Bicycle grief

I was sitting at the Alok Restaurant in Thane, waiting for my friend Stanley to arrive. The weather was hot and sticky 8212; a typical mons...

I was sitting at the Alok Restaurant in Thane, waiting for my friend Stanley to arrive. The weather was hot and sticky 8212; a typical monsoon day in Mumbai. I was surprised that Stan was late. He was such a stickler for time. Then I saw Stan lumber up on a blue bicycle. When he sat down next to me and ordered a cold drink I asked him what he was doing on a bike.

He said, 8220;Unlike you I take the rise in oil prices from 45 per barrel to 60 per barrel seriously and, unlike you, I have decided to act. I thought a hike in petrol prices is only a matter of time and that will have a cascading effect on prices, with taxis and rickshaws starting to cost more. So I thought to myself, why not buy myself a cycle. So I bought one, second hand from my neighbour, for Rs 500 and gave it a coat of neon blue, which cost me Rs 100. Looks smart, does it not? So for an investment of Rs 600, I have freed myself from the uncertainties of world politics and economics.8221;

He ended his little speech in a bit of a huff saying that he was not a man of straw unlike people like me. He left me feeling sheepish and at least a little foolish.

Two weeks later we met at the same restaurant. This time Stan was the one left waiting. I apologised to him for being late but did mention, in passing, that I had not seen the blue bicycle parked outside. 8220;Oh I came by rickshaw,8221; he said. What happened to the cycle, I asked. 8220;Oh, nothing much,8221; he said. But I pressed on.

8220;Well,8221; he said, 8220;that day when I was going back from the restaurant after meeting you, my attention wandered a bit and I barged into a rickshaw. Its canopy came unstuck. The rickshaw-wallah created a huge ruckus and extracted Rs 500 from me after we almost came to blows. He was a big burly man. Then I had to have the cycle carried by another rickshaw to a repair shop 8212; which cost me Rs 20 more. The repair of the cycle cost me an additional Rs 200. A day later, the gurkha was burning some leaves and by mistake set my back tyre on fire.8221;

8220;So you sold the cycle?8221; I asked accusingly. 8220;Yes I did,8221; he said, 8220;for Rs 600. After hearing King Fahd8217;s statement on the BBC yesterday that they were going to pump out more oil. Just wait and watch, the price of oil will soon stabilise8221;. This left me feeling foolish all over again.