I am sure most of you must have read/heard about the new trick up the petrol-pump-assistants' sleeve. I had too, but it happened to me nevertheless.

The fact that I have noticed it at four different pumps in B'Lore has me worried. It surely isn't an isolated incident and I am pretty sure it extends outside of B'Lore too.

The trick is to short-change you of fuel.

The players

The pump guy who pumps the fuel - PG
The cash collector who collects the cash - CC
The victim - V

Modus Operandi

V asks for, say, 4 litres of fuel. PG asks V to check zero and proceeds to pump fuel. PG pumps only 1 litre of fuel, pretending that he thought V wanted only a litre. When V clarifies, PG and CC ask him if they can fill in another 3 litres. V says alright. Meanwhile, CC distracts V with silly questions like "are u paying by card or cash?" and other such stuff. Now that V is distracted, PG does not reset the meter and in fact goes slow on the fuel filling, so that by the time V's focus is back the meter shows around 1.25 litres or so. PG fills fuel until it shows 3 litres. do the math and V (well, i was) has just been cheated of a litre. Ofcourse, both PG and CC will claim that the meter was indeed reset.

I noticed it because inspite of the billing guy making attempts to distract me, I looked at the pump counter just in time to smell something fishy. I couldn't prove them wrong and so ended up being fooled.

A similar modus operandi is applied if you ask for 400 rupees worth of fuel. In this case, you'll be cheated of not just a litre but a 100 rupees worth of fuel.


The pumps

It has happened to me at 4 different places.

1) The first was the HP petrol pump on the JP Nagar Ring Road, just before the Delmia circle when you are headed towards Bannerghatta Road. Here I was cheated and learnt my lesson.

2) The next one was the BP just after Kadrenahalli Cross, Banashankari

3) The HP near Woody's just after the ICICI atm signal

4) The BP opposite IBM, near Jalbhavan, on Bannerghatta Road.


What can u do?

1) First and foremost, be alert. Don't take your eyes off the fuel counter. Car owners are probably the most susceptible as I have seen most of them remain inside the car. You are better off getting out of the car. It'll only cost a few seconds more.

2) Fill in lesser quantities.

3) Ask them to set the pump to auto-dispensing mode.

So as of this saturday (1st July), I have completed four years in the IT industry. Like many other IT workers, I am confused about whether I like it or not. Sometimes I find myself wondering if this is what I want to do. At other times, I think I am doing pretty well so why crib. The problem is not with the industry or the company, it is mostly with me. I am not adventurous enough or courageous enough to try something new. Yes, there are times when I bemuse myself dreaming about an off-the-beaten-track career filled with adventure and a newness. No, I am sure I will never ever do something like that.

Cheers to the four and whatever else is on the way. :)


P.S: My mom had to remind me and my friends that we have managed to complete four years. So our celebrations have been delayed by a week. :) We'll miss the majority that isn't in B'Lore.

He marvelled at the sunlight, filtering through the dense foliage. He had seen such sights before, yet the glee in his soul was as true as anything can be. He would never bask in the glorious golden shimmer. He would never feel the warmth touch down upon his spine and make the chill shiver away. He was tied, bonded to his anchor and his cocoon, also his crucifix.

Lazing around : The act of conserving energy by reducing movement and effort. :D

The idea, originally, was that we would be in Kerala to welcome the monsoon. Due inspiration was provided by the amazing book, "Chasing the Monsoon", which I have not read yet. We didn't plan to chase the monsoon but to merely be present in Kerala during the monsoon. We weren't even too hung up on the welcoming bit.

The ideal place for us, as most of you would tend to agree, would have been Kovalam. But given the choice of a lake resort, that was surprisingly truly on the banks of a lake, we were hooked to the idea. We decided to head for the KTDC Thanneer Mukkom resort. Thanneer Mukkom is close to Azhapuzha and Kumarakom, part of the backwaters belt. It's a very small village, the resort being the only marker.

We took off in a bus from Neyveli to Ernakulam and reached Ernakulam around 9am. From Ernakulam, after sifting through many conflicting routes from well-meaning people, we took a "transport" bus to Vaikkom. Some appams later, the heat became unbearable and irritating. An auto-wallah took us to the resort, which was about 15kms from Vaikkom and left us 150 bucks poorer.

The resort's location is breath-taking. Like I said before, it's on the banks of a huge lake and it adds to the charm. Actually, the location is the best thing about the resort. The rooms themselves were not too great. For 1250 bucks I guess you can't ask for anything more, given that it is a touristy spot. By afternoon, we were settled into the room and looking forward to the rains and an ayurvedic massage. The massage at 750 bucks did not do wonders. What it did do was give me a good appetite. :)

Did I tell you about the hammock by the lakeside? Well, I grabbed it as soon as I could and went into energy-conservation mode with a book in hand and a gentle breeze flowing in from over the water. Bliss!! Only a low wall stood between me and the water. I peeped out every few minutes to watch the fishermen steering their boats through the hyacinths. The resort also had a jetty and I loitered around close to the water for a long time.

The first half of day two was spent running through Azhapuzha for the return tickets to Bangalore. The situation looked bleak. So we satisfied ourselves with waitlisted train tickets from Ernakulam and went back to laze-around mode. Didn't someone say, "Cross the river when you come upon it." By afternoon we reached Kumarakom using a ferry from a place called Muhamma less than 10kms from ThanneerMukkom. After a lunch that consisted of lobster, we rented a motor boat with strict instructions to stick to the interior canal(s) and leave out the lake, that we already ferried across. Sadly, there are only motorised boats. Even the house boats are motorised. The canal cruise was extremely good.

In case you didn't notice, the rains were nowhere to be seen. Except for a very brief drizzle on day two, there was no hint of the monsoon. We prayed and hoped that the rains would come. But as luck would have it never did come. Either we missed it or we overshot it by a day or two.

On Sunday evening, as the train left Ernakulam, our disappointment was quadrapuled when the sky suddenly grew overcast with huge dark clouds and it rained. I don't know if it was a monsoon shower, but it rained very well and left us feeling more dejected. The rain-gods had mocked us and there was nothing we could do but go back empty-handed. In hindsight, it was a well spent two days, a good break from the monotony.

And there's always another chance.

Pix@Imagestation.