[Reader-list] TC

[zainab at xtdnet.nl]

TC (Contd 
)
“This morning you know what happened?” TC started as we were eating lunch
a few days ago, “One lady, very well dressed, she was traveling without a
ticket. I caught her at VT (Victoria Terminus, main junction on Central
Railway now known as Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus). I told her that
she would have to pay a fine of two hundred and seventy five rupees. She
agreed to pay. I asked her again, just to confirm, whether I should make
the rasheed  (receipt). She said, ‘yes, make it fast.’ I was impressed
that she agreed to pay so easily. Otherwise passengers refuse to pay up.
But this one was well dressed, executive type. She insisted that I hurry
up. I asked her how come she was traveling without a ticket. I said,
‘madam, the ticket would have cost you twelve rupees and now here you are,
paying me twenty times more!’ She replied, ‘what to do? I was in a hurry.
The queue was long. I could not wait. I decided to try my luck and got
into the train. Too bad for me that I got caught by you.’ She kept looking
around here and there as I was making the receipt. Maybe she did not want
to get noticed by people around. After all, she must be on some high post
and would not want to be seen being fined by a TC. Finally, she paid up
quickly and left,” TC concluded.

Apparently, people in Mumbai often travel ticketless on the trains because
they don’t have time to stand in the queues and purchase tickets. A
sizeable percentage of the population travels on monthly or quarterly
passes which works out to be economical for travel and helps to avoid the
hassles of standing in the ticket queues. All about time at a railway
station 


“This morning, I caught hold of a guy in first class. He was traveling on
second class ticket in first class. I asked him to pay up. Initially, he
agreed. When I prepared the rasheed, he started yelling, ‘you people are
cheats and corrupt! Why do you have to fine? I am sure you will put this
money in your pocket. I have a brother who is a reporter with a popular
newspaper. I will have him follow-up on this and if the money goes in your
pocket, it shall be reported tomorrow.’ I got angry when I heard this. I
said to him, ‘I have a brother who works in Aaj Tak TV Channel. Your
brother will get the story published tomorrow; mine will relay it on TV
this evening itself!”

TC liked the Gujarati gentlemen who travel in first class. His opinion
based on his experiences is that they are the ones who are wealthy and pay
up easily. TC also has sharp eyes. The regularity of the train network and
train schedules has trained his mind and eyes. As he often says, his job
is to watch carefully. One day, as we were standing on VT Railway Station,
TC suddenly pointed out towards a group of men who were also standing on
the station, in a circle, as if whispering and discussing something.
“These are card players from Kalyan. They are distributing their shares at
the end of today’s journey,” he smiled. I was astonished. “How do you
know?” I asked him. “I know,” he said, smiling with his eyes.

“I was standing at the ticket counter at Byculla station one day. My
juniors were checking tickets. A girl was passing by. As soon as she saw
uniformed officers checking tickets, she changed her direction and started
walking the other way. I noticed and immediately asked my junior to go and
check her. As soon as he approached her, she started shouting. ‘I did not
know when this station came. I missed my station. I was supposed to go to
Andheri. It’s not my mistake.’ It usually happens that passengers get
defensive. I went up to her and said, ‘Madam, what is the problem?’ She
continued shouting, ‘mere ko nahi maloom main yahan kaise pahunch gayi.
Mujhe Andheri jaana tha!’ I checked her ticket. Her ticket was from Kalyan
to Sion. I knew she was lying. I brought this to her notice. ‘I don’t
know, I don’t know,’ she kept shouting. I asked her to pay up the fine.
She was very well dressed, ekdum posh. She said, ‘I don’t have that much
money.’ I said to her, ‘Don’t make us check your bag. Please pay up.’ She
refused. Now, we, as gents, cannot check her bags. Also, when we don’t
have a lady constable at the station, we cannot take her to the station
police office because if she is a shaani (smart one), then she will scream
and shout and make a case of harassment against us! A lady officer came by
and we took the girl to the station police office. She continued to shout.
‘My uncle is in the ministry. I shall have you all sacked!’ The lady
officer checked her bag. Such a well-dressed and good-looking girl and
only hundred rupees came out of her bag. I said to her, ‘Madam, you appear
to be from a good (as in wealthy) family. Why do you travel on an invalid
ticket?’ Now she became apologetic. ‘I made a mistake.’ ‘What do you do?’
I asked her. ‘I am a dentist,’ she replied. ‘Okay, you will pay a hundred
rupees fine and next time, when our officer has a dental problem and he
comes to you, you will charge him hundred rupees less!’”

TC concludes that Bombay public is stingy. They usually travel with fifty
or hundred rupees in their pockets. Hence, when majority are caught, they
are unable to pay up the fine.

(To be continued 
)


Zainab Bawa
Bombay
www.xanga.com/CityBytes
http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html