After hectic run at office over the last 6 months, I decided to visit home again. I applied for three holidays with a weekend interspersed between them.
My boss didn’t even reply to my text. Anyway, I granted myself a generous 5-day off from hustle and bustle of Delhi life. Eventually, I will have to ask the HR guy to approve those leaves.
Tight Slap on Gandhiji
I was scrolling my Instagram feed on the way to the airport. I saw famous celebrities dancing to the tune of Ambani’s clinking coins. Baby Ambani’s wedding has been getting relentless attention on social media.
The man’s choices are in stark contrast to that of a classy billionaire. This vulgar display of money is a tight slap on Gandhi’s idea of “trusteeship of wealth”. Crass, rather than class, is probably hardcoded into the Ambani household.
As Frank Underwood says, “when the tit’s that big, everybody gets in line”. I’m guessing Rahul Gandhi is probably the only significant dignitary who is skipping this wedding. But I feel even that is for the sake of bad optics and not for preserving any principle.
One also wonders whether Ambani has real relatives, friends and family connections. Or does he keep them away from the limelight because he wishes to respect their privacy? Not many people would be asking this question, I guess.
DigiYatra Built by Dolts
After I got down at IGI Airport T3, Modiji was trying to force his Digital India agenda down my throat. I learnt that 3 out of 4 domestic queues had been reserved for DigiYatra Passengers.
Probably, this is one way to increase adoption of the bullshit app they have built. Now this app doesn’t account for the fact that many Indians have different spellings on different documents.
My name is Nithesh S on Aadhar card.
It is Nithesh Satish on PAN and Passport.
I had to expand my second name because some authorities fail to understand that people can choose not to have a second name.
Anyway, this shitty DigiYatra app doesn’t accept the name on my PAN Card. It chooses to compare the name on my boarding pass with the name on Aadhar card only! The funniest part is that Indian Government doesn’t even consider Aadhar as a conclusive ID proof.
Then why the fuck should I not be allowed to use my other documents and match it with my boarding pass? So, I had to take the security queue with shitty facilities that reminded me of Pune Airport. People had to collect trays manually and get through security check.
Instead of solving such basic problems of Indians, our political leaders are busy attending Ambani’s wedding and dancing to his tunes. This makes me wonder whether Ambanis have downloaded the DigiYatra app even once in their life.
An Ardous Journey
I want to rant about the poor infra connecting mainstream Bengaluru and the airport that’s almost two hours away from central part of the city. But Indian media wants to tell me that Kardashians who’re attending the Ambani wedding went on an auto ride in Mumbai. Haha! Entertain the fuck out of me.
Generally I would take an Uber, but new rules at the airport has led to scarcity of cabs and a 100% inflation in prices. I felt disgusted to pay an amount similar to that of my flight ticket for a ride to Tumakuru. So I opted for public transport.
One would expect a steady supply of buses from Bengaluru Airport to the Majestic Bus Stand. Again, I had to wait for 45 minutes to get a bus. I reached Majestic Bus Stand around 1 PM.
Meanwhile, I don’t think KSRTC is a decent public transport provider anymore. Instead of taking the flyover to Tumakuru, the driver took a very shitty road clogged by traffic.
I reached Tumakuru only at 3 PM. That’s 4 hours after I landed in Bengaluru! If I was a rich industrialist I could have asked my chauffeur to wait at the airport and drive me home within 2 hours.
But still, many Indians like me would not get benefits of shorter queues and better facilities given to DigiYatra passengers at the airport! Unfortunately, such problems of common citizens is less important than the sartorial choices of Anant Ambani’s dog.