| Author | Message | ||
     Tilak Side Hero Username: Tilak Post Number: 5440 Registered: 02-2012 Posted From: 115.242.223.251 Rating: N/A |
awesome! India must conquer the World and nothing less than that is my ideal - Swami Vivekananda | ||
| Nanigadu Side Hero Username: Nanigadu Post Number: 8714 Registered: 02-2008 Posted From: 204.92.92.4 Rating: N/A |
good ones bhayya, rendu bagunnayi, please continue My show on TORI Raagala Pallaki - every Friday - EST 8 to 9 PM USA - 703-879-6611 UK - 4412 2377 0661 India - 040 66624513 Skype - tori.live1 Live Link: http://www.teluguoneradio.com/player/tori-live.html | ||
| Platypus Comedian Username: Platypus Post Number: 1037 Registered: 01-2008 Posted From: 125.62.195.177 Rating: |
"That Elusive Card" It was a particularly bright Sunday afternoon. I was standing in our balcony sipping hot coffee when I noticed that there was a big line of people in front of K-block entrance. They all had some sheets of paper in their hands. "Ahalya, come here" I called my wife. She came to the balcony, "What is it Srini? Make it quick, I have work to do." "See that line? What is it for?" I asked her. She glanced at the people standing there and shook her head, "Must be some collection drive. I don't know." I was curious. So I decided to check it out. When I reached the line, I could see two men handing over forms to fill and taking money from the residents. I found Ashish Kumar in the line and asked him. "Oh, this is for the white ration cards. We are applying for it. This guy is an agent. Promises to get the card within a couple of weeks. Only 600 rupees. Very cheap no?" I was not sure if I had understood it correctly. So I asked again. "Did you say white ration cards?" "Yes" Ashish replied. "White ration cards for you?" "Yes" "You do realize that you have bought an apartment in Aranya Vihar by paying seventy odd lakhs?" "Yeah? How does it matter here?" "No. I am just curious. Aren't these white ration cards for people who are poor? Probably below the poverty line?" "No. Anyone can get it. You just have to pay 600 to these folks. They will manage all that government processes to get us the card." I scratched my head. "Why do you even need a white ration card?" Ashish looked at me exasperated. "Srini, this is a government document and a solid proof of address. Also, we can get kerosene cheap." "Kerosene?" "Yes." "Why do you need Kerosene?" "What if there is an electric load shutdown?" "We have generator backup. Don't we?" "What if those generators don't work?" "Do you have a Kerosene stove or lamp?" "No. But that's beside the point." "Oh so what is the point?" "The point is: If we ever require Kerosene, I have the white ration card to get it cheap." I looked around and found everyone nodding to what Ashish was saying. I raced back home and stormed into the kitchen. "Ahalya" "Now what?" she did not even look at me. "We need to apply for white ration cards" There was pin drop silence for a few moments. Then she turned around and stared at me. I told her Ashish' reasoning. She continued to stare. I smelt fish. "What is wrong?" I asked her. "Ashish is an idiot. Are you too?" She asked me. "No.. I mean, what is the harm in getting a white ration card?" "It is illegal. Now, can I get back to the dhal?" I went back to the balcony and started observing the crowd in front of K block. Two weeks later, Ahalya woke me up from my deep afternoon slumber. "Srini, there is chaos outside. I think you'd be interested in it." Chaos was always interesting... Especially in Aranya Vihar. In fact we rarely went two weeks without chaos. Chaos was not a theory here. It was a fact and hence a law. The apartment office was swamped with people. Everyone was shouting. I saw a crestfallen Ashish vociferously shouting - "Where is the card?" "What happened?" I asked him. "Yaar! Those guys were cheats. They collected 600 rupees from every resident and disappeared without trace! We want our ration cards. This is too much." Apparently, 750 residents had paid 600 rupees each to that thug who promised them the white ration cards. I did a quick calculation. That guy walked away with 450,000 rupees. "Let us file a police report" Sadanand Goswamy stated. "Yes, let us do it." Ashish supported him. Before they could actually do something about it, I heard a familiar voice. "Just a second folks" I turned around to see Ahalya walking into the office. "What are you going to tell the police?" She asked Sadanand. "That we want our ration cards. We are not worried about the 600 rupees but we need the cards." "Why are you not worried about the 600 rupees?" Ahalya asked. "600 rupees is nothing for us. We can afford to lose it. But where are the cards?" Sadanand