I had gone to the GPO in Sector 17, Chandigarh on Saturday to mail a letter by registered post.
By the way, this involves a long process if your mail is overseas. The person at the counter will view the envelope/parcel suspiciously, knock it from all angles to make sure it is properly sealed. Then, they make you sign a form where you have to list its contents, value, name and address of the sender and receiver. Whew!
It makes sense if you are sending a large parcel, but you have to do this even for a simple letter and a photograph.
Anyway, I was in Sector 17 GPO and queued up dutifully behind a couple of people. There was a young girl right before me. She was a lawyer by the looks of her, white salwar kameez with a black coat. She was carrying a stack of letters that she had to send by registered post and was chattering amiably with the person before her. A friendly sort, I thought.
After she was done, she took a seat to sort out the papers she had in hand. I took my place at the head of the counter and was promptly directed to get the declaration form from another counter. I collected the form and sat down beside the lawyer girl and started riffling through my bag, looking for a pen. As usual, when you really need these things, they are seldom there. The lawyer girl got up to go. I decided to go out of the GPO and buy a pen.
There are a lot of helpful people who sell wrapping paper, gum, pens and sticking tapes right outside the door of GPO. I stopped by the first one and asked for a pen. As I looked in my bag for the wallet, I realized with a thudding heart that I had left my wallet on the bench when I was riffling through my bag.
I ran back inside the GPO and found the lawyer girl practically sitting on my wallet and talking to someone. I picked up my wallet from under her and went back to get the pen. The lawyer girl stood up immediately and left.
I returned with my pen and started filling up the form. A young man who was sitting on an adjoining bench came up to me and said that the lawyer girl had returned as soon as I left and sat on the wallet. He said if I had returned a moment later, the wallet would have been in her bag. He had been watching her avidly.
The girl was probably not a habitual thief, I do not like to think so. But an honest person would surely have tried to return the wallet to me, tried to run after me. Now that I think back upon the incident, it was rather strange the way she was chattering away with all and sundry. She had chattered and smiled at me when I sat down beside her as well.
The girl's face keeps swimming before my eyes. And I shake my head every time I think about this incident.
By the way, this involves a long process if your mail is overseas. The person at the counter will view the envelope/parcel suspiciously, knock it from all angles to make sure it is properly sealed. Then, they make you sign a form where you have to list its contents, value, name and address of the sender and receiver. Whew!
It makes sense if you are sending a large parcel, but you have to do this even for a simple letter and a photograph.
Anyway, I was in Sector 17 GPO and queued up dutifully behind a couple of people. There was a young girl right before me. She was a lawyer by the looks of her, white salwar kameez with a black coat. She was carrying a stack of letters that she had to send by registered post and was chattering amiably with the person before her. A friendly sort, I thought.
After she was done, she took a seat to sort out the papers she had in hand. I took my place at the head of the counter and was promptly directed to get the declaration form from another counter. I collected the form and sat down beside the lawyer girl and started riffling through my bag, looking for a pen. As usual, when you really need these things, they are seldom there. The lawyer girl got up to go. I decided to go out of the GPO and buy a pen.
There are a lot of helpful people who sell wrapping paper, gum, pens and sticking tapes right outside the door of GPO. I stopped by the first one and asked for a pen. As I looked in my bag for the wallet, I realized with a thudding heart that I had left my wallet on the bench when I was riffling through my bag.
I ran back inside the GPO and found the lawyer girl practically sitting on my wallet and talking to someone. I picked up my wallet from under her and went back to get the pen. The lawyer girl stood up immediately and left.
I returned with my pen and started filling up the form. A young man who was sitting on an adjoining bench came up to me and said that the lawyer girl had returned as soon as I left and sat on the wallet. He said if I had returned a moment later, the wallet would have been in her bag. He had been watching her avidly.
The girl was probably not a habitual thief, I do not like to think so. But an honest person would surely have tried to return the wallet to me, tried to run after me. Now that I think back upon the incident, it was rather strange the way she was chattering away with all and sundry. She had chattered and smiled at me when I sat down beside her as well.
The girl's face keeps swimming before my eyes. And I shake my head every time I think about this incident.
Maybe just an instinctive weakness. Even if she'd succeeded, I think she'd have had a very guilty conscience.
ReplyDeleteNice blogpost, btw. You need to write more often. I say that all the time! :-)
Thank God!!! U were saved in the nick of time!! And u can not trust anybody these days....there are all sorts of ppl around!
ReplyDeleteRaja,
ReplyDeleteThanks. I suppose she was swayed by the sight of a purse asking to be taken.
Smita,
Thanks. Yaar Coach ka wallat tha. It was more expensive than all its contents. A gift from my daughter, too. :( Bach gaye, bal bal.
Thank god you were saved. You can never judge a person from his face.
ReplyDeleteI know, Ushaji. One minute I was warming up to her. Next minute... shudder!
ReplyDeleteA habital thief would have taken the wallet with you present. The fact that she sat on it to take it later means that your purse was quite fat :)
ReplyDeleteI suppose so, Sonam. Actually my purse had not so much money. Only a thou or so. But the cards! My RC! My Library Card! They were priceless.
ReplyDelete