A few good men

Bribery and corruptions have been constant in the lives of most people in this country. Weather we like it or not we are up against it in most places. Government offices are the worst and if one has to deal with the government on anything it's sure to last a few days with no clue if the work will get done with or without the bribery. We brace ourselves before entering into these hallowed portals and come out most often than not worse off than when we went in. Which is why when one is met with efficiency and good manners ones is not sure if it's a one off or if it's the norm . However having said that I continue to believe that there are some good men in the system and when we do meet them we must be the first to acknowledge them.

My first experience is with our local garbage collector. Most of them (in the many years that I have had reason to deal with them,) are lazy,will do a bad job on most days,will insist on payment despite getting a salary and will demand that they are tipped handsomely on festival days. In India with the number of festivals we have ,this demand is almost and ongoing cycle. God forbid we don't pay up. I have had garbage pile up in my compound thanks to refusing extortion . Then we get a chap who is young,pleasant,always says thank you and good morning or atleast greets one with a smile. He is efficient and will pick up the garbage every day. Has informed us of his weekly off so we are prepared. Will never demand tips and is reluctant to accept gifts in cash or kind. He will however take a chair or some item that might be of some use to him,if we are throwing it away. He has friends in all the streets he services,the local shopkeepers are his friends and he always has a smile and a wave for everyone. Now instead of avoiding the garbage collector we actually have a chit chat most mornings.

Getting a passport is supposed to be the right of every citizen in this country but it's a nightmare for most people. For years we braved a dusty,smelly office where no one has a clue who did what. It was an office that reeked of bribery and corruption and the office boys were the collectors so to speak. The system was so miserable that every man worth his criminal salt was making a quick buck at the expense of the hapless citizen. Ten years ago in the heat of an Indian summer I braved that office and after having almost giving up,managed to get a passport. The police who had to verify our details were always there to take some more cash off us, and those who didn't pay up could wait for ages for their passports to get cleared. Fast forward to this year. I woke on the morning of my visit to the office,sick at the thought of facing that miserable lot who thought they we're doing me a favour giving me a passport. I was surprised to walk into a clean (government office are always dirty) office,air conditioned ( surprise surprise) and be passed through from one desk to the other in quick succession (the rate as which one moved in the queue was enough to put even a snail to shame) and finger printed photographed and attended to by polite and well mannered people. In shock I moved to the final step where some left overs of the previous office still ruled the roost but even that wasn't as painful as it was ten years ago. Progress at last. Well I still had to wait for the police to verify the details and that wasn't something I looked forward to. Most policemen think they are gods gift to citizens and would hang around wasting time till I paid some bribe or the other. I equally determined not to pay up,would end up wasting his time but having to prolong the agony of having the man hang around my house. Fast forward again to the present day. The cop called and fixed an appointment,apologised for being late,collected all the details and left all in a space of ten minutes during which time we had a very civil conversation on crime and punishment. I thanked him profusely . To meet a decent cop is a rare thing and I for one must put it on record that here was a very decent human being who did his job and left. I wish we had more such people in the force,perhaps citizens would be more willing to report crime.

To think that in all the years that I have lived in this city and country it's taken me this long to write about a few good men,but if this is way forward all power to the good people who exist in a badly run system

Pillar to post

Running from pillar to post isn't my favourite form of working out but I seem to be doing it more often than not. Yesterday and today have been the same story. I always wondered why we don't have systems that work despite the people who run them. Then again we have forms to fill where the information given is in contrast to what actually happens. Take for instance getting a demand draft. I filled a form which gave me options of cash,cheque or bank transfer so I choose cash since I had the money on me and it wasn't a big amount.  I reached the counter and was told that only a cheque was acceptable. When I pointed out that they hade given me an option she shrugged and said well it's not an option anymore. So I had to pay for the bank careless use of options on a form that they had no intention of honouring. Mind you I had to wait on a line for fifteen minutes before I was told about this. The next bank told me that would accept cash but the manager was on leave so I would have to use another branch. Once again the form gave the option of cash. The other branch however told me that cash was not acceptable and to add insult to injury,they would charge me a commission despite having an account with them. I left both banks in total frustration. My point is not that there is anything wrong in accepting a cheque,in face I think they must insist on it to avoid money laundering and corruption but if they give options then they must honour it. If one person in a bank tells me so thing then that should apply to all branches of the same bank. Why or why do we not have systems that work . If I was in America I could have sued both banks but in India I suffered in silence being at the mercy of banks and their shrugging shoulders.