The Sari Sale - Return of the Cons

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Continued from 'The Sari Sale - Twist in the Tale'

I am still shaking my head thinking back to it, when, from the corner of the eye I think I spot someone familiar. He is about 100 metres from me. From where I sit, I cant see him clearly, but I remember the ridiculous shirt he was wearing. Its not C, rather its UG, with C's bag of sarees!

I cant believe my eyes. Just 10 minutes earlier they were trying to con me, albeit unsuccessfully. And they were now back in action, barely 100 metres from the same place, trying to con another Poor Sod (PS). The only difference this time is that, UG and C have interchanged their roles.

UG is the one with the Sarees while C is standing by the side examining them, I am sure telling the PS the same or similar story about a saree shop in Vijayawada. I am sure now its C who is lecturing UG about the different types of sarees. Curiosity gets the better of me and I move stealthily towards them without their noticing and sit with my back to them, although I can look at whats happening behind me just by turning my head slightly. I can hear them clearly enough even in the chaos the of bus station.

I can now predict the rest of the plot. Sure enough, P appears and dishes out the dialogues like a seasoned pro. Its deja vu, except that its happening to someone else. At this stage I am thoroughly angry at their duplicity and more over their audacity to give an encore at the very same place. I start thinking of saving the PS by shouting that they are conmen.

Suddenly, P walks away from the scene and stands by the side of what appears to be the real life version of a movie thug (MT). MT is tall, broad shouldered and seems to be looks for trouble. P appears to be giving the MT an update of the latest Act. Apparantly satisfied, MT smiles and nods to someone else in the crowd. I follow his gaze and see another equally menacing toughie. One look at both, and I am already searching for my bus. I had enough fun for the day and dont want to end up as a mincemeat. The fact that I am 5'5" doesnt help matters either. I chicken out and board my bus which has arrived just then, silently wishing goodluck to the PS.

From the window of the bus, I see PS happily parting with his hard earned cash. In return he gets one of the 'Kanjeevarams', which I am sure he has bought to surprise his loving wife or kid sister or ageing mom. Initially I am angry at him for falling for such a con, but I cudnt help but feel sorry for the PS. By his appearance he looks like an innocent fellow and not much educated either. The lions have picked their target well. The last I see of the cons is them walking away in a group and fading into the crowds. No doubt to regroup and start their game all over again.

Should I have been braver? Was I right in thinking discretion is the better part of valour? Should I have gone to the police? I do not know! I satisfy myself thinking that what I witnessed in the past hour or so is part of a day's work for those men. And the presence of the toughies indicates they are well prepared to wiggle themselves out of tricky situations. Even if I had saved PS from their clutches, and risked getting hurt, they would probably have picked some other Hapless Soul. I am sure of one thing - They are 'professional' enough to sell all the sarees and share the spoils and make a cool 20000 each in a single day!

Concluded

Post Script: This is not a fictional acount. This was a real life experience for me at the Bangalore Bus Station. The whole conversation took place in Telugu, which isnt surprising given the number of people in Bangalore who know Telugu. I tried to recreate the whole by translating into English.