The Parking Saga....

Shaurya was waiting for his friends in front of Vaishali, when he saw her for the first time.

Now well, to the uninitiated, Vaishali is arguably Pune’s most famous South-Indian restaurant, located at the heart of F.C. road. Go on any weekend at any time of year and you will find a waiting of at least fifty minutes (that has been my experience).

It was a Saturday evening, and so as expected parking was almost full. Shaurya watched with amusement as the girl, across the road, was having difficulty in finding a spot to park her Dio. The girl was all covered up, you know the works- Scarf on the face to go along with an oversized helmet, just like every other woman driver on the road. (It has always confused me why the females in the city ignore the popular fashion magazines and take tips from Al-Qaeda weekly. I guess it’s just a way to be different. I have never understood fashion, anyways).

After searching for ten minutes or so, she parked her Dio outside the white rectangle (apparently a major traffic rule violation in the city) and headed towards the British Library. Shaurya’s gaze followed her to the library, fascinated by her appearance.

His trance was broken by the menacing tow truck making its way up the road, swallowing its preys that had just so slightly crossed the line. He tensed. The girl’s Dio was in danger.

He shouted, trying to catch her attention but the girl continued on her route, ignorant about the approaching danger.

“Damn you, earphones! Why do people listen so much music”, cursed Shaurya as he started running towards her.

Realizing he won’t make it, he ran back towards the Dio hoping to squeeze it into the box somehow.

He just made it but the tow-truck had arrived and two guys had already started to lift the moppet.

“Bhaiya ruko”, he cried.

“Kay Zaala?”

He started explaining to them that it was his Dio and he had just gone to the nearest shop to buy some gum. What followed was a long argument, which eventually after a lot of pleading from Shaurya, saw him sail through.

Exhausted, Shaurya turned towards the Dio to see her already sitting on the Dio, easing the vehicle out of the parking spot.

Pleased with himself, he smiled at her. After all, he had just saved his damsel in distress from the fire-breathing dragon, (Movies do this to young minds) and now expected her to jump into his arms.

He was already thinking about the song they would dance to........

The girl gave him a sheepish smile, before wearing her helmet and scooting down the one-way lane.

Forget dancing, his efforts didn't even earn him a thanks.

Shaurya kept staring after her, even though she had long gone out of sight.

"Life's a bitch!", he cursed!

Frustrated and embarrassed, he slowly turned to see his Pulsar being towed away as he had parked in P1 instead of P2.