Friday, November 25, 2005

10 = 15

Yes, though not mathematically, it can be proved that 10 is actually equal to 15.

How?

Just ask me for the directions to a Berger place near my house, and order for any Berger with extra cheese. The menu card claims :

Item price
Veg Berger - 30
Chicken Berger - 40
(Extra cheese Rs 10/-) - 15

It so happened that we (me and my roomie) ordered for a veg Berger each, with extra cheese. Now extra cheese is a misnomer too. Normally with "extra" I would conclude that the Berger already has some cheese and then if I want to have some extra cheese, I need to shell out ten rupees more.

Finally, when the bill arrived, it declared a figure of 90/- instead of 80/- as would my mathematical mind have concluded. I thought there was some typo in the bill, and I asked for clarification. The waiter fellow looked at me as if I could not do 15 * 2 = 30 calculation and plainly pointed to the figure on the right hand column. I showed him the menu item in reply :

Extra cheese Rs 10/- there it was, printed in bold face. Obviously I had overlooked the column on the right of it.

"Sorry dude, fifteen it is" was all that I could read in the waiter's eyes. Without much choice, I handed him the money and remarked, "Well, in this hotel, Rs 10 cheese is served for Rs 15!". The waiter fellow seemed to be ready to retaliate, but I didn't stretch it further.

I have been (more so, recently) accused of being very short tempered. Maybe yes, and in such circumstances, I am kind of satisfied with myself that I am short tempered. The point is not that I was robbed of 10 Rs, but it is of my faith and my belief in the truth of the written word. Now that they had violated my faith, I had no regrets in speaking out something acidic.

I suffer from many such incidents, and eventually, end up hurting myself : people around me think I behave too rashly in such cases, which is not exactly true. Let's take another case of a petrol pump. The petrol pump advertises, "Free Air", and the person who does the air-filling, demands two rupees. Now, if I refuse to pay, he gives me a dirty look. I react out of frustration and show him the board where "Free air" is written clearly. The fellow is never happy. He thinks it is his right to demand this money : "Well, you earn so much, how much do you care about two rupees, sir?". In reply to such argument, I lose my temper, so to say. I earn whatever I earn out of my work, and this guy has nothing doing to have such an argument to ask for money that is not his rightful money anyway.

The Bangalore Municipal Corporation has waived the parking charges, and parking is now free all over Bangalore. Some people like me are aware of this. So when a parking-fellow demands for two rupees for parking fees, I ask him for receipt in return. He cannot give me one, for there are no receipts existing now. This guy insists on two rupees which I bluntly refuse to give. Next, this guy threatens me, "next time you come park here sir, I know how to take care of your vehicle". This is outrageous. This is called intimidating. This is not right. I have seen many people giving such a fellow two rupees, and keeping him happy. Perhaps they don't care as much about the two rupees. Neither do I, but I won't pay until he gives me the receipt for two rupees. If he produces a receipt for ten rupees, I am ready to pay! I earn enough for that matter.

More about it, maybe, later.

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