iPod Lost.... iPod Regained

It was the 31st of Jan... Dhoni and Tendulkar were going hammer & tongs on a toothless West-Indian bowling attack. So enthralled I was by the gladiator-like display by Dhoni, that I even forgot about office. I rushed up through my breakfast, took my bag [more like a brief] and started to office. Against this backdrop, I feel compelled to list the contents of my Bag - for thats the crux of this whole blog.

1) Cheque book
2) Vehicle papers [the originals]
3) 30-GB Video iPod

After placing my Bag on the side hook, I sped on my Hero Honda Splendor to TCS, Vadapalani via Koyambedu. When I neared my destination, I put my hand on the hook - Only to find it empty. Initially shocked, I then pacified myself that I may have left the bag at home [Oh! Ya. Absentmindedly... Thanks Mom]. After boarding the bus, I called up home to verify if my assumption was true. But everyone including the local tailor who guards the gate told me that I had taken the bag with me. I, at once, knew that I had just made my day.

I alighted the bus, ran towards JNR Office, took my bike and sped home. After confirming my worst fears, I pondered what to do next. The answer was obvious... Start a wild goose chase. I retraced my path from Home to TCS-JNR office [twice], stopping at every junction/traffic signal to ask every vendor and traffic constables whether 'they had seen any bag falling from a two-wheeler about an hour ago'. Not surprisingly, none knew anything about it.

I subsequently lodged a written complaint at the Koyambedu Police station as well as alerted the Anna-Nagar Police station about it - for I don't know where I had missed it or who took it. And those creeps never took any action until evening when I visited them for a second time.

Sometime in the midst of this drama, I got a 3 promotional calls from various agencies - ICICI, Reliance and Citibank. Poor fellas... They incurred my wrath for calling me at the precise wrong moment.

I then tried to get over the loss of my iPod by watching India decimate the West-Indies. I also received a small lecture from my Dad for not taking a copy of the Vehicle papers. The Cheque book was not a problem, although I thought I should warn the bank authorities about it. After spending close to 6 hours on the my chase, I called it a day and hit the bed. At around 9 PM, I got a call again. With my sleepy tone, I picked up my mobile. "Mr.Raaja...Don't you want your Bag ???". I was stunned. After finishing the call, everything dawned on me.

The Revelation :
My bag had dropped from my Bike, when I took a left turn near Koyambedu. I did tilt my bike more than required on that occasion . An elderly person had taken it with him and tried to find out any contact information to return it. After he had left for office, his son, working in Reliance [now you see... I mistook the call of my Saviour to be a promotional call...] found out my name and Home number from my ICICI Personalized cheque book. He called up my dad and asked my mobile number stating that he was a friend of mine from Koyambedu. And my dad heard it as 'Coimbatore'... Similar tones]. And he didn't want to startle my Dad by telling about the lost bag... Such strange coincidences.

Nevertheless, I arrived at his residence and identified myself. His family greeted me and then showed me my bag. I also showed them a copy of the Police complaint to supplant my identity. I was kind of surprised to witness such honesty these days . My iPod should have been more than a reason to keep the bounty to themselves. Thank goodness... It didn't fall in wrong hands... or rather it fell in the right hands. They didn't accept any 'thanks' that I offered while I left home with a sigh of relief. I listened to some of my fav tunes on my iPod, all night long. My Longest day had just come to a peaceful end.