After a lot of argument and haggling with my children I went in for a new car. I should have been over the moon with the new toy. But I was not. The old one was giving me excellent service and there was no cause to ditch it from my household. Besides, it was aware of my whims and eccentricities. But the winds of democracy had penetrated our domestic world as well and a majority family vote overruled my feeble veto for a status quo. I suspect my wife vigorously campaigned after she spotted a gleaming sedan in the next-door portico. There’s no way out from the folly of keeping up with the Joneses. Owner’s pride, neighbours’ envy!
I don’t deny that it was exhilarating driving a powerful glittering machine and I hit the road soaring. But city traffic had grown in leaps and bounds and I should have been more cautious. As it was, I was brought back to reality sooner than later when bump! A mobike cruising on the wrong side of the ride scratched my fender.“See where you are going, Uncle!” the biker upbraided me with a stern eye before disappearing in a jiffy. I was stunned, not by the impudent remark of an upstart, but by the dent to my spotless vehicle. It was enough to give anyone a heart attack.
Thanks to modern plastic surgery for cars, the damage could be undone and the car restored to its original splendour in no time. I returned to the roads with renewed vigour, though my driving had become a bit shaky. I looked at every car and two-wheeler with trepidation and drove carefully. But how could I ensure that the other fellow would follow the rules? What if he indicates to go right, but goes left instead?
A few days later there was a loud bang on the rear of my car. A new bump was mocking my anxious face. It necessitated another visit to the service centre for another mending. But dents are relentless. You take care of one and another pops up somewhere else. I see many vehicles carrying on with their bruises, as if the smallpox virus was at large among cars. As dents march on undaunted, exhausted car owners and wily insurance companies are forced to let them be. It’s time to embrace the much-dented car as a new fashion icon, like gunshot jeans in clothing. The more dents to show to the world the merrier!
Ishwar Pati Email: ishwarpati@gmail.com