said. "Yes, yes. Where are the cards?" everyone shouted. "So you are going to tell the police inspector that you paid a bribe of 600 rupees to a thug to get you all, the esteemed owners of the swanky flats in Aranya Vihar complex that cost 70 lakhs a piece, white ration cards?" There was silence. Ahalya continued, "And this is with the realization that the thugs were probably going to say you were all Below Poverty Line residents of this poor country? And probably bribe a few officials using a portion of the 600 rupees?" There was silence. "Please go ahead." Ahalya concluded, "but ensure you have enough money to bribe the police inspector" and with a pause, she added "to get you out of the lock-up." The crowd started mumbling and dispersing. I walked to Ahalya. "You do have a flair for theatrics" She smiled, "That's better than the stupidity that is so prevalent here. Don't you think so?" I did. The End. Naaku nacchindi janaalaki nacchadu... Janaalaki nacchindi naaku nacchadu... Nenanthe.. adho type. | ||
| Ipc302 Moderator Username: Ipc302 Post Number: 14288 Registered: 02-2008 Rating: N/A |
congratulations on u new house | ||
| Tilak Side Hero Username: Tilak Post Number: 5417 Registered: 02-2012 Posted From: 125.22.249.81 Rating: N/A |
Thank you and it sure is!  India must conquer the World and nothing less than that is my ideal - Swami Vivekananda | ||
| Platypus Comedian Username: Platypus Post Number: 1035 Registered: 01-2008 Posted From: 125.62.195.177 Rating: |
Prologue: It all started quite ordinarily with an otherwise uneventful trip to the abode of Balaji, Tirupati. While walking on the roads atop Tirumala Hills, my wife and I discovered that there were quite a few small, man-made rock formations scattered everywhere. Apparently there was a belief that if you formed a small miniature building anywhere on Tirumala, you would have your own house within a year. "What a phony belief!" I blurted out. My wife looked at me seriously and murmured a prayer to Lord Balaji probably asking for His forgiveness. "It is true. It works. My uncle's cousin twice removed, constructed a house in Bannergatta road, Bangalore after placing two rocks one on the top of the other here in Tirumala!" My cousin stated solemnly. "Alright. That settles it then. Who wants a new house?" I did not want to dampen the spirit of the group. Of course, all of us wanted a new house. So we ended up adding three more miniature rock formations to the millions on the top of Tirumala. Now I could proudly say - "Been There Done That" My other cousin took his own sweet time to complete his rock formation. We encircled it and stared at the quite elaborate design of the formation. Apparently, this cousin wanted a duplex villa and he did not want to leave anything to chance. So he spent almost an hour designing and architecting his rock formation. It stood really apart from the rest of the formations. In a matter of minutes, it had become a tourist attraction. "What a beauty" people around us remarked. My cousin's chest swelled up in pride. Though we were believers of God, we did not attach too much of importance to this little ritual and completely forgot about it the moment we landed in Hyderabad. Three months later, I was reading The Hindu and an advertisement caught my attention. It was a big apartment complex in the outskirts of Hyderabad. The layout seemed interesting. We thought of visiting the site just for the heck of it. When we entered the gates of "Aranya Vihar" we instantly fell in love with the community and made a purchase decision in less than a minute. Two months later, we were proud owners of a three bedroom apartment in Aranya Vihar. I called my cousin and told him that our ritual on Tirumala Hills bore fruit. He smiled and told me that he was about to finalize on a four bedroom duplex in Bangalore. So much for the phony belief! Thus started a fascinating series of fortunate as well as unfortunate incidents as life went by in Aranya Vihar. What follows next is a chronicle of some of those incidents, fairly dramatised by the protagonist to keep the reader interested. If you feel that no human being could withstand such a flurry of contrasting experiences, relax - This book is based on real incidents though not necessarily experienced by the same person. For ease of narration and to keep the number of characters in check, I have created a fictitious protagonist who experiences all those incidents himself. Let me get out of the way now and hand you over your friendly neighborhood guide plus narrator - Srini! Rest assured, you are in safe hands. Happy reading Naaku nacchindi janaalaki nacchadu... Janaalaki nacchindi naaku nacchadu... Nenanthe.. adho type. |
