Couldn't help it!

This morning I'd a date with the RTO of Gurgaon to register my new possession - the Chevrolet Cruze. And surprisingly, a dull day with an overcast sky did not dampen my enthusiasm even a wee bit, as driving through the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, weaving through a moderately heavy traffic, pumped up my adrenaline instead! And we - Sanjeev, my man Friday and Dhan Singh, my go between with the RTO and I( was in uniform for two reasons. Firstly, so that no one messed up with things and secondly, to get back to work within the shortest possible time) - reached the place well within time.

The verification and the actual part of the registration process just took about ten minutes flat, much to my pleasant surprise. And then it happened.

A youngster - must have been in his late 20s -thrust a parking ticket into Sanjeev's hands, which was strongly reacted against by one of the RTOs saying that it was illegal and asked my man Friday to chuck it away. And I'd thought that the entire episode was over without any need for my intervention. But as I manouvred the car out of the enclosure, the youngster accosted me in a belligerant manner insisting that I paid for the parking which, incidentally was a paltry Rs. 15/-. To the statement that I was a serviceman, he said that no one was exempt and once again, insisted on getting his money. And that was the time I lost my shirt.

I've this fetish that no one has the right to disrespect a service uniform - and I strongly believe that this responsibility rests, equally, on both the wearer and the beholder. Period! In a slightly raised voice I'd to tell the youngster that what he was doing wasn't right as endorsed by one of the RTOs earlier. Probably, the menace in my voice made him back off after retrieving the parking ticket from Sanjeev. I wasn't pleased at my victory, in fact, I lost the plot when I'd raised my voice!

But why did he do it - he might've never seen a naval guy in whites and must've passed me for a valet, driving a luxury car from one of the nearby star hotels?

I'll never know that answer, ever!!