Over the weekend we were at the Star Bazaar at Phoenix City Mall, VimanNagar. They have lots of counters for receiving payments but on that day only 5 were functional. While we were standing in queue, a small kid, quite whiny I might add, was demanding ice-cream. The mother dipped into one of the ice cream visi-freezers which are in front of the cash counter and then quite nonchalantly bypassed the queue and demanded that she be served first as she had a single item. The retail shop didn't have any "express counter" (5 items or less open) and, so she would have had to stand in one of the queues anyway.

The fun was that when pointed out that she wasn't doing a good thing, she vehemently turned it into a "I am sure you have kids and you know kids get priority" line of argument. Which is kind of funny. This isn't the first time that I've seen or, heard this line. And, then again, I'm generally used to folks asking if they can get ahead. That thing, coupled with a self-initiated giving way to the elderly is the norm at Dorabjees (the elderly are so pleasantly polite that the "Thank you, dear" could make one's day). This annoyance aside, I was thinking about whether the mother would continue doing the same when the child grows up. Would she continue teaching her that jumping the queue with an excuse and without asking for permission is acceptable ? Parenting is tough, and sometimes parents need to make tough choices. I guess these days I see more and more kids getting away just because they are crying their lungs out or, streaming tears which create a puddle.