This post would be incomplete if i do not start it with the usual feel sorry thing, here it goes. I know i am not writing as much as i would have wanted. I have almost forgotten that i used to enjoy writing. I would be doing a great favor to myself if i reboot the habit before it slips out of the conscious, it never once got into the subconscious though. Ok now the post starts.
I never wanted that happen to me the first time it happened. I should admit that i was a bit naive then, for i could have avoided the situation entirely. Ok, let me first get to what happened actually. I rarely talk on the phone. I could literally count the number of calls that i make in a month. My mom who usually finishes off the talktime on her phone in no time uses mine till she gets her phone recharged, not to mention that i had to recharge my phone quite often. Until that evening it never occurred to me that a booster pack would come in handy.
So i went to this little recharge cum magazine shop. I read the options on the display card and finally chose Rs.69 pack that will bring down the call rate to 30p/min from 1Re/min. The shopkeeper noted down my number and carefully repeated it for confirmation. I gave him the final nod and the booster was successfully done. I handed him 70 Rs and waited for my change. The shopkeeper opened his 'kalla petti', dropped the amount and closed it in a flash. He then started tending to his other customers completely ignoring the character that was waiting for the change. I managed to buy some time checking some already read messages. And then it dawned on me that no amount of waiting would make him realize that he owes me a rupee. When i finally cleared my throat to speak up and ask for the change, the flashback came to haunt me.
It was late 2008 when i had just got out of college. I was new to chennai and i was travelling from i-don-remember-where to Pallavaram in an MTC bus. I got the ticket and the conductor told me that he will give the 50 paise change a little later. I said ok and got seated. The bus was at Pallavaram bus station and i dint get the change. Before getting down, i asked for the change, the conductor suddenly turned red and threw a 1 re coin at me. I dint mind to pick up the coin. Only then did i realize that he didn't have any 50 paise coin. I would have understood if he had just said that. He should have liked me so much!! that he wanted to tell me that the hard way.
Back to now, I dint say a word to the shopkeeper. I dint want to put myself in another embarrassing situation. I turned back and walked straight to home. I re-counted the incident to my mom and asked her what on earth would he be able to do with that 1 re. She had a different perspective, she said what if he does that to 10 customers a day, what if he is already doing this for years now. Oh Boy!! My mind was still troubled that it was not able to do the math.
Its not the rupee that mattered but the fact that i was denied something that was rightfully mine irked me so much. And when even sleep eluded me i had to resort to watching 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' to finally fall asleep.
