While we spend more of our lives cribbing over things we don’t have or have lost out on (well most of us do), we seem to conveniently forget the “green grass†we stand on. A trip to any of the Local Police Station in Mumbai City once a while will surely help you realize how lucky you are not to be sitting in there and especially for the wrong reasons.
Yesterday and today I spent good half of my mornings at Juhu Police Station. Now before you jump to any conclusions, nope I was not there for drunk driving or murder or filing a complaint against John Abraham (though I am so tempted to do this at times). I had to visit my local cop station as a part of my Passport renewal process. Technically one is supposed to walk in there (only once your documents have arrived at the station), show some more relevant papers, answer a few questions, in return they make you sign some legal documents and that’s it. But then again this Mumbai and here things usually don’t happen as they are expected to.
So in reality, I walked in there around 10.00 am and was given token number 19. The officer in-charge of passport verification department took on an average around 15 minutes per person. And to that you also add countless visits to the toilet, cigarette breaks, paan breaks, paan spitting breaks, chit-chat with fellow officers and not to forget the one hour (so deserving) lunch break.
It is often said, “Policewalon ke samne acha acha seedhe ho jate hai†and now I understand why. While suffering the never-ending waiting period – I witnessed some roadside hawkers being wacked around by a senior officer, a prostitute pleading another officer not to file an FIR against her, an aged woman crying about the ill-treatment by her son and daughter in-law, a villainish looking cop yelling so loud on the phone that I am sure the person on the other must have pissed in his pants.
Thankfully enough before things started to get too much for my weak heart to handle, at 2.00 pm sharp my token number was called. But mera bad luck hi kharab tha, I forgot to bring along a letter from my housing complex and so was asked to come again the next day……yup 4 hours down the Mumbai gutter.
However things are not all that grayish, on my way out I found this sweet little thing sleeping away without a damn care in this world.
Chalo, insaan nahi toh atleast jannwar toh humari Mumbai Police se kush hain.
Comments
11 comments | Add your comment »
Melody
Jun 13th, 2007 at 2:56 pm | #
“or filing a complaint against John Abraham (though I am so tempted to do this at times)”
You really are very mean – why, why, why the anger against the gorgeous man?!
Priya
Jun 13th, 2007 at 5:20 pm | #
I remember something on the same lines, had gone to the station to report a car accident and boy was that an experience or what. Wish these men could be a little more approachable but I guess their job doesn’t permit them to do so.
Nice blog by the way.
Sumit
Jun 13th, 2007 at 5:27 pm | #
I actually bought tickets for Karam (really boring day and wanted to do something so that the day wasn’t a total waste). The movie was horrible from the get go, that guy is dull! Fine good physique and stuff blah blah blah! Deciding factor was when he busts open some door 15 min into the movie while a ripped of rendition of Navras (Matrix OST) plays in the bg. Horrible movie peppered with insults to good songs and good movies, I’m outta there. (Don’t even get me started on Milind Soman ripping off Marilyn Manson’s Sweet Dreams in some movie he produced)
Anurag
Jun 13th, 2007 at 6:04 pm | #
Wonder what the real India is like. The pains suffered by the common man go unnoticed until someone writes them in a blog, or a kind reporter makes it a sensational sting operation. Else we are happy to be stoics
When India is shining, lets hope the shine does not dazzle our eyes.
Moksh
Jun 13th, 2007 at 6:41 pm | #
Had the same experience when I had gone to file a FIR for the loss of my mobile phone. So that I could get the same mobile number… The policeman who was asking (actually, interogating) me with questions like I had stolen my own phone.
Kamala
Jun 14th, 2007 at 4:22 am | #
I was there (Juhu Police station) a few months back as a part of passport renewal process. Was that guy frustratingly meticulous (like arranging and rearranging the documents a hundred time before stapling them)?
Hey, btw you guys seemed to have had a ball of a time. I had to miss it as I was tending to my daughter who was down with chickenpox. Saw the pictures though!
Mehak
Jun 14th, 2007 at 4:53 am | #
I recently had a somewhat similar experience at the Passport office for my ECNR Stamping….N guess what Sakshi, 3.5 hrs down the gutter…have to go again next week…..
LOL @ the last line.
Bikram
Jun 14th, 2007 at 7:44 am | #
There’s this saying in Bengali –
which roughly means – “Any contact with police will leave U with 18 bruises.”
Another thing that goes perfectly with Police dept is the song from Shiva –
Abhishek
Jun 15th, 2007 at 4:27 am | #
The pathetic condition of entire police force in our country has been lamented time and again. One of my friends is leaving a well-paid-no-satisfaction IT job to sit for Civil Services exam. I guess he makes a difference to things that matter to every common man. However, I’ll continue to be apprehensive of this species called िसपाही….. On a different note, remember what it(िसपाही) meant in pre-Independence era?!?!
Abhishek
Jun 15th, 2007 at 5:13 am | #
Almost every one of us has been a party to the utter carelessness of these Khakiwalaas….. One of my friends is resigning from a high profile IT job in order to sit for Civil Services…… I hope he is able to make at least some difference……
Anshul
Jun 21st, 2007 at 12:26 pm | #
“Policewalon ke samne acha acha seedhe ho jate haiâ€, so what about you ???
Btw nice pic…