Nah.. this one is not about my uncle (Mama) but this is about the Regional Transport Officer (RTO), commonly called as Mamas in Mumbai.

So, here is the story..

I was on my way back home, driving the car.. suddenly, I see some municipality (government) vehicle driving very rash, honking continuously.

This pissed me off as government vehicles (any vehicles for that matter) are not supposed to drive so rash and honk so much. I was lucky to find a RTO, I tried to wave hand and ask him to stop the vehicle behind me but he did not understand what I was saying. So I ended up stopping my vehicle in the middle of the road, blocked the municipality vehicle, called the RTO and told him to get his license for rash driving or atleast ask him to park his vehicle aside so we can talk.

To my surprise, RTO guy talked very rudely and behaved as if I have committed some crime. I openly asked him why he was talking rudely.. he simply replied saying, this is the way we talk as there is too much noise around so we speak loudly. This was something really hard to digest but I did not argue with him much.

Now, I told him about the rash driving issue, so this guy, instead of listening to me, started blaming me of blocking the traffic.. (2-3 vehicles hardly). Though he did not have any answers when I asked, “how am I supposed to tell you that vehicle behind me is driving very rash and it needs to be stopped?”

So, after that point, I basically folded my hand and told him, “I am really sorry for wasting your precious time and informing you about the rash driver, I should let him drive rashly and wait for the consequences.”

I walked away right after that, he tried to call me again as if he is going to listen to what I say but I did not bother to respond as there was no point in arguing with someone who is not even ready to understand what is rash driving and what problems it could cause.

The point of this short story or experience is: I have seen so many policemen in India (atleast in Mumbai), they do not work for citizens, they talk to you as if you have done something wrong, they make you feel like you are the one who is at fault. I have seen this kind of behavior at many places. Not sure why they have such negative mindset or they are afraid to lodge any complaint.

But at the same time, I have seen many polite RTOs too. I think something needs to be done to change their mindset. It’s not helping anyone, they are getting the salaries from tax payers’ money and tax payers are the ones who gets treated badly.

Mera Bharat Mahaan..
Jai Hind

Image Source: Greasing the wheels by Satish Krishnamurthy

Life, Mera India