Who will bell the cat ?? :) :)

One fine morning the city woke up to the news that " Auto meters" are making a comeback.Speculations went rife over the comeback.

Chennai city which has long been deprived of the "auto meter" system woke up on the 16th of September 2013 to a new dawn ,it is the day the government decided to "bell the auto drivers".

The rule was passed, deadlines were given, then extended and then once again finally given the nod, the new rules and regulations were flashed across all news channels and dailies. So, basically the news went viral. Special teams were formed and sent to monitor the implementation of the new rule.

 Every step was taken to make sure that no loop hole could override the rule  :)

A week later...............

I waved my hand to stop a running auto, the auto stopped,
" olympia techpark "?
 "OK".
"how much ??"
"80"
" 80 ???? where is your meter ??
" I don't use meter "
"it's the government rule to use meter"
" I don't follow any rules "
"I don't want to ride in your auto then"
Saying so I walked away, and waited for the next auto.
The same routine followed with 4 more auto drivers. Just when I was losing my patience, I decided to give one more try.And finally the 6th auto driver who came by had a meter in place,and ,upon reaching my destination I paid Rs.35/-.

For over a year, I have been paying Rs.80 for the 10 minute ride from Ashok Pillar to Olympia, which is almost twice the actual amount.The despicable behaviour of the auto drivers is not new to us, but for over a decade we have been putting up with this menace and the outrageous amounts they quote for the nearest of near places. And even after so much law enforcement in place there is little being done in practise.

The auto drivers have a well rehearsed arrogance which they often unleash on the poor public. It is sad to say that easily 9 out of 10 drivers have no regard for any form of rule or regulation Such nasty behaviour on their end has created a dislike among the people when it comes to using auto as a means of transportation. I think this is one of the direct reasons for the call taxi industry thriving in our city.Very rarely do you come across an honest auto driver who does not demand more than the actual cost.

Among the various outrageous experiences I have had with the auto drivers one of the most daunting experience was once when I had to pay Rs.500/- for a ride from Velacherry to Ashok Pillar. So, I was one among the happy folks when the government decided to tighten the ropes around the auto drivers.

But when the reality comes back hitting us hard on the face there is little we can do.Then again we should not succumb so easily.We have to fight back and make sure the system is in place. The government and the law system have done their part. Now we have to take it froward from here. We have to take a vow not to step into an auto which does not have a meter no matter what. It might take a while for the auto drivers to understand that we will no longer allow them to take us for granted. We have to fight and defend the system.
 It is time we stood up for ourselves. It is time we fought back and dispel the stigma the auto drivers have created in our city :) so lets join hands and "bell the cat".

Cheers,
Sandy :) :) 

“Shhhh, can you keep a secret “??

How many times have we done justice to this statement??

Apart from the million other things which the mankind will never understand about the womankind, what intrigues me the most is why women find it so hard to keep a secret?

Is it a blind inability or is there a more scientific explanation to it ??  Whatever be it, on a personal research, at least 95% of the things that come under “please don’t tell it to anyone” will have to be shared with that ONE TRUSTED FRIEND, from whom you simply cannot keep things away. We all have such friends don’t we ??  

And off course there is this 5% of deadly secret that does not reach the trusted friend either, coz they are “top secret “and remain deeply buried, sealed with double locks and iron gates, so that even the keeper of the secret visits it occasionally and so rarely and at such quick instances that it will not become a matter to ponder over, thereby reducing the risks of letting it out even in a casual conversation :/

Women love secrets, we thrive over the excitement of being a part of a secret. Be it the one who shares it or the recipient J there is joy in being both J And, if you are the receiver, the moment you hear the words “ I have something to tell you “ , you start speculating over the numerous possibilities, will it be this, will it be that ?? and more than half the secrets end with the classical “ I knew it!!! I knew it was about this “.

I don’t think I can vouch for this with any logical theory,  I guess women are simply made this way. It is not that they are insensitive to others feelings, it is just that women always live in company; we always have someone to share our things with. Be it our friends, parents, siblings or colleagues, there is always one person who knows everything about us and it is simply difficult to keep things away from that person J  Whatever be it, the earth shattering secret has to be shared with that one special person J  Even before the secret is shared with you, you know that one person who will definitely see the light of this J

So, to all the men folks, I have let a really huge cat out of the bag and now please don’t get judgemental about your women, we don’t mean any harm or we don’t mean to be numb to your feelings, it is just the intrinsic quality of every women J So the next time you say the golden words “please don’t tell it to anyone” to a women, remember that the promise is a promise but that never includes her BEST FRIEND J J

Cheers,

Sandy J J

PS: The joy of sharing the “forbidden” with a best friend is something a man will never understand J