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Bangalore Wary...er, Dairy

Why ill luck romances me so much, I'll never know. Perhaps it's part of the heavenly scheme of things to drive me crazy, as if I amn't already!

Santosh was supposed to meet me at The Forum on Friday evening, as we were to go shopping to Big Bazaar. I've learnt the hard way that he seldom keeps his word, & this time was no exception. I reached The Forum only to be phoned by him & told that he wouldn't be able to make it. Great! Luckily, my instruments of fighting boredom, Sittu & Prateek, were there. I decided to buy 2 Tchaikovsky CDs (Symphonies #5 &6).

What's strange about the autos at The Forum or anywhere in its vicinity is that they seldom agree to ply to JP Nagar. It's some sort of colonial discrimination I guess! I decided to walk my way to Dairy Circle & try my luck there to catch an auto.

Everything was going according to plan. There's a desolate patch next to Christ College near Dairy Circle. Though the traffic is thick, pedestrians are a rarity. As I was walking through the locality, two young goons who must have been in their early 20s launched a sudden assault on me. A hard kick on my face left me profusely bleeding from my nose. Let me elaborate.

One of the guys approached me stealthily from the back & veering towards my right kicked me real hard on my face. For a moment, I didn't know what hit me! Gradually coming to my senses but still feeling dizzy, I realized what was happening around me. I was too dazed to register the exact train of events that followed but the robbers couldn't escape with my mobile, purse or bag as I gave them a fightback as best I could. However, I lost my glasses & a few other things in the scuffle. I can recall frantically calling for help...but to no avail. I remember finally managing to stop an auto that took me home.

My blood had stained my shirt, mobile & mobile pouch. I realized that my glasses were missing only when I reached home. My mouth hurts & my lower lip is swollen. I sleep disoriented. It's hard for me to eat & even smiling can't be taken beyond a stretch.

But why did the ruffians take such a drastic and bloody step? Why did they rough me up so brutally? While it's hard to defeat the intense urge to curse & hate them, it isn't hard to reason their action. Abject poverty and utter desperation may have primarily been responsible for steering them towards the darker avenues of making a living. Perhaps they were stripped of a fair opportunity to seek a better means of livelihood & I can only empathize with them.

Comments

Vivek said…
How can you empathize with people who gave you a bloody nose? Some of them do it for kicks ... or are into doing dope.
Vivek said…
.... and I didn't literally mean kicks!
Deepanjan said…
You have a point. However, the vast majority of such folks do so because they never had the opportunity to seek better options. But that doesn't attenuate their crime.
Undoubtedly, I would love to see the 2 folks punished for their misdeeds.
Anonymous said…
u got ur new spectacles?
Anonymous said…
who else has left the group apart from sameer?
Deepanjan said…
Anand, Rajeev, Sandu (I think).

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