CITYLIGHTS

CITYLIGHTS

23.11.2020

Bribe’s the word

A few days before Diwali, when I accompanied my friend to a sub-registrar office (SRO), we were taken aback to see two women exchanging abuses. About a dozen of the staff at the SRO, and almost 40 other people who had come for the registration, were witness to the ugly fight. I tried asking one of the staff to stop the verbal duel and lodge a complaint, but his reply shocked me. “The two women are the SRO (main) and joint SRO of the office,” he said. Shocked, I stood back and watched the fight along with the rest of the onlookers. I realised that the two SROs were fighting over their share of the bribe collected from people visiting the office to register their properties. And that too, in front of the applicants themselves! Later, even my friend got his property registered through a tout, who exacted a “fee” to complete the process. A Selvaraj

Virtual woes

Jackie Chan can break any monotony, as he is such an amazing entertainer. But when his stunt sequences and music are parachuted onto an online NEET coaching class, it spells trouble. The other day, a bunch of MBBS aspirants attending an online NEET coaching classes of a popular tuition centre were in for a surprise when their class proceedings were hacked and some Jackie Chan sequences were played. The alert teacher cut the link quickly and changed access code for the virtual classroom. While the students had a good laugh and typed in the new code to continue their classes, the teachers are now debating ways to keep such hackers away, as more grave content could find its way into online classes. A Subramani

Kovid calling

Blame it on pandemic-induced paranoia. But, when a mail appeared in my inbox the other day from a Covid V (surname withheld), I was convinced it was a virus, some sort of mayhem being created by a malicious hacker determined to gain access to my contact list. Without a second thought, I deleted Covid from my inbox, reported him as spam. A few days later, I got a call from Covid. Imagine my fright and surprise. Before I could utter a word, poor Covid said, "Please don't hang up. My name is Covid. I'm trying to change my spelling to Kovid but it hasn't happened yet." And that's when I went to that online fount of all knowledge and keyed in the name Kovid. Apparently it is a Sanskrit word for Wise and Experienced. A lovely name, a lovelier meaning, a new lockdown learning for me. Kamini Mathai

Service, with a personal touch

As this reporter walked inside a private bank, which had collapsed recently due to bad loans, she saw a fight break out between a couple and the bank manager over deposit withdrawal. The argument escalated as angry depositors who believed their money was lost wanted to take back their entire deposit. The teary-eye customer was consoled only after the manager explained the concept of moratorium -- a one-month restriction over deposit withdrawals --- and assured her that all deposits were safe. A senior official at the bank said that FAQs or posters explaining the restrictions would not actually help customers and they would feel confident only after meeting the bank officials in person. Even as he said that, there were 20 other agitated couples waiting outside the bank, worried that they had lost all their savings.

Mamtha Asokan

Welcome to Chennai

Many people who are new to the city complain about the language barrier. But here’s why you should think twice before you grouse. A cab driver, who was on his way to pick this reporter up late in the night and lost his way, assumed he was talking to a non-city resident and mustered his English skills to ask for directions. For the next 15 minutes, the phone conversation went like a military parade- ‘Left, Right, Left, Right, Turn, Left, Right…’ Finally, when this reporter boarded the cab and uttered a few words in the local language, the stunned cab driver facepalmed for two straight minutes. “Madam, I feel embarrassed for talking in bad English. I didn’t know you can speak good Tamil. I thought you may be new to the city and I tried hard to speak in English, so that I can safely drop you at your destination. I didn’t want you to feel unwelcome.”

U Tejonmayam