A couple of days ago, I emerged from the small side exit on my way to have some tea, when I noticed a gaggle of bicycles at the main gate, all green–indicating they had been rented at the metro station–and all ridden by young women (undergraduates, I think). They had been talking to the security guards and looking very disappointed. I walked on but, on second thoughts, returned and asked them whether they had been stopped from going in. Yes, they nodded, sadly. They are on their way to the Physics department to see some instruments. Wondering why they had been stopped, I went back to talk to the guards.
Hanji, unko manaa kiya. Why did you not let them in? In ladkiyon ko bicycle theek se chalanaa nahin aata haiji, andar gaadi bahut fast chalaate hainji. WHAT? I hear you right? You say these girls are novices and not steady on their bicycles, people drive very fast inside the campus and they might get injured? So, rather than controlling the traffic (a thankless task, I grant), you want to solve a potential problem by preventing those “poor helpless” girls from getting into a potentially dangerous situation? Talk of cages!!
I did persuade them to let the young women in, after all; they were reasonable enough to take a reasonable view on this.