It was my brother’s marriage purchase time and we were in a famous dress shop in Chennai. The bride’s saree was chosen. The shopkeeper told my father, “if you are paying by card you have to pay rs.26000/- but if you are paying by cash you can take it for Rs.25000/-“. The jewelry shop owner also had the same story. My father, being a common man, paid by cash everywhere though I had insisted otherwise. Being the youngest child in the family, I had little say though I myself am 26 years old.
Later, I was at egmore station waiting to board the rockfort express. Feeling thirsty, I looked up at the IRCTC water vending kiosk but found it closed. So I went to the street shop and asked for a 1 litre bottle. I was charged Rs. 17/- though the MRP was Rs. 16/-. I argued to the shop keeper but he gave a cold stare for a minute as if the mistake was on my part. I too looked right into his eyes until he looked away. He knew I was right and had nothing to say.
Recently, a policeman turned up to my house for verifying the details of my sisters daughter (2 year old kid) for her passport. Though everything was in order my father had to go to the police station to do the needful.
Being unsettled by such incidents, I decided to enroll myself in a yoga class organized by a Coimbatore based Centre in our locality to learn the art of living (with such things).It was said that the course costs Rs.750/- and I had remitted the same. The next day all of us were issued a receipt saying “received with thanks Rs.750 as donation towards I$#@ yoga center”
Hold on!! Rs.750 –my donation – that too to a yoga center!!?? No way!!
That evening I had personally expressed my dissatisfaction, on being given such a receipt, to the yoga trainer and had requested him with all due respect, to issue receipts saying “received sum of rs.750/- as fees” - Fees is the amount you charge for a training/course while donation is the amount one wishes to contribute- The former had happened here. The yoga trainerhimself lost his cool on being confronted and gave a listless reply–What do you think is important!!? The path or the goal?? I thought that the egmore shopkeeper was a better yogi as, atleast, he didn’t talk nonsense.
I wonder how the same people, who have accepted such thingswithout much shame, were on the streets favouring Anna Hazare’sLokpal bill protests. We ourselves are ready to bribe for a passport, driving licence, ration card, for jumping a traffic signal, temple queues etc.and never felt bad about it, did we? We are ready to cheat the government while registering land, enrolling our son or daughter in a college for higher education by paying donation etc. and just say “this is quite normal and that’s the way it is. “ . Nowadays, just like charity, corruption also begins at home isn’t it!?
What is required is change in attitude of the entire nation. But that is a far-fetched idea. To begin with lets join hands to celebrate anti-corruption day. TheUN has adopted 9thdecember as anticorruption day.Atleast on that daylet us try to be upright, Let’s avoid giving/getting bribes, get all bought items billed,sell all items below/at MRPjust to see for ourselves how good it feels to be anticorrupt.
Remember, We can neither have the anti-corruption crusader to begin hunger strike against nor the CAG to point out the loss to exchequer due to corruptionin every walks of life. It ultimately boils down to us as we have to face the wrath of our corrupt practices.
