Random Thoughts

it seemes that my cycle has the potential to be the heroine of many of my blogs. first of all, it went defunct on the very day i bought it and brought it to my dorm. and i swear it wasn't my fault at all, other than the fact that i allowed my dormmates to drive it. it has 12 gear combinations, and when you have 16 out of 18 engineers in your dorm, your cycle ceases to be a newly-wed bride (as i would have liked them to believe) and instead becomes an engineering challenge. within a span of 15 metres they used to change the gears some 20-25 times. so what happened later on, didn't come as a surprise at all. next evening i dressed up myself in full jogging suit and went to my cycle only to find out that the gears had been locked up, the chains didn't exactly match up with the gear teeth on the rear wheel and of course, i couldn't even move the gear-shifter along its full length. i could only put it on the 5th and 6th positions, it didn't go beyond it.

i called up the cycle shop and found out that the shop is closed on sunday. so i tried again on wednesday (dont blame if for not calling earlier, i really have a busy schedule on monday and tuesday) and talked to the shopkeeper. here is how the conversation went.

Me: hello, i am Rahul, talking from IIM, Vastrapur. my cycle has got its gears locked up and so i
can't paddle the wheels. could you send a technician ?

Shopkeeper (giving me a true example of the diminished customer value after he/she makes a purchase): But sorry sir, we don't send technicians to the customers. they have to bring it to our
shop.

Me (using my most mellow and humble voice, as if i am sitting in an i-bank interview): yes i know, but actually i can't paddle the wheels and i will have to take the cycle to ur shop by walking on foot. and you very well know, that my institute is around 3 kms from ur shop. so it would be really nice if you helped me out of my situation.

[what i didn't say to him that i can, and actually do, run 5 kms in 20 minutes. but that wouldn't have helped my situation, would it ?]

Shopkeeper (like Queen victoria deigning to grant a wish to a humble page): ok i understand your situation. normally we don't agree to such requests, but since you are from IIM, i will send a technician tomorrow.

[this is the first time my institute's brand name has helped me in getting some work done. most of the times, as soon as the shopkeepers know that you are from IIM, they will hike up the prices. the autowallahs in front of the institute take circuitous routes to any place you want to go, and take twice or thrice the fair amount. everybody in the campus knows this, but is helpless since he/she doesn't know the route.]

i waited the whole day tomorrow, and as i had feared, the technician didn't turn up. i called the shop yesterday, and i had thought about a word or two about professional ethics that i wanted to tell the shopkeeper. here is how the conversation went:

Me: hello, this is Rahul from IIM, Vastrapur. you were supposed to send a technician today, but
nobody turned up.

Shopkeeper: Sir, actually today it rained very heavily here.

Me: And......? (yes i know this, you bastard. it was raining inside the campus walls also. here too it is too hot these days, and thankfully we don't get any step-motherly treatment from mother nature.)

shopkeeper: so, the water has entered the basement of the shop. and all the people in the shop are busy taking out the water. we don't have anything but bucket and mugs, and we hope to finish this work by tomorrow evening. so i am very sorry, but please bear with us.

so folks, this is a humble begining of the story of my cycle. i went out for my first ride today in the evening and had quite a few interesting incidences. but that i will post later. if you talk too much one day, you won't have anything to speak the next day, isn't it?