A Toshiba A dealer and a few months wait

Humiliation frustration and a few more things to go with it. Well that's it for the title.

I was rich, was called a banker by a few ( hate those filthy people). They had pointed out that a banker of my reputation ought to have a laptop and not having one is unthinkable for a person of my stature. I was fool enough to fall for it.

Please don't ask me why I had placed an order and left a considerable amount of money with a total stranger to buy a laptop. I don't have a sensible answer for that. People do make mistakes and discount was far too luring to ignore. Now it doesn't seem so good a reason though. I'm more than sure that the model's price has come down, just not sure if it is more than the discount that I was offered. That will be far too disheartening to hear. So I've closed all my senses to ads from Toshiba.

And I've learned a new lesson.

When your parents ask questions like these.

"When are you coming home?? ".

Deal it with simple replies like "I will come next week" or even a vague  "at the earliest"

Never overdo like what I did.

"I've ordered a laptop. It will reach here soon. Then I can work from home for a few days."

It sounded really great then, had a ring to it.

They might have been getting bored with regular questions, these days the conversation starts with "did you get your laptop???".  Now I'm getting bored with 'Shipment delays' and moreover they aren't buying it anymore. They feel I am giving an excuse not to go home.

I seriously doubt that I've accidentally placed an order for a gold plated laptop. Just now checked with my dealer. Though he is normally not sure about anything much, he assured me that I didn't make such a mistake and just in-case I want to put such an order I should let him know immediately. At least something went right out of  the whole deal.

P.S. ithuvare laptop kittiyitilla.. Aarum chodichu budhimuttenda. kittiya ellarem vivaram ariyichekkam.

Traffic Signal

Today a long half hour at the pipeline signal and having a position somewhere at the end of a very long queue of impatient honking vehicles made my mind rush to the statement made by a sane stranger, though then he wasn't looking so sane to me.

It happened long back, may be eons back and I am not even sure this is what really happened, but this is close to what I can remember.

I was on the way to my office in a bus. I did see a man (usual careless glance) who was sitting to the left where I was standing. I didn't give him much attention.

All of a sudden he asked me.

Njan oru chodyam chodikkatte ???

Lot many things went across my mind. I might have accidentally hit his head when the bus braked. While I was contemplating the possibility of facing a  humiliation before all the passengers he asked me,

Signal palikkatthe nammal poyal entha fine ennu ariyamo ??

What!!!  Enthuva??

May be the question came out all wrong, that wasn’t what he was intending to ask. I was hoping that he might change his question and give me a relatively easy one to answer.
I gave him a questioning gaze.

Signal palikkatthe nammal poyal entha fine ennu ariyamo ??

This time it was out loud. All of the passengers where looking from man to me, me to man, to and fro.  

He looked around and extended the question to all the others. By that time I made a skillful escape from the podium and vanished into the crowd and stood there as a spectator.


Every one in the bus stood there observing him but didn’t dare to respond. An elderly gentleman who was sitting silent till then couldn’t hold it anymore and replied

“Rules are rules we are supposed to follow that.”

Vadi koduthu adi vangal, I can’t put it any better than that. Everyone watched the elderly gentleman getting slaughtered with a reaction mixed with some sympathy and with more than a little enthusiasm I must say. But no one was brave enough to offer any help.

 Then he started giving lectures on problems faced by people due to traffic jam.  There was something about the way he talked, something different from normal; he lectured more to himself and than to others. He was putting forward questions and giving answers himself. In his own way he was emphasizing the uselessness of such a system and ardent need to break it. He went on and on for a while, I had to get down at my stop and I love to believe he might have continued doing the same.

He was more a laughing stock to me then or just a part of an incident which I thought to write down somewhere or even blog. And I must admit he was making more than a valid statement. Now when I think about it I feel there is more to that incident than just his craziness. He might have lost his precious time somewhere in the past before a signal and might be in search for it even now....who knows.. He was just  another commoner who was questioning a totally self absorbed world that is content with whatever it is offered. Moreover it considers them an outcast or even declares them mad. 

I don't remember how he looked nor do I remember his voice but something  remains that always makes its presence felt when the signal turns red.

Note : Image Courtesy http://jerrin-it.blogspot.com/2011/06/tale-of-cawnporia-traffic-signal.html