Always something new

Monday started around 7am which was record for me since I arrived in India. Work was work, nothing special, nothing out-of-the-ordinary. I found out mid-afternoon that Suresh was planning to take me somewhere after work. I thought it was an event that coincided with Pongal. We left the office about 7:20 and took a rickshaw for what seemed like a long time for a mere 100 Rs. We arrived at what looked like a fair ground with lots of people. We entered and the walking began.

It was some sort of permanent flea market, vendors displaying a wide assortment of wares, clothing, toys, wooden paraphernalia, elephants and buddhas (of course), and tempting assortments of local foods. We walked for an hour or so and ended up in the food court. I had something with dahl inside wrapped in a thin soft tortilla-like object that was very nice. I finished off with an assortment of peas and some other grain-like substances that were mildly spicy. We hopped a rickshaw back to Somajiguda and Suresh negotiated a maximum fee of 100 Rs. He noticed the fare on the way to the park. It was a good thing as the metre on the return vehicle was running fast.

I have figured out a handful of tricks played by the rickshaw drivers to squeeze more money out of unsuspecting clientel:

1. Carry one's wad of cash in a pants pocket, keeping a very small amount of small bills in the shirt. Thus when the trip end and the fare is 150 Rs, after being handed two 100 Rs notes, pull out two 10 Rs notes for change and exclaim "all". Thus the fare inflates to 180 Rs for a self-tipping gain of 30 Rs.
2. When negotiating a fare before the start of the journey, include the extra amount required to go a hew hundred metres and pull the U-turn, a common occurrence in Hyderabad traffic since there are medians blocking turns almost everywhere in the city. Then drop the passenger on the other side of the street, negating the median charge.

More to come in this department. Watching the Sens and the Jets; end of the second and Ottawa down 2-0. Will speak to Raju at the office today about booking my trip to Goa the weekend after next.