About 30 years back there were Telephones with landlines, connectivity was provided only by the Government of India. There was a huge demand for getting a phone connection. Only a few connections were given and there was a long waiting list. Some politicians were using their discretionary powers to favour ‘their’ people for the connections.
Many people used the recommendations and bribery for getting a connection. Upon request, one of my friends wanted to transfer his phone on to my name. We applied, but there was no response from the department. Subsequently, I visited the office several times and there was no response. My friend knew the reason, one day he took me along with him, met the responsible junior engineer told about the transfer. My friend kept some money in a white paper cover and gave it to him underneath the table. When both the hands touched while transferring the cover, a great transfer of energy happened and there I saw a glow and smile on the face of the engineer. He was so happy that he might not be looking so happy while getting his monthly salary, which is far higher. It was very funny for me watching all this for the first time in life, but that was the reality. Some people think salary is their privilege for just attending the office, for working they need corrupt money. They say corruption is a form of lubricant which drives the system smoothly or some people call it ‘Ease of doing business,’ to look professional.
The corrupt people are less guilty of their attitude. Their main prayer every day is not to be caught by doing all that. I see some of the corrupt officers wear shabby clothes, mostly remain with unshaved face, they wanted to look very poor. What is life if one cannot be oneself?
In a jewellery shop, the owner can easily guess whether the person is corrupt or not. Because corrupt people bargain less and never use cheques, credit or debit cards for purchasing things.
Once a lawyer received his fees from a corrupt person in very loose, small denomination and old notes. I was sitting there. I could even smell the sweat of people from those notes. They must be the earnings from the poor people, exploited by a rich person, sharing with a lawyer to protect oneself from a committed bigger crime.
The corrupt people spend most of the money in the high-end restaurants, eat mostly the non-vegetarian food, some people would booze a lot - they fall sick most often and die early.
