Nostalgia

Have been to Shivajinagar (Bangalore) after a long time. When I walked in front of Sangeeth theatre and while waiting for a bus in bus stand some old memories flashed through my mind.

1: First: Diploma days 2004-2005
I was the cricket captain, so When ever we bought cricketing gears a small commission came to me. (It was setting with the shopkeeper, guess its part of our culture itself. But my good friends would never let me eat it alone ( Frankly I was more than happy to share it). This much is the background of the story.

Now to the story. So as the common practice we decided to go for a movie (Friday 1st show). Just after the classes we all (15-20 mallus – A terminology commonly used to address malayalies) rushed to the hostel changed dress and rushed to NTTF bus stop. We had to catch a 252A bus, which is the only possibility of reaching the theatre on time. Some of us reached little early than the rest. So we went to PV bakery for some snacks. All of us had ordered burger (those days burger to us meant puffs stuffed in a bun with little ketchup). One of my friend had a cigarette in addition. He first took a bite of the burger then lowered his right hand and took a puff of smoke. By the time he lifted the arm for the second bite, the burger was gone. We could not stop laughing at the sight of a stray dog running away with that burger. Stray dogs in Bangalore were such a problem those days and they continue to be so.

That time the purchase was more hence more commission. So I happily sponsored the snacks as well. Just as we were finishing the snacks, bus arrived. Seeing the bus everyone rushed, I had to make the payment and somehow managed to catch the bus.

When ever we went for the movie, we always made some scenes or talked very loud to grab attention ( these days when I go with my family for movie I find similar group of people doing the same stuff. Which reminds me of my college days). That day it was royally welcoming me, as I was the sponsor. I then Royally walked to the ticket counter and asked out loud " how many are there? someone give me the headcount". Then when I put hand in my pocket to take money I realized that I have been pick pocketed.

It was a freezing moment. The build up was so much that everyone was noticing me (or was it just my feeling?). But my good friends were always with me, immediately contributions came in and we managed to pay.

2: Second: diploma days 2003-2004
Again it was for a movie I guess. But thankfully the Bakra (scapegoat) was someone else. Only four of us were there. I do not want to take any names (But I clearly remember who they were). One of us say Mr.X, took tickets and paid Rs100. As a normal practice of BMTC conductors, he wrote the balance amount behind the ticket and gave the ticket. Sadly the practice continues even today.Mr.X told rest of us to remind him about the balance while getting down.

As we reached I reminded Mr.X, just before we got down. Conductor took the ticket, tore the written portion first (I guess the amount was Rs80). Then he told he still doesn't have enough change. So asked for Rs50 and as soon as Mr.X gave Rs50 (which he borrowed from Mr.Y that moment). Then the smart conductor gave Rs20, which Mr.X happily collected and came. All these really happened so fast that, we all realized the issue only when we reached theatre. In short if we would not have asked for the change we would have lost only Rs80. Now that we lost Rs110, Mr.X was shouting at me for reminding him. From that day till date I wonder, how much money this smart BMTC conductors make like this.

3: Third: During MS days 2008-2009
This time it was for some shopping in commercial street. After the shopping three of us reached bus stand at around 3pm. There was hardly anyone in our platform (Platform 7 or 8 I guess). As we were waiting there, one girl in Burka came to us. Whose only eyes were seen outside. She asked Mr.A (not me, promise) where to catch the bus to some place. As soon as she thanked him, his reply was " I think I have seen you somewhere" (This was at least 5th or 6th time I was hearing this query  from him) But this time it was shocking as her eyes were the only thing which could be seen. I tried my level best not to burst my laughter. Thank god she too enjoyed the lighter side of it.

4: Fourth: Job seeker 2009-2010

This time it was with couple of my batch mates to attend an interview. We were badly in need of a job. Two of us were rejected after the first round. Luckier (better candidate in reality) had to take the second round post lunch. We decided to wait till he finished, as we expected a party from him that evening. Personally I was very upset though.

We came out of the firm and started roaming around. We then saw the nearby Nissan showroom. We saw the just launched Micra through the glass. As I was in a sort of research for buying a car at home I was seriously interested in this car. We had shortlisted a few cars. So I thought why not take a test drive of this one too. There were only couple of customers inside. We both entered to have a look at the car. But none of the staff gave any sort of attention to us. They were in fact staring at us, as though we had come to steal the car. I felt really bad and told my friend that I do not consider this option anymore. Disappointed at how the dealer behaved.

Finally we bought a Swift. Its no wonder Nissan still find it very difficult to increase their market share despite having very cheap cars (Datsun) in their portfolio today.

5: Fifth: Visa application 28-Oct- 2014

Today I was back here for my Visa application. When the interviewer asked my DOB to confirm I told 6-2-198X. Then she showed the form and told me "here its mentioned wrongly". When I saw the form I just focused on date and month. Then I told her " Its mentioned 6-Feb-198X, which is exactly same as what I told. Then she politely asked me "so you tell you are born on 6-Feb-2014?''. Then I realized that while entering the online data I did not select the exact year.