Profit & Loss

Last week, I went to Railway Station to send off my parents to our hometown. Instead of waiting in the queue for purchasing a platform ticket, I thought of opting touch screen Platform ticket. All you have to do is to send a SMS to one number typing ‘PF’ and within few seconds you would get one code. Upon punching the same code on the touch screen, it will immediately give you a e-platform ticket. Really worth trying and using so that you can avoid standing in long queues (especially if the same counter is being used for both platform tickets & issuing travel tickets)

So far so good. But...



I did the same and waited for the code. I waited for the code. I waited for the Code and I waited for the code. Nothing came up and by this time few more like minded people did the same and we were busy checking with each other if any of one got any reply. Thank god, no one got any code back, otherwise if one got the code and other didn’t, it would have been more disastrous (as we belong to that group where when power goes off, we get satisfied by cross checking the same status with our neighbours house).

So far Rs.3 is the loss for me.

Okay, now I decided to stand in normal platform issue queue. By this time another person (who also lost Rs.3 like me in same way) requested if I can get a ticket for him, since he can see many people standing behind me. I in all mood to be service oriented, accepted his request and received a 5 Rupee coin from him. When my turn came I gave her Rs. 6 exact change and asked for two platform tickets. Usually, these people issue a platform tickets in small size card (similar to weighing tickets). But this time, she issued me only one receipt for 2 platform tickets. So again problem. I requested her that I need two different platform tickets, but all in vain. She was never in a mood to listen to me and my failure to explain her in the local language helped me to get out of that counter with no success.

I explained the same to that person and he didn’t have any other option than to stand in the queue again. But I thought it’s my mistake in not handling the situation properly and I handed him back his 5 Rupee Coin. (FYI, he had different platform requirements and timings, so there is no way of us sharing the tickets).

So again another Rs.3 loss for me. So totally I lost Rs.6 of no use.

Few weeks back

I was travelling in a local private bus to reach my office and the bus was decently crowded. It was one of the rare day, where I was in no mood to buy a ticket!! And since it’s a private bus, I thought I would buy one only if that person asks for one. Till the end, he didn't ask for a ticket and I too didn't pay at all. ( I certainly don’t do any such acts in any of the public transport and for that matter even in private transport, it is just that it’s one of my rare bad colour day)

So Rs.7 profit for me.

Final Verdict:

However comparing the above two incidents, I wonder if every profit that we assume to make in life out of illegal tactics / wrong way, are we indirectly paying for it in some other way. May be yes. But still I got Rs.1 profit right! (when I lost Rs.6 at railway station but gained Rs.7 by not buying a ticket?) Yeah, I earned Rs.1 as profit, but may be it’s because I regretted not buying that ticket in the bus in the same evening or because I had good intentions in helping that person in the railway station by buying one ticket for him or because with all good gesture I returned his 5 rupee coin even though he was not accepting it.

Okay, let’s see another simple incident.

Day before yesterday, I just saw one Vodafone telephone bill lying unattended in my apartment. It was marked to someone in the 4th floor. Since I know how difficult it is if we fail to receive bill on time (btw BSNL bill always come only on a day before the due date or it doesn’t come at all), I thought of giving that bill myself to the person in the 4th floor. Even though I don’t know him or there is any need to go to 4th floor, I thought its a wise decision because our area is such that if we don’t collect our mails on time, it is surely gonna get lost, thanks to stray dogs / heavy winds etc.

That person was really surprised seeing me handing over his bills all the way from ground floor and thanked me (but he thought me a courier guy initially, its OK, no problem)

Next day, one person knocks my door in the night and gives me my telephone bill saying, he found it left unattended in the road during the day, and he thought he would hand it over to me in the night when I return back. How Nice!!

Really, for all acts you do, whether it’s good or bad you certainly going to get something in return soon. Its only that we don’t notice it all. But I noticed and I can see I was equally paid for all my acts. Both for good and bad. It might look like a very simple or ordinary incidents, but nevertheless it’s showed me some truth about life.

So next time if you think you gained or lost something, you better be assured that for every gain you make out of bad way, you got to lose it badly by another means. And more importantly for every good thing you do, you get paid again by a different means.


So once you start exploring your life, it gives you so many hidden meanings... Wah kya life hai...

Oh I forgot to update one thing, after four days, today morning I did get that code which I need to enter on that Touch screen, Wah kya service hai rae...