This is an ad appearing in newspapers, a public service ad by the Delhi Police. When I first saw this picture, my immediate attention went to that auto wala in the picture. 5 years of my stay in Chennai have made me hate them to the utmost degree. They look like extortionist to me. There have been very few occasions in which I happily parted out with the money. The meters are doctored so never ever go my meter in Chennai. Plus being non-Tamilian is a big factor, it basically multiplies the fare my 1.5 or even 2. There have been few incidents worth of a mention-
1. I was returning from Chennai Central at around 11 in the night. I thought of taking the local train back but to my surprise the local train station was already deserted. A peeing auto wala saw me, somehow managed to put everything back and approached me. After few minutes of haggling we were finally off.
I figured out later that he was drunk! I froze. The ride was like a roller coaster; swaying on either sides, buses barely managing to avoid collisions and on the top of that his FM Mirchi was in full volume. Thankfully he was able to differentiate red and green so we did stop at the right signals. I wonder why I didn’t get down and take another auto.
We finally managed to reach my destination and the real drama began. He refused to accept the amount that he previously agreed on, wanted 50 bucks more. I got irritated so I left the money on the pavement and started leaving. He went mad and started to pull my hands. There was no one around as it was already midnight. But this didn’t deter me from my adamant stand. I kept ignoring him and he kept following me. Finally he went back to his auto and raced with it towards me in full speed. Shiver ran through my body! He stopped few inches away and again demanded money. This time I gave him another 10 more and ran towards my institute gate.
2. I, along with 3 of my friends, boarded a shared auto to the next bus stop agreeing to pay Rs. 5 per head. But he wanted us to get down at a traffic signal which was before the stop. We agreed but gave him only Rs. 2 per head and left. He charged towards us with dissent. He kept arguing in Tamil, which I don’t understand a word. He was a fanatic who could have killed someone for few bucks. I too wanted to fight but my friends pulled me back and plus we were in party mood, who would like to ruin that over few bucks. At one instant he was accumulating spit so as to scare me!
Iran seems to have a solution for Women’s Paradise
TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran is seeking to create a paradise for female tourists by turning an island on a northwestern lake into male-free zone, the press reported on Wednesday.
All public transport, restaurants and facilities on the island — on the gigantic Oroumiyeh lake close to the Turkish border — will be staffed only by women, officials said
The initiative has even been cleared by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s provincial representative, who declared that a women-only island is not against Islamic sharia law, the official said.
Iran’s Islamic codes strictly prohibit exposure of unveiled women to men.
Iran has already partitioned parts of its southern and northern beaches as women-only zones where women can legally remove their headscarves and overcoats in freedom.
In some cities, there are also special “women parks”.
