken at the response – “You are lying, don’t
lie”, case dismissed. They then demand a fine and I surprise myself – “I am not
paying the fine” and force myself to the door of the front body of the
vestibule. They obviously manhandle me but they simply were dragged as I forced
myself to the door anyhow. Some how quite simply a better sense prevailed- I am not
de-boarding the bus and I am not paying the fine do what you can. The left ward
off came in handy as I held the male TI at bay. The tempers cooled at there end
as well as they now contemplated of proceeding to the police station. I
complied getting into the taxi hailed by them. Hennur police station was close
by and in my head I was wondering – “Ladies and Gentleman presenting to you a hollow
Bangalore”, and
things looked up. The station was clean with the submission of statements of
both the parties.
All protest songs were playing live in my head and a
particular Pink Floyd bass riff from “Another Brick in the wall”. A lady
Inspector intervenes and proceeds to take me aside with another gentleman in
tow to “resolve” it. She suggests that I don’t argue with them as they will
charge me with obstruction of Government personnel and an added harassment of
warming a jail cell and present myself in front of magistrate before I am even
heard. Better to pay the fine and police record the grievance (not addressed)
between myself and the TIs.
Makes sense, given the emasculated life a normal individual
is made to feel living with no credible balls to cause any damage. I take the
deal and when the Chelan is issued to me I proceed to scribble
“Made to sign under duress
-
sign Kaustav Guha”
With the TIs scratching there heads. The lady TI protests
that this is a government document you only sign, and “Ooh” a fart to relieve
my bowel. I record their names Yashodha B.S and Kench Gowda and also the name
of the inspector Prasheela B.S.
I get back home and ironically get into my car and drive to
work, a cheap attempt of feeling the control back but it worked. Handling chaos
on the road is better recipe of palliating a wounded pride of a very common
man. I get to my haloed cubicle and work on my complaint at
http://www/mybmtc.com
Following was the first attempt at filing a complaint and
airing the grievance at the BMTC site.
"To
Whoever can address
the grievance?
I stay in Kasturi Nagar and I wanted to avail the BMTC
services to go to Manyatha
Tech Park
where I work. I got into the bus in front of the Ticket Inspector lady named
Yashodha B.S and went into bus looking for the Bus conductor to get my ticket.
The Bus conductor (I dont know the name) and another Ticket Inspector named
Kenche Gowda were standing and I asked for the ticket, the conductor refused to
issue me one and asked me to speak to the Ticket inspector. I did and he
refused me and asked me where I boarded the bus, I said Kasturi Nagar, and he
directed me to speak to the lady Ticket Inspector. I moved away from them to
meet the lady ticket inspector and I asked for the ticket to be issued. She
flately refused and denied me boarding the bus at Kasturi Nagar and charged
that I was lying. The other inspector then started to shove and push me and
demand that I pay the fine. I flately refused and they threatened to take me to
the police station. I said so be it and I was very angry at the way the
situation deteriorated and moved towards the door and I was man-handeled as
they prevented from doing that. I did raise my voice in protest and this is
only natural. Myself and the inspectors deboard the bus at Hennur and proceeded
to the police station. At the police station I maintained my innocence and the
inspector madam Prasheela B.S intervened and advised me to pay the fine and
raise a complaint to the BMTC office and I am doing precisely that. I was
issued a chalan and while acknowledging I signed and also stated that "I
am sigining under duress". I paid the fine and vowed that I will follow up
this matter to the highest authority including media and social media to
highlight the uncouth behavior normal citizens living in Bangalore are subjected to and do so in the
strongest possible manner. I will not rest until BMTC issues me an apology and
compensate me for the hardship endured in a commensurate manner.
Date of the harassment 16-09-2013
Route No. : 500A/34
Bus No. : FA2497 (as recorded in challan)
Chelan No. : 174324
Issuing authority: BMTC, TR-34
Ticket Inpsectors: Yashodha B.S, Kenche Gowda
Kaustav"
Little did I know that one could only express ones’ self in
500 “characters”. Quite deflated I attempt and “Only 500 characters” later
“Had boarded the bus at Kasturi Nagar along with Ticket
Inspector lady named Yashodha and another Ticket Inspector named Kenchegowda. I
asked for ticket to travel to Manyatha but refused by conductor. Wrongfully
charged for ticketless travel. Manhandled. Challan collected with Hennur Police
Station records as witness. Date of the harassment 16-09-2013,Route No. :
500A/34,Bus No. : FA2497 (as recorded in challan),Challan No. : 174324,Issuing
authority:BMTC,TR-34”
An erectile dysfunction.
In the end it now feels good no one is hurt just some
wounded pride helped by ample story telling at lunch, bitching the system,
bitching Bangalore.
“Ooh” another one, the food is digesting.
An SMS
"Dear Kaustav Guha Your feedback has been registered and the feedback id is 3431- BMTC team"
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