innovative birthday gift

I saw this weighing machine on the open platform of a non descript station ( I have forgotten the name) on the Hubli- Bangalore route. Our train had stopped there for a crossing and I was out as I feel fidgety sitting in a stationary train. On such occasions I aimlessly stroll up and down the platform, stretching and bending every few steps. I Walk up to the tea stall or cigarette shop and observe people smoking, eating and drinking. I try the taps to see if water is running, look if sand is filled in the red FIRE buckets, (which give a lot of information on the pan eating habits of the local populace) peep into the station master’s room, TTE’s room and waiting room etc etc. If there is further delay I read the notices on the notice board, read the posters and pamphlets of the railway worker’s union which are pasted all over the stations, go through the shift list of the staff, and such other things which nobody ever reads. My wife sits in the carriage observing my imbecile activities, fuming alone and rehearsing the words to be delivered on my reentry into the carriage.

During our recent journey I was once again inspecting the railway station and my son who is ‘like father like son’, had joined me. He covered the luggage room which I had overlooked and spotted this machine. He was excited with the fact that it had been manufactured a hundred years before he was born. I made a detailed study of it from all angles and since there was no porter nearby to shoo me away, pressed the weighing bed with my toe and confirmed that it is working well. I was enamoured with the machine which had been manufactured in 1881 in England- more than 125 years ago- and which is still in use. It is an antique piece doing it’s job with out any pretence or fuss! Since I was interested in it, my son took a photograph with his mobile phone- which has no use other than assisting such ‘time pass’ activities.

Since I had the photograph I decided to post it on the blog with a small caption and the additional useless information gleaned from the history of the railways. I wanted to know how long has the station been there and found that the Gubbi-Birur section came into existence in 1889. Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar was ruling the Mysore state then. Small caption ended up two paragraphs long.

My wife looked over my shoulder at the photograph and asked me what am I up to? I thought that I will have a joke at her expense and said that I am thinking of a birthday gift for her as I am worried about the health of our present bathroom scale.

The result of the joke is that I am unable to type any further and my son is typing the last paragraph as I dictate. He already has a dozen SMSs waiting to be replied and has refused to oblige further. Bye for now.

Ashwin: Cheap joke which turned out to be costly for appa. Some Garfield cartoons which I had seen him reading recently might have influenced him and since it was near midnight he must have been half asleep and had lost the power of discretion.
He has asked me to post this. If you do not see any more posts for the next fifteen days you may send him a ‘get well soon’ message. Another point, it is true that I was there on the platform and took the photograph of the weighing machine with my mobile. But I strongly object to the ‘like father- like son’ tag.