Chachu's column #20:  In the Land of Small Things

  Lot of small things happen in our daily lives that usually go unnoticed. This column is an attempt to share few such observations with you. Nothing earth shattering or thought provoking - Just few tits and bits. Comments/Experiences are welcome from all.

* Some two three years ago I observed that certain roads had white lines marked on them using chalk powder. When I first observed them, I found the practice quite amusing. Ever since, I have noticed  that this practice is quite pervasive and widespread. The lines are made purportedly to guide the traffic. But do these really serve any puropse ? The chalk powder lines are sure to disappear in a day or two. Wouldn't it be better if the lane endings and left/right turns are permanently marked using yellow paint? No one gives me an answer. All I can fathom is that the practice keeps unskilled persons occupied - at whatever costs...

* Another peculiar practice I observed was Tempo/lorry drivers gesticulating at the drivers of oncoming Tempo/lorry. When I first saw it, I thought it was just an exercise to loosen the arms. But on constant observation I found that there was a well-established protocol for communication. This was tricky because the communication took place within a few seconds. While the exact language is beyond my understanding, the crux of the matter is that drivers gesticulate to find out if there is any police checking going on ahead and whether there is a need to change the route to avoid the inspectors....

* Talking about checks, a drive to curb air pollution around a year back deserves an award or too. A month before the drive was scheduled to begin, the newspapers ads started threatening of the dire consequences if drivers did not have a valid air pollution certificate. As the deadline approached,
people started getting panicky. On the fateful day when the checks were to being, serpentine queues were visible in front of pollution check centers. That too when the PUC center had not yet opened. The queue reminded us of the old days when people thronged before cinema halls to get the first show ticket of a Big B starrer. Or for that matter, to get the more mundane kerosene oil. Anyways, the farce of longs queues at the PUC centers continued when people started realizing that the threat was a hoax call and no one was really worried about the pollution as the ads had claimed to be. Once the  realization dawned, the queues dwindled, but not before hundreds of centers to check pollution mushroomed along the national highways leading to Delhi. The PUC centers are still seen with a checking device and a battery.

* This is not the last in pollution. Starting 1st april, certain technological advancements have been made in pollution checks. Now, the PUC certificate must also contain a photo of the car along with the date of the pollution check. This is to avoid fake certificates. Once, when I went to a PUC center, the
owner was not present. His deputy did not know how to operate the device. Despite this, a pollution certificate was promptly issued to me. Long live money....

* If this is not enough, I wonder why I still dont know what are the acceptable levels of pollution. And what do I do if my car is polluting ? Get my car's engine tuned. And even then if the pollution is not under control, what do I do? Throw the car...

* Talking about queues and waiting lists, it was not long ago when the number of years one had to wait for a telephone connection was a fashion statement. But that was before the telecom industry was freed from the shackles of gigantic monopolies. Now mobile connectivity is obtained in hours. But the queue has not yet disappeared, albeit the queue is of people surrendering their telephone lines to get a Reliance phone or a cellular...

* Once I was driving to my office when I found a broken bed on the road. Nearby, a cart puller was standing with another bed on his hand-pulled cart. It was evident that the bed had fallen from the cart and had broken into pieces. I wonder who will foot the bill of the broken bed? The buyer who had not yet received his bed? Or the carpenter who had made the bed? Or the poor cart puller whose cart could not carry the bed to its destination? Or was it that the bed was insured and the insurance company was going to foot the bill...

* In a recent travel by Rajdhani train, I was pleased to see that the toilets had liquid soap. Soaps in public bathrooms are an item of luxury. Even in our school days, the school children used soil instead of soap to clean the hands. The sale of paper soap in the trains vindicates the fact that toilets in train are not meant to have soaps. However, the travel in Rajdhani proved to be an exception. The vendors selling paper soaps were nowhere to be seen. And liquid soap in the toilets was brimful. This is a different issue that the liquid soap was more of liquid and less of soap. A step made nonetheless...

* Service tax on many items was imposed in this budget. Thus there has been a flurry of ads exhorting businessmen providing specific services to pay their service tax. The first part of the ad threatens the businessmen of dire consequences on non-payment of taxes. There is a change in tenor in the second part of the ad where an appeal is made to the businessmen to pay their taxes and contribute towards the nation. I wonder who is this nation? And what does the nation do with the contribution. Most importantly, why should I contribute towards it until I am forced to do so?

* In "Chachu's Column #13: Of Roads, Rails, and Safety", I had mentioned how a speed breaker extends only half the breadth and how it proves to be a big traffic hazard. After writing the column, I wondered whether my part was over given that the speed breaker remained half complete, forcing motorists to drive on wrong side. I also wondered whether anyone would ever take note of the hazard. Some few days back I was pleased to see that the speed breaker was extended so as to cover the complete road. The act provided that finally someone had displayed some civic sense. However, my joy was short-lived. On the very same day while returning from office, I found the poor quality construction getting washed away by the traffic. Only the debris remained on the sides of the road. The debris still remains and no fresh effort has been made to remedy the situation.

* Talking about speed breaker, some four years ago there were around 30 of them on my way to office. As more people wanted the buses to stop in front of their houses fresh speed breakers were built. However, when a major stretch of road was resurfaced, many of the breakers got buried under the layer of coal tar. Those breakers genuinely required to break speed also got buried. The lack of coordination between various bodies had at least one benefit. At last count, the number of speed breakers hovered around 25.

There are more stories to share but some other time...
Enjoy.