So, what was the message again?

Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh addresses the nation from the Red Fort. He 'tells' our dear neighbour to stop messing with our country. He warns that the terror camps within our neighbour's territory should close down before peace can be given a chance. He goes on to say that our security forces will be modernized, intelligence agencies will go hi-tech (which incidentally means that our 'leaders' will get richer) so on and so forth.

What happens at the border? India and Pakistan exchange sweets! Sorry Dr.Singh, come again?

Such Joy

Our capital was declared a 'no-fly' zone. Trains arriving into the capital were asked to wait outside the city for five hours. Armed policemen and security personnel were deployed in unprecedented numbers all across the nation. People were checked even at shopping malls. The prime minister unfurled our national flag and addressed the nation standing behind a bullet-proof screen and a small army of commandos.

This is how you celebrate 'Independence Day' in this great country of mine! :) Do those fools even know the meaning of 'Independence'? Lord, do I love the irony!!

Service with a Smile

The "four million smiles" initiative flagged off recently is taking shape slowly. Cabbies are as irritating as ever, but they beam beautiful smiles and wish you as soon as you get into the cab and also at every available opportunity. They really take their manners seriously. Given below is a hypothetical 'before-after' style comparison of service:-

BEFORE:

Me (getting into cab): Hi, can you take me to BuonaVista please?

Cabbie: OK. which way you wanna go ah? PIE ah? AYE ah?

Me: Any route is fine. Just take me there. Thanks.

Cabbie: AYE shorter ah... Take the exit to North Buona Vista Road, can ah?

Me: OK OK Can Can.

Cabbie (Verifies the route on his map, honks at the car in front of him, changes lanes rapidly): You from India? You work here ah? How much they pay you? (Then goes on to tell me how much he makes per day, explains the entire value chain of the public transport industry also giving me strategies to save a few cents on every trip by choosing the cab companies smartly).

Me: Yeah, you can stop here. Thanks.

Cabbie: 9.50 ah.

I pay 9.50 and get out.


AFTER:

Me (getting into cab): Hi, can you take me to BuonaVista please?

Cabbie: (before I can sit down and finish my sentence) Good Morning, how are you? Where can I take you? Thank you, welcome. (SMILE) OK. which way you wanna go ah? PIE ah? AYE ah?

Me: Any route is fine. Just take me there. Thanks.

Cabbie: (BIGGER SMILE) AYE shorter ah... Take the exit to North Buona Vista Road, can ah? You save 20 cents (and then goes on to explain how it can be invested at 10% p.a to leave a small fortune at the end of 30 years)

Me: OK OK Can Can.

After a while.....

Me: Yeah, you can stop here. Thanks.

Cabbie: (stops a mile ahead of my destination) $11.70 ah.

Me: (!@#$) Why did you come all the way? I asked you to stop a mile behind!!!

Cabbie: (BIIIIG SMILE) Go the extra mile for service lah! :)

I pay 11.70 and trudge back....

Back with a Bang!

I don't know if the world had generally become a better place or whether I had simply lost interest in the happenings around me, I had stopped blogging since end-June. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Cynic's back! With a BANG!

What prompted me to start blogging again? I read about this amazing creation of God who tried to dismantle a rocket propelled grenade with guess what? - a SLEDGEHAMMER! That's right. Read more about it here. I think this candidate fits the bill for top honors at this year's Darwin Awards!

Since I am at it, let me also guide you to another amazing video that I came across on Amit Verma's India Uncut.



We sure are monkeys, pretty messed up monkeys! I agree Amit, totally.