My roomie and I were driving back from a movie festival the other evening. I was feeling a little blue because my results were out and as it turned out I would have to reacquaint myself with one especially tiresome subject. Not that I had really worked for the exam but I had hoped I had worked enough. To make matters worse (for me) my friends, my erstwhile companions in distress had left me far behind. They were jubilant and I was anything but.. And suddenly all the talk about us, the farzi (shamming) engineers, not caring about how we fared in exams, rang hollow.

We were driving on a dark by-lane when suddenly my eyes made out a form in the distance. I immediately told warned my roomie and he flashed his dipper which caught a petrified cyclist tinkering with his bike in the middle of the road. My roomie slammed his brakes and moments latter we heard a loud screech as the car behind us did likewise. It was a close shave for the cyclist and for us because onlookers are not known to be charitable towards car owners who run over cyclists, no matter whose fault it is. Similarly car owners are not known to be charitable towards other car owners who brake suddenly and cause a crash, especially if the former heavily outnumber the latter.

And suddenly I didn’t feel so bad any more. At least no one was dead. As long as there is life there is possibility. Things are never as bad as they are made out to be. As long as there is life you can always retire to fight another day.

Got a call from my cellular service provider asking regarding some user verification.Uptil now they had been content to pester me with recorded messages every time i dialled a number. Its a pre-paid number so you buy a card use it up and refill it whenever you like.No grounds for the service provider to call you up,no unpaid bills etc.You would think.But apparently these guys want to keep tabs on people using their phones.But that is n't half of it. They want you to go down to their showroom and submit proof of address,a photograph etc.I had to pinch myself to make sure I was n't dreaming.Look im not applying for an American H1-B visa. Im not asking for anything except being left alone to continue using the number i have been using for the past 3 and half years.And i dont photograph well.So I dont like handing out freebies of photos in which i look alright.When the girl told me to do it i asked her if there was a last date.She said there was n't one. Then she hastily added that i was supposed to do the needful within 2 days of receiving this call failing which i would n't be able to make out-going calls. I told her i was busy and i would n't be able to find the time.She asked me what my problem was as though i was some loony who had called her up to harass her.And i had to pinch myself again to make sure this was n't a dream in which i was a hapless call-centre coolie peddling loans to irate potential customers. Hang on for a second now.Are n't i supposed to be the irate customer here?How did this role reversal happen?So much for the private sector being efficient,customer-friendly and prompt.I am no champion of the public sector or of government services.But atleast they are not out to fleece you.They are only callous and indifferent to your problems which i dont mind. I go to electricity board office to pay my bills not to feel good about the world in general and people in particular.And to their credit the time they cut of our electricity(due to unpaid bills of the previous tenants) they did such a shoddy job that my enterprising roomie was able to set it right himself.My experiences with private-run services have been that great.Our last internet service provider would give us connectivity only every alternate day.Our present isp makes feel like we are asking for free adult movie downloads when we ask to be compensated for no-connectivity days.Once our friendly call-centre executive had hung i was in half a mind to call the enquiry number and let of some steam.But then i thought--'what if its not a toll-free number and they charge me for calling up and asking them why they were harassing me?'.In any case it might have been an empty threat.As an engineering student i'm no stranger to empty threats.That's the favoutite hobby of our professors and even if a fraction of those threats had been serious almost no one of us would have reached final year.So i'm just going to stay put--waiting and watching