This post is long overdue. Really long! So long that the proof of this incident has lost its colour.

Anyway, it was a Saturday morning when a friend and I went out to do some shopping. We were somewhere in the Malleswaram/ Seshadripuram area and we were obviously lost. Asked an auto-driver for directions and he asked us to go straight down a road to reach Cauvery theatre. Perfect, zoom we went. Hidden behind branches was a no-entry board. I saw the board but before I could stop my friend who was driving (and didn’t notice), we were in front of Cauvery theatre.

This was one of those roads where just a small bit is a one way. If you are not from Bangalore, you wouldn’t understand what I mean. But in Bangalore, there are so many smaller roads (leading to main roads) only a part of which is a one-way. Strange, but true. By saying this, however, I am only establishing context.

We slowly parked the bike and were about to leave when we bumped into a police officer. He stopped us and took down details of my vehicle. My friend who was driving was still puzzled about what hit him!

The police officer took my friend’s licence and keyed in the details into his blackberry. He noted down my vehicle’s number and printed out a small receipt and handed it to me. I paid the Rs. 100 fine and walked away. The only thought in my mind – ‘so much for my paranoia about following rules’!

We went to the shop we had come to and did not find what we wanted. While I came out, I saw the police officer standing and I decided to take his autograph in my first ever ‘fine receipt’ (if it is called that). He took it back from me and smiled at me for the first time. He signed it and apologised for not signing it the first time.

He said, “I am sorry. I should have signed it. I was in a hurry. My sign is mandatory. Yours is not. You see this transaction is all online and your money goes directly to the exchequer.”

Well, what can I say to that! I just made Karnataka richer by 100 bucks and it isn’t a great feeling!