The Other Side of Parking and Police

Last week on a weekday I had an unusual experience.

I had to go to a bank on a main road and parking was alloted on one side of the adjecent road. There was a 'No Parking' board on the other side but there were some cars parked there.

Right near the entrance of the A.road , there were a bunch of police men relaxed and settled...sitting in cosy chairs under shady trees and enjoying the gentle afternoon breeze ...looking very much at ease .

Seeing the other cars parked in the opp direction , I too encouraged by another erring driver , parked my car there. But very cleverly :P asked the policemen there , if I could park it in that area.. One of the cops said "Oramaa podumaa" (park it close to the pavement)...and I proudly showed them how close to the pavement the vehicle was and with a big smile of gratitude proceeded to the bank :)

After half an hour when I came back , I saw a rectangular metal frame and a big lock fastened along the driver side wheel :(

Imagine my shock and I turned around to give the policemen an accusing look and only after that did they realise that the car had been locked :(
They were very apologetic and then told me that they were there for the CM's
security and had nothing to do with the traffic (!!!) .
I said "But when I asked you..you never told me" and they said "Its very rare
to lock cars in this road".

But even before I asked them , they called the traffic police who had the key , and asked them to come over. Apparently they were having lunch and I had to wait under the trees :(
They offered me a chair (!) but I preferred to stand there...and was listening to
their conversation about Tamil Nadu politics (very interesting :P) . Then one of
the SIs elaborated an accident that had taken place a few hours before in Ambattur and was very disappointed with the general public. He said that not one person came near the victim and it was only the auto drivers who came to the victim and took him
to the hospital..(but the case was fatal) . The SI was all appreciation for Chennai
auto drivers saying they are the ones who always come to the rescue during crisis.

Then the conversation turned to general cribbing about their odd duty hours , their kids schooling , their respective native places etc. all in their own unique accent .They told me about their kids and what they are planning to study and also
enquired me about my schooling and family.

Meanwhile another person came there asking them "Can I park my car here?"
and there was a chorus of "vendaaaam!!" from all and pointed to me and my car :(
The guy said "I am related to the CM" for which they said "Neenga traffic police
kitta sollidunga" .
Dont know what made me ask that guy if he likes standing under the shady trees in that area :P. He took his car and drove away promptly .

Finally , the traffic police came in their crane like vehicle and the SI requested them to remove the lock and pleaded (yeah..I heard him request) that it was his fault :)

By the end of this half an hour I had seen another side of Chennai police and was quite impressed with their attitude and outlook.Inspite of the inconvienience I felt the experience was worth it .
Once the lock was removed , they gave me a nice send off .

I never dreamt that there'd come a day when a bunch of policemen would be relieved to see me leave :))



BTW...I found this post http://shocking.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/funny-answers-written-by-students/
by Pegasus absolutely hilarious..check it out :)