The other day, as I write this, I mean one of the other day in the year 1998, as I sat inside a bus numbered 205 originating from Bansdroni, the locality where I stay, thinking of making myself comfortable having obtained a set, I gradually began to wonder how long my ass would withstand the seat that felt more solid than the stones that one finds in the rivulets streaming down the villages in the sadar hills district of Manipur state.

Painfully as the bus trudged on towards the destination at Dhalousie in Kolkata, the quarrel of the conductor and one peculiar passenger interested my silly mind, quite interesting to the extent of forgetting the pain in my ass.

From the entire vocabulary of bengali I had saved on my little and simple head, I could understand that the fare chargeable to this peculiar passenger upto the destination was Rs.2.75. He had paid one 2 rupee coin, one 50 paise coin, one twenty paise cpin and one ten paise coin totalling to Rs. 2.80. The conductor smartly pulled out the ticket of Rs. 2.75 and kept it in the waiting hands of the passenger saying "ticket ta neen". This passenger kept on waiting, despite ticket in hand, looking at the conductor in a puzzled face. The conductor relooked at him and quipped " Aar Ki chai ??". The passenger told him he gave Rs.2.80 and he should have been returned a 5 paise with the ticket. The Conductor screamed and told him, "Ay samoy paanch poisa kothai paabay ??". The passenger curtly replied that if he had given him only Rs. 2.70 it would not have been accepted for the sake of 5 paise, likewise he needs the 5 paisa. The conductor yells that we always accept the money for 5 paisa less.

Heres the most interesting thing at the end. The passenger told him to handover back the 10 paise and take the fare at 5 paisa less and took back the 10 paise coin.

CAN YOU ??