Bengaluru Man Exchanged Business Card With Traffic Cop After Getting Fined. Here's What Happened

Bengaluru, India's startup capital, has recently been the focus of several online memes that highlight unique events that could only occur in the city. Many stories of "peak Bengaluru" moments - a word used to describe the eye-catching events that take place in India's IT capital - can be found all over the internet. Now in another such instance, a man recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to narrate an incident that took place in 2012. The user, Aashish Bansal, shared how his encounter with a traffic marshal ended in a professional exchange of ideas. 

In his post, Mr Bansal recalled a time when his friends rushed to the nearest ATM to withdraw money to pay the fine and on returning to the location, saw him exchange business cards with one of the traffic cops, who ran an advertising agency. He shared how the scene had turned into an opportunity to discuss the advertising industry, which he had joined in 2010. 

With the morning nip in the air back in Bengaluru, it's an opportune time to share my @peakbengaluru story from 2012.

Two friends had come down from Australia and we were at the 13th Floor for a night out. Those were the days when Bengaluru had not been introduced to…

— Aashish Bansal (@Unbelted) March 21, 2024

In a long post, Mr Bansal wrote, "Two friends had come down from Australia and we were at the 13th Floor for a night out. Those were the days when Bengaluru had not been introduced to microbreweries and the IRR wasn't plagued by incessant traffic after 10 PM. Out of the four of us, one person was the designated driver and did not indulge in booze, as we knew that a checkpoint at Domlur would obviously be in place by the cops". 

As anticipated, the group's car was stopped at a checkpoint. While everything, including the car's documents, was in order, their Pollution Under Control certificate expired, and they were slapped with a fine of Rs 500.

"Now, among the 4 of us, we did not have 500 bucks in cash to pay the fine. We were cashless way before it became a norm, but for all the wrong reasons (read: dependency on credit cards). This was also the time when civilian volunteers had begun to enrol as traffic marshals," Mr Bansal continued. 

He further shared that he was left with the cop as a surety, while his friends went out to find an ATM. However, upon their return, they witnessed something that "they could not believe". '

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"I was exchanging business cards with one of the traffic marshals. This volunteer ran an advertising agency and I had just gotten into advertising 2 years back. There was a long chat about how things were, and it ended in this exchange of business cards. It helped that there was very less traffic on that Saturday night at Domlur at 11 PM - can't imagine that now," Mr Bansal wrote. 

"It was a beautiful city then, and it still is. The people of this city make it so," he concluded the post. 

Mr Bansal shared the post on Thursday and since then it has amassed nearly 5,000 views. In the comment section, users shared various reactions. A user even asked whether they paid the fine or were left off. To this, Mr Bansal said that they did pay the amount and even got a receipt in return.