"Life's so full of a number of things, I'm sure we could all live as happy as kings", so said a bard not very long ago. If we're to pause and look around - for a while, forgetting all our worries and our sorrows - we'd be able to appreciate the good things around and probably, laugh our guts out at the follies that abound! I'm giving you three sights that I'd come across and here, I go:-
(a) Whose head is it, anyway?
I was on the last lap of my customary walk in the morning. Just before the turn into the compound
where my house is, a transformer of the Kerala State Electricity Board perched on a set of four tall,
wooden legs gives a comfortable parking space, in its lee, for the police on patrol to observe errant
motorists. I saw the circle inspector on the beat, who gave me a cheerful 'good morning' and after
exchanging pleasantries, I'd resumed my walk and was poised to cross the road to get into our lane.
Just then, a motorist and his pillion came zipping on a mobike. The driver had his helmet slung on
the rear view mirror and on sighting the police's patrol vehicle, quickly wore it and adjusted the
straps giving one the impression that he was wearing it for the policemen's sake. The idiot - and
that includes many motorists - doesn't realise the tremendous safety that's provided for his head in
times of an accident by a well strapped and fitting helmet!
And as I've stated earlier too, the logic for not making the wearing of helmets compulsory for the
pillions continues to beat me.
(b) Where there's never an inflation!
A fairly well dressed young lady with a baby girl on her person had walked into our house while
we're having our breakfast. She had come rag picking and we'd two large gunny bags full of them,
awaiting disposal and were at a loss, till now, regarding their disposal.
She seemed to be quite happy with the booty that included a broken electrical toy, a dysfunctional
mosquito hunter among the numerous bottles of varying sizes and other plastic pieces. After having dumped the waste into her huge bag, she'd taken out a 10 rupee note, with a flourish, to hand it over
to Lekha who refused to accept it saying that the junk would fetch her much more than what she'd
to offer. Smilingly, she finally parts after handing over Rs. 30/-!
The sigh of relief that one lets off after a sizeable junk is removed is palpable. Furthermore, in such
transactions, one never looks at making a killing, really! But mind you, it's a universal rule that junk
and old newspapers never appreciate in their value, ever!!
(c) Checking tyre pressure.
I always make it a point to check the pressure of the tyres whenever I get my car fuelled. This
is because of the fact that no petrol pump would check the tyre pressure if one has not taken fuel
from them - call it 'mallu arrogance' or an unwritten 'fuel vending rule' prevalent in the state!
As a rule, I ship in fuel from the same bunk to the extent feasible. This is because of the following
factors:-
(i) the level of impurities remain, more or less, a constant.
(ii) consequently, fuel related emergencies are ruled out.
(iii) the bunk accepts credit cards and
(iv) the boys and girls at the dispensing point know me and are never parsimonious in their
smiles!
But today, it was a case of bleeding out the excess air in all the four tyres plus the spare. Against
the mandatory 32 psi in every tyre, it was 36 psi that was registered. Driving on excess air and that
too, in the oppressive summer heat can turn out to be disastrous. And I'd last checked the tyre pressure at my regular bunk at Kottarakkara...perhaps, that pump was erratic then!
Tailpiece.
A quiet Sunday, the forenoon of which saw me catching up with my personal work that was kept pending for the last so many days, nay weeks!
(a) Whose head is it, anyway?
I was on the last lap of my customary walk in the morning. Just before the turn into the compound
where my house is, a transformer of the Kerala State Electricity Board perched on a set of four tall,
wooden legs gives a comfortable parking space, in its lee, for the police on patrol to observe errant
motorists. I saw the circle inspector on the beat, who gave me a cheerful 'good morning' and after
exchanging pleasantries, I'd resumed my walk and was poised to cross the road to get into our lane.
Just then, a motorist and his pillion came zipping on a mobike. The driver had his helmet slung on
the rear view mirror and on sighting the police's patrol vehicle, quickly wore it and adjusted the
straps giving one the impression that he was wearing it for the policemen's sake. The idiot - and
that includes many motorists - doesn't realise the tremendous safety that's provided for his head in
times of an accident by a well strapped and fitting helmet!
And as I've stated earlier too, the logic for not making the wearing of helmets compulsory for the
pillions continues to beat me.
(b) Where there's never an inflation!
A fairly well dressed young lady with a baby girl on her person had walked into our house while
we're having our breakfast. She had come rag picking and we'd two large gunny bags full of them,
awaiting disposal and were at a loss, till now, regarding their disposal.
She seemed to be quite happy with the booty that included a broken electrical toy, a dysfunctional
mosquito hunter among the numerous bottles of varying sizes and other plastic pieces. After having dumped the waste into her huge bag, she'd taken out a 10 rupee note, with a flourish, to hand it over
to Lekha who refused to accept it saying that the junk would fetch her much more than what she'd
to offer. Smilingly, she finally parts after handing over Rs. 30/-!
The sigh of relief that one lets off after a sizeable junk is removed is palpable. Furthermore, in such
transactions, one never looks at making a killing, really! But mind you, it's a universal rule that junk
and old newspapers never appreciate in their value, ever!!
(c) Checking tyre pressure.
I always make it a point to check the pressure of the tyres whenever I get my car fuelled. This
is because of the fact that no petrol pump would check the tyre pressure if one has not taken fuel
from them - call it 'mallu arrogance' or an unwritten 'fuel vending rule' prevalent in the state!
As a rule, I ship in fuel from the same bunk to the extent feasible. This is because of the following
factors:-
(i) the level of impurities remain, more or less, a constant.
(ii) consequently, fuel related emergencies are ruled out.
(iii) the bunk accepts credit cards and
(iv) the boys and girls at the dispensing point know me and are never parsimonious in their
smiles!
But today, it was a case of bleeding out the excess air in all the four tyres plus the spare. Against
the mandatory 32 psi in every tyre, it was 36 psi that was registered. Driving on excess air and that
too, in the oppressive summer heat can turn out to be disastrous. And I'd last checked the tyre pressure at my regular bunk at Kottarakkara...perhaps, that pump was erratic then!
Tailpiece.
A quiet Sunday, the forenoon of which saw me catching up with my personal work that was kept pending for the last so many days, nay weeks!
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