Frankly, my knowledge and understanding of social issues is pretty feeble perhaps it never bothered me too much, but a small incident compelled me to introspect. I’ve been living in Jaipur for the past 9 months and since then I’ve been completely in love with this place (more on this in my next article). Every other day I board the city bus from my place to the coaching center, it’s roughly a 5 minute distance and therefore I get charged a minimal Rs 6 for my journey.
The “6” being a number not available in any denomination of our currency, the problem of “change” (khulle paise/chutte) is almost inevitable. Every day I used to see the bus conductor haggle with people to provide him the exact amount. In order to avoid this hustle I always kept ample amount of coins in my wallet.
One day, I offered the bus conductor a Rs 10 note and asked for the ticket (of Rs 6). To my surprise he returned me a Rs 5 coin and walked away without providing me the ticket. Thinking that he might have forgot, I asked for it but in a matter of seconds he vanished somewhere in the crowded bus. I had to get off at the next stop. I shared this incident with one of my friends who told me about a similar incident where he was fined by a ticket checker who refused to believe that the conductor didn’t furnish a ticket despite collecting the money.
I decided to do something. Next day, I purposely gave the conductor a Rs 10 note and pushed him to give me a ticket in return. He gave me a look and returned the change along with the ticket.
I know it’s a really small issue and no one cares about a rupee or two but these small things mould our attitude in the long run.We keep bellyaching about how our political leaders indulge in corrupt activities but never pay heed to similar and seemingly smaller events. So instead of whining that nothing will change in this country, let’s bring about the change instead.
Everyone thinks of changing the world , but no one thinks of changing himself – Leo Tolstoy