Parking Full !

One of the woes of driving in a big city like Mumbai is not necessarily in the driving. But in the parking. The good deeds that you did in the past three lives put together, determines the availability of a good parking spot today !

At least that’s the hypotheses that i am getting myself to accept. For i have consistently found that good ones don’t exist and the rest are taken. That’s been the experience. Every single time that the the tyre has rolled to get somewhere, it has rolled an equal distance to find a place to stop. Much after reaching the place!

And after an hour of driving, the struggle to park can be downright trying. Praying for mercy from gleeful parking attendants and merciless co-drivers. ( Who can seem to know how to park a Merc in a space where you don’t think a Maruti 1050 will fit ).

Just as you are all set to park, your eye spots some message written somewhere. Some messages of them are downright simple. ‘No Parking’ they scream. Others are more positive. “Parking Full” they say.

(‘Parking Full’ means the same thing : ‘tough-luck-go-around-find-another-place’ )!

And then there are those that overdo it. Like this one.


Which says, ‘No No Parking’ ! Now, What does that one mean ?

For starters, Parking is a strict No-No is a meaning it can take !

And it could also mean ‘No’; to ‘No-Parking’. Double negative. Meaning you could park here. So go ahead. And try teaching double negative word play to the Mumbai parking lot attendant. May the forces be with you.

And then there are those that seem to symbolically convey this


Methinks a ‘No Parking’ board on a chair with no seat to park your back side….is a powerful symbolic message.

Huh. Thats one post full on parking full !

17 thoughts on “Parking Full !

  1. hmmm, how did that chair land there? Or is it a stand? Great read, yes, parking can be incredibly difficult in Bbay…Thanks!:)

  2. SGD says:

    Wasting time in search of parking space….really makes me grind my teeth!
    I’ve had all sorts of experience…
    of car being towed away, fined for parking at a No-parking zone, tyres punctured by police for parking in a spot without any No-parking sign, but which they claim is a NO-PARKING ZONE!!
    Endless woes…..

  3. manju says:

    Kavi, sometimes we go by auto rickshaw just to avoid these Mumbai parking woes!
    The rickshaw takes you exactly where you want to go, while you have to walk (sometimes quite a long distance) after parking the car!

  4. sujata says:

    loved it absolutely!! esp the double negetive explanation to the parking attendant..I could almost see the guy’s face.

  5. Sujatha says:

    that last pic is hilarious!

  6. SSQuo says:

    I think someone should take the sign away from the chair, I mean, it doesnt even have a seat!!!!

    Imagine someone STILL coming and ‘sitting’ on it, hilarious, they’ll just sink through…lol …or get stuck.

    I know, this thought is completely sadistic. Sorry, but the thought is kinda funny, especially given the sign above it.

  7. Rush says:

    i hope i can park my words in a NOParking zone of the blog 😉

    lol..mumbai parking, tell me about it!!

  8. Glad to see that parking woes have not lessened your sense of humour. LOL!!

  9. HIlarious, as usual….anything “Indian signs” *is* hilarious 🙂

  10. Glad to see that parking woes have not taken away your sense of humour! LOL from an autorickshaw-addict!

  11. In Mumbai its either “Parking Full” or “Parking Fool”. Most places that put up a sign are a free enterprise business to make money after “appropriate” word and “paper” games”.

    Just to add variety, I also know of no parking painted on a patch of road and someone parking their car right over it, properly hiding the words. The car was towed, and the owner didnt know this was a neat police trick. (owner = me)

    Sensible types in Mumbai use rickshas. (sensible types = me ):-)

  12. Good Post! I am going to pick this up from here to connect to my post (in draft mode)about some places where you can park & work the market without any fear whatsoever.

  13. WE need Sea-Route to travel.
    Bandra-Worli sealink is good but more is required.

  14. Jeevan says:

    This post reminds me an incident. In drive-in, there are parking with a, b, c, d rows and we get annoyed one day by the guards to drive us, to park here and there without leaving us to watch movie. And we were denied to park at our fav place which allowed to cars and were sent to place where SUVs to park and again another guy sent us to car parking which we were parked first, but the theater was almost empty that day

  15. Ankit says:

    Good deeds from the last three lives….man will have to keep this one in mind.

    If not today but at some point in future I will be able to park my jet and won’t have any problem finding parking.

    Nice post.

  16. Kavi says:

    Naperville Mom : It is difficult yes. And i seriously have no idea how that chair landed to that side of the road ! Seriously no idea !

    SGD : Ofcourse ! Having the car towed away or tyres punctured is a nightmare ! And my wife usually gets made at my precautions that i take !

    Manju : I cant help agree with you more ! I cant help agree with you more at all !! ofcourse the rickshaws are helpful ! And i am a fan of them as well…But when you have invested in a car….it can become difficult ! Whatsay !?!

    Sujata : Double negatives are always entertaining ! Even if its just got to do with parking !

    Sujatha : 🙂

    SSQuo : Yes. yes. Exactly the point. No parking there, because there is no space to park !!! 😀 !

    That was my grand intention. I didnt go in the direction of pictorially seeing what could perhaps happen if someone got stuck inside !

    🙂

    Rush : Yes..there is just no no parking sign here. And that is double negative !

    Sucharita : My jalopy of what i call humour stays parked here ! It has nowhere to go you see ! 🙂

    Braja : I bet you have your stories from far away Mayapur !!

    Ugich Konitari : The less sensible types = me, still go around finding a spot to park, muttering energy conservation and adhering to rules. And of course, let go of fumes on their blogs !!

    Anghh : Welcome here ! And would be really keen to see the shape your post takes !

    Hobo: I agree. Perhaps we should all become very rich and fly around in Anil ambani type helicopters. Whatsay ?

    Jeevan : Lucky guy. I havent been to such theatres. For me the theatre of day to day life keeps me occupied. Big time !

    Ankit : Well, when you go through the parking woes here…many past lives move through you !

    And of course, when you get to the jet, let me know. You can give me a solid LIFT !!

    🙂

  17. nsiyer says:

    Kavi, what do I say? No parking, in a PJ sense in Tamil Nadu also means ‘Parka koodathu’.

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