Glimpsing

I couldn't include an evidentially accurate image to accompany this post because I am not yet familiar with the data privacy laws of India and I couldn't bear to have my website shutdown in only the second month of operation whilst I still have so much to share with you.

But I think this image encapsulates my cheery new car game to play during prisoner transit to and from the office. It can actually be played by anyone, in any vehicle, on any journey, but I am not sure I'll be able to sell the concept outside of India. It has limited global appeal.

Every day I see at least one man urinating in the street. The game I have created is subtly called "Glimpsing". I was originally going to call it "Urinator", but felt that was too obvious and unecessarily Arnold Shwarzneggery.

I'm also addressing the limited global appeal of a game based on urinating in the street. As I am a culturally inclusive person I plan to have variants of Glimpsing: G:Cows, G:Cyclists without Helmets, G:Litter, G:Dog Poo, whatever is still seen on the streets in the country you are visiting which has disappeared from the streets of most other countries of the world.

The aim of the Glimpsing:Urinator game is to get as high a score as possible on a single journey where obviously one glimpse of a person urinating scores one point. The highest score so far is 3 and this was on a 60 minute journey across town. At the moment it is only a one player game, because I'm the only prisoner in this particular transit, but it can be played by any number of players in which case the one who shouts out "Urinator" first gets the point for that glinpsing.

At this point I have to acknowledge, for protection against a copyright suit, that this game is loosely based on "Gelbis Auto" that our lovely german friend Daniel introduced to the kids over 20 years ago. I'm not sure whether Daniel, or his parents, invented that game but I think they would be pleased with this twisted remake. They would enjoy playing it.

Anyway, due to aforementioned potential data privacy violation and how weird it would be if I really stared at the Urinator, I haven't been able to determine the socio economic or age demographic of Urinators because I am only glimpsing them. I have glimpsed some in the khaki uniform of rickshaw drivers but I have also glimpsed quite smartly dressed young men. Just glimpsed them.

If I was to bring a charge against a Urinator, although not sure of the legality or otherwise of urintaing in the street, I might be challenged by the defence lawyer as to whether I had really seen what I had claimed to have seen. Or if I was actually playing a two player game my opponent might question whether sighting number 3 was really a Urinator or just a man leaning against a tree on a busy highway, I'm just glimpsing them and may have glimpsed inaccurately. It's a fair cop. And in reality, I would prefer to be wrong and to have misinterpreted what I have glimpsed.

In a city of 21 million people, assuming half of them are female, (I have never seen a female Urinator), there are potentially 10.5 million Urinators. If you exclude certain socioeconomic groups, and age groups, and shy people, and those who wish to make Mumbai a cleaner, less polluted place then I still think you have the potential for a very high score on Glimpsing.

So here is a quick overview of the rules of Glimsping:Urinator edition

1. You cannot count the same Urinator more than once if you are stuck in traffic and glimpse him more than once. A point for each Unique Urinator only.

2. Urinators can be on any side of the street and can be on the pavement or on the road. They all count.

3. If you see 2 Urinators together you get double points, ie 4. Together is if they are talking to one another, not just that you can glimpse both at once.

4. If there is another bloke on a motorbike waiting for the Urinator you score 2 points. It's still just 2 points if the waiting motorbiker is female.

5. If 2 people shout "Urinator" at the same time the point goes to the person closest to the window in which the Urinator was glimpsed.

I think the game could become hugely popular amongst visitors to Mumbai so I have started a league table. I am currently in the lead with the Mumbai record of 3.