A couple of days back , I had gone to E-Square (a multiplex) to book tickets for the Oscar-winning movie Zero Dark Thirty. I parked my bike outside the multiplex in the no-parking zone since there were 4-5 vehicles already standing in that enclosure. As soon as I turned around after buying my tickets, I saw a police vehicle towing away my bike. The chase that followed was worthy enough of being used in Dhoom 3. When we (me & 3 other guys) finally caught up with them, the chief officer asked us for our driving licences. I felt as if the doom’s day for me had arrived bout a year and a half earlier then it should have. It seemed as if a fine of 800-900 bucks awaited me. I consoled myself with the fact that I wasn’t the only culprit in the group. Only 1 bloke was carrying his license. We 3 Idiots then begged, apologized , maska maarofied, but nothing seemed to be working. All of a sudden, the officer’s devil’s horns turned into a halo and he said to us “You are kids, therefore, I’m letting you off this time , but don’t ever repeat this mistake”. Just when all 4 of us were about to break into a chorus of “congratulations & Ccelebrations” , he added “License waale 50 rupye aani bina license waale 100 rupye maage deun apli-apli gaadi gheun ghya” (pay the man at the back 50 rupees if you have your license and 100 if you don’t; and collect your vehicles). That is the time we realized that this stern looking man with mustaches was no Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra, but another Chulbul Pandey of the Pune Police Force.
I’m sure that most of you will connect with this incident. All of us Hindustanis have gone through such a turmoil at least once in our lives. But the question here is — Would you rather get stuck in such a situation for 15-20 mins once in every 6-12 months; or would you rather stand in the RTO queue for 6-8 hrs or shell out 500-1000 bucks to an agent to procure your license.
Corruption is a peccadillo which has turned into a demonic force by seeping into the veins of every one of us. You may like it, you may hate it, but you just cannot live without it. Had it not been for corruption, most of the students who score between 35-70% in their boards would have been College-less right now. Had it not been for corrupt officials, India would have lost its essence and soul to good roads, high living standards etc. But come to think of it — Had our system been just and fair from the very beginning, we wouldn’t have been caught in this muck in the 1st place.
We might not be bold enough to accept it, but corruption acts as an oxygen mask for the common man in today’s urban jungle. The world would be a much better place sans corruption, But Are We Ready For It ?
