Random encounter #3: The gendarme in Belgaum on the way to Goa

This was 2012 on the way to Goa. We were taking a new route via Belgaum instead of the traditional Hubli-Yelapur-Ankola-Canocana

There were quite a lot of detailed route instructions given by many travel forums in spite of which I managed to make a wrong turn somewhere around Belgaum resulting in Google getting confused (remember Google was not as smart then as it is now) and continiously rerouting till both of us were equally confused. Driving slowly on a wide and empty road I saw a policeman waving at me. I liked the friendliness of the “natives” and thought of waving back and maybe asking him for directions when it occurred to me that members of the constabulary don’t normally wave at random people without sinister motives.

I stopped and was informed that I was driving at 60kmph in a 40kmph zone.

When accosted by the majesty of the law there are a couple of options that present themselves:

1) Raise your hands to heaven and plead for divine intervention to convince the constabulary that you were not in the wrong or as an indication that you are being wronged.

2) Smile with an ingraining look at them and tell them to “excuse-maadi” since this is the first violation and you have a squeaking clean record.

3) Inform them that your friends brother-in-laws sister-in-law’s uncle is the chief of police.

The most practical option however is to take out your wallet and ask “how much?”

Rs 300 poorer but having gained a friend in the process I went and inspected the radar contraption with my new friend who hit rewind and showed me evidence in the form of my car photo with 62kmph imprinted on it. This was in case I had any doubt of my transgression

The friendship was reinforced when I saw that he had written the wrong car number on the receipt and the details of my driving license was missing, so my track record was unblemished and Deepak Misra the violator of laws remained Deepak Misra a pillar of society.

The friendship was however tested when he gave me directions for Goa which were so ridiculous that Google almost chortled. However, I attribute this misinformation to ignorance and not malice or maybe his impression that I was so shaken by the incident that I had decided to walk down the remaining 40 kms and thus had pointed me towards the trekking route.

As a true sign of friendship he advised me in a conspiratorial tone to follow traffic rules for the next 2–3 kms since there could be further checking but not to bother thereafter since it was too far away from their regular checking haunts.

That was the first and last I saw of him and so did not track his career but maybe I can drop his name next time I am accused of any violation. The only flaw with this ofcourse that I did not get his name.

As a parting excersize readers, please try to drive at 40kmph in a wide well done empty road and report your experience.