It was a Sunday morning and before the sky cleared to let the sun out, we started off from our place in Pune to Mumbai. We had an evening flight to Kenya from the Mumbai International Airport and thought that it wise to drive down to Mumbai and leave our car at my uncle's place for the week that we were away.
On the previous day, I did the routine tire air pressure check which I do every time before we do a long trip, especially if that involves driving at speeds over 100 kmph on the highways.
We also offered to drop off our friend at Mumbai, who was in Pune for the weekend. So the three of us set off from Pune at a brisk pace. Since we started early enough, the journey till we left the express highway was uneventful with us stopping only at the toll booths occasionally.
A little ahead after the express highway exit, we noticed there were a lot of road works underway, with diversion boards here and there to direct us. We strained our eyes to read the boards making sure we made the right turns. Although, that seemed working fine for a while, we got confused when we saw sign boards up ahead to Mumbai showing us right, when a few meters earlier it showed straight ahead. We were approaching a 'Y' junction, so we had to decide which way to go. My wife noticed that there were few policemen standing at the junction, so we kept going till we reached them.
We thought it was best to stop and ask them for directions rather than getting lost in traffic, defeating the whole purpose of having started early. As we slowed down, I put my head out to ask the policeman, who by then had waved to us to stop a little off the road, to let traffic behind us move.
"Mumbai jaane ka raasta kaunsa hai", I asked with a befuddled expression on my face. To which he replied " Hmmm..aapka license dikhaaye..". Err..what's going on! I pulled out my licence and he looks at it and says, " Aapko lane cutting ka fine bharna padega". For a second I didn't know whether to laugh or get angry. Fine!? What nonsense! I tried reasoning with the cop that we were merely slowing down to ask him for directions. Oblivious to my confession, he goes on to ask "Kahaan ja rahe ho?". What ! What the hell is wrong with this guy? I said we were going to the airport and we have an international flight. Then, he wants us to open the boot and check our bags. "Imported saaman kuch hai kya?", he asks. The three of us are stunned. I started to loose my patience. I told him that he is wasting our time and that there was no offence from our side. By this time, I noticed that the other cop standing beside us, who witnessed all the drama, had a nonplussed & bored expression. I called out to him and said, "Sir, kya ho aha hai yeh sab". He looks at the other cop and says, "Jaane do unko, woh airport ja rahe hai". Thank you, so he is the good cop ! But the other cop is adamant that I leave my license with him, which apparently my friend can collect (as he figured out only my wife & I are traveling). I was starting to get really annoyed; my wife and my friend also tried to reason it with the good cop. Finally, after arguing back & forth he let us off without a fine, although the cop who wanted to fine us wasn't one bit happy. If only he had his mate’s support, he must’ve thought !
As we move ahead, my friend tells me, all the while the cop was waiting for me to tip him off, which is something that never crossed my mind! Yeah, maybe they are working on a Sunday morning, maybe they are underpaid, but whatever the goddamn reason is, this is no way to share their misery!!
One can imagine such a nightmare it was "asking cops for directions"! Word of advice - stay off the radar even if you are a law abiding citizen; and you wonder why "men don't stop to ask for directions" ha !!
Cheers,
On the previous day, I did the routine tire air pressure check which I do every time before we do a long trip, especially if that involves driving at speeds over 100 kmph on the highways.
We also offered to drop off our friend at Mumbai, who was in Pune for the weekend. So the three of us set off from Pune at a brisk pace. Since we started early enough, the journey till we left the express highway was uneventful with us stopping only at the toll booths occasionally.
A little ahead after the express highway exit, we noticed there were a lot of road works underway, with diversion boards here and there to direct us. We strained our eyes to read the boards making sure we made the right turns. Although, that seemed working fine for a while, we got confused when we saw sign boards up ahead to Mumbai showing us right, when a few meters earlier it showed straight ahead. We were approaching a 'Y' junction, so we had to decide which way to go. My wife noticed that there were few policemen standing at the junction, so we kept going till we reached them.
We thought it was best to stop and ask them for directions rather than getting lost in traffic, defeating the whole purpose of having started early. As we slowed down, I put my head out to ask the policeman, who by then had waved to us to stop a little off the road, to let traffic behind us move.
"Mumbai jaane ka raasta kaunsa hai", I asked with a befuddled expression on my face. To which he replied " Hmmm..aapka license dikhaaye..". Err..what's going on! I pulled out my licence and he looks at it and says, " Aapko lane cutting ka fine bharna padega". For a second I didn't know whether to laugh or get angry. Fine!? What nonsense! I tried reasoning with the cop that we were merely slowing down to ask him for directions. Oblivious to my confession, he goes on to ask "Kahaan ja rahe ho?". What ! What the hell is wrong with this guy? I said we were going to the airport and we have an international flight. Then, he wants us to open the boot and check our bags. "Imported saaman kuch hai kya?", he asks. The three of us are stunned. I started to loose my patience. I told him that he is wasting our time and that there was no offence from our side. By this time, I noticed that the other cop standing beside us, who witnessed all the drama, had a nonplussed & bored expression. I called out to him and said, "Sir, kya ho aha hai yeh sab". He looks at the other cop and says, "Jaane do unko, woh airport ja rahe hai". Thank you, so he is the good cop ! But the other cop is adamant that I leave my license with him, which apparently my friend can collect (as he figured out only my wife & I are traveling). I was starting to get really annoyed; my wife and my friend also tried to reason it with the good cop. Finally, after arguing back & forth he let us off without a fine, although the cop who wanted to fine us wasn't one bit happy. If only he had his mate’s support, he must’ve thought !
As we move ahead, my friend tells me, all the while the cop was waiting for me to tip him off, which is something that never crossed my mind! Yeah, maybe they are working on a Sunday morning, maybe they are underpaid, but whatever the goddamn reason is, this is no way to share their misery!!
One can imagine such a nightmare it was "asking cops for directions"! Word of advice - stay off the radar even if you are a law abiding citizen; and you wonder why "men don't stop to ask for directions" ha !!
Cheers,
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