It’s a common sight where youngsters are pouring into their mobile phones, even while walking on the streets. This habit has claimed quite a few lives ~ on railway tracks and on the roads when they go deaf and blind to oncoming traffic.

A colleague narrated one such incident that could have led to a fatal end. Waiting to cross a busy road in West Delhi, she was suddenly aghast to see a young girl step on to the highway. Busy looking into her mobile phone, the teenager was blissfully unaware of her actions.

That is, until a motorcyclist slammed his brakes, stopping just inches in front of her. Startled, the girl let out a shrill scream as she suddenly became aware of where she was standing. It was now the turn of the biker to get startled and he looked to see whether he had hit the girl. Realising the situation, he glared at her and shouted at the nervous girl, “What happened? Has a snake bit you?” As he took off, mercifully, the rest of the vehicles slowed down, allowing the youngster to cross the road.

Delivery confusion

Online shopping websites have made life hassle-free, especially for those who have no time to go and shop in the markets, which costs a lot of time and sweat. But, it doesn’t mean that these convenient means are completely free of chaos and confusion that sometimes make one regret one’s decision to shop online.

Recently, a colleague ordered a mobile phone from a popular e-commerce portal. Generally, these websites notify the customers about the date on which the product will be delivered but sometimes the product reaches before the stipulated time. Our colleague, who was enjoying his afternoon siesta, was disturbed by the knock at his door from the watchman who informed that a delivery man was inquiring about his flat number. He then allowed the watchman to send him upstairs thinking that the person must have come with the delivery in advance.

As the delivery man reached the door, he began yelling, “If you don’t want the product, why don’t you cancel online instead of wasting our time?” Taken aback by this tirade, our colleague told him that he hadn’t cancelled his orders at all. After a heated argument of 15 minutes, it was found that the delivery man was guided to a wrong building through the flat number was the same as that of our colleague’s. Sufficiently embarrassed, the man apologised and left!

Metro walk

While everyone is all praises for Delhi Metro, its service and convenience, there does exist a section of people, who still prefer other means of transport ~ mainly bus and auto-rickshaws. A colleague was amused by a conversation she overheard in the Metro between a middle-aged lady and her daughter.

While the young girl insisted the Metro was by far a more convenient mode of commuting, her mother kept countering her arguments. But the best part was when the girl said, “Imagine how much you have to walk to get an auto. You have to go all the way to the bus-stop or at least to the main road before you can spot one. And then it has to be empty plus the driver willing to go where you want.

But the Metro station is just a stone’s throw from our house.” The older woman promptly responded that Metro commuters also have to walk quite a bit. Not everyone is located next to the Metro. Moreover, within the Metro station, one has to walk down corridors and then climb up or down to reach, first the station and then the platform. Walking, she insisted, is inevitable. But an auto will take one to right to the doorstep of one’s destination, a clear advantage over the Metro!

Tailpiece

Our inhouse wag quipped that the party was over for some of the Karnataka MLAs as their sojourn in luxury resorts ended with the floor test.

Contributed by: R V Smith, Alpana Bhaumik, Kunal Roy, Rakesh Kumar and Asha Ramachandran