I saw a huge Billboard at Master Canteen, a prime central location of the city close to the Railway station proudly advertising the grand opening (probably the first in the city) of a new Burger King joint at a local mall on Friday, the 12th October. Understandably so - as Friday is one of the 3 days other than Wednesday and Sunday when majority of Odias have no qualms consuming meat, fish and poultry. I was hardly excited by this grand opening, still sticking to my promise of not eating any Burger or Pizza during my stay in India. For me, A chicken egg roll is much preferred option to Burger King.
It was a day of mixed customer service experience. After making a purchase from the "Nimapada Sweets", a popular store in Bapuji Nagar I tendered the exact changes. The cashier did not like a slightly soiled 10 rupee note (A currency bill is called note here) and refused to take it. I am sure he was very aware of the profit he was making on a Rs.570 sell - a slightly soiled 10 rupee note wll hardly impact him. Though its sweets are of great quality, it privides lousy customer service.
The opposite happened during my visit to the oppositely located VENUS INN - a popular restaurant offering South Indian platters. As I was ordering a parcel (the local term for to go or carry out food), I was offered a seat and glass of water for the 15 minutes wait to pick up the order. They had no qualms about accepting that so called soiled 10 rupee note. A waiter opened the door for me as my both hands were full. Exemplary customer service by Venus Inn.
The heavy rain tapered off to a steady drizzle as I tried to cross the road from Nimapada sweets store to Venus Inn amidst a bunch of honking vehicles, swinging my hips and clasping my hands which would have made any eunuch proud. I could see a car approaching towards me through the stripes of rain painted gold by its headlight, looking like rays of fireworks emitting from sparkler on a Diwali night.
I walked nonchalantly, thinking as a pedestrian I have the right of way and the car to stop. But apparently the car driver felt he had the right of way as it got perilously close and slammed its break hardly a feet away from me. Glad he did that - it was win win situation for both of us. I escaped unhurt and he from getting thrashed by the locals which he couldn't have avoided at such a busy intersection per the underlying mob rule - when a vehicle hits a pedestrian it is invariably the fault of the vehicle, if two vehicles are involved in a collision it is the fault of the bigger vehicle. Lucky day for both.
It rained crazily all night long, with natural fireworks of thunder and lightening. Sky was still gray in the morning. The street below was filled with leaves, broken branches and twigs from tress. I found my match in an old Bull in our locality - for he puts his bullshit on our street, I load my bullshit on Facebook. The poor old guy shared his space with couple of pariah dogs taking shelter under the mango tree protruding out above the wall near our gate. The animals shared the natural canopy, respecting each other's space with mutual trust and respect, occasionally shrugging off the excess water from their bodies and changing positions looking for drier spot. More later....
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