02 November,2009 10:13 AM IST | | Shridhar Kulkarni
Shridhar Kulkarni describes what happened when he went shopping at Bangalore's busiest market
Bangalore, the city where I live, is funny. It is a mix of old Indian culture and new Western culture. But it mainly a city of traffic jams. Every day I face one, or two.
But we have other vehicle-related problems. I recently wanted to buy a pen drive. I parked my Scooty and went in search of the gadget. The parking experience was hellish. The parking lot had no proper flooring. With sharp stones strewn all over, it looked like a road under construction.
I was not able to push my small bike across the flooring. With great difficulty I managed finally to park it.
Thanks to the slush, I was getting all wet and dirty. I asked a boy standing there, "Is this parking lot getting repaired?"
The boy was new to Bangalore and was working in one of the shops there. He had no answer. I left my bike, fearing it would have a puncture because of the bad floor, and went shopping for the pen drive.
I returned after about an hour. I struggled to bring the Scooty out of the parking lot as other vehicles were parked haphazardly.
A man came over to me and helped me take my vehicle out. He asked me for a parking fee of Rs 20. I was surprised. "Rs 20 for a bike?" I asked.
"Sir, I think you are new to this place. It's okay, you can give me Rs 10," he said.
Wow, a quick discount! I asked him "What? Rs 10?" He was getting irritated with my words. He said, "Oh, that's okay, sir. Just give me Rs 5."
By then I knew bargaining would work. "Rs 5?" I asked again.
He said, "Sir, Rs 2 will do, and no more discounts. You have to pay it."
I gave him Rs. 2 and asked for a receipt. He shook his hand to say there was none.
I don't know if I should be happy I got such a good discount. But I was wondering what BBMP was doing. They are responsible for parking, and if this happens in the heart of Bangalore, you can imagine what it must be like elsewhere.
