Car Talk (BH:D92)

November 3, 2011

Heavy rains by the time I get to the puncture-fixed car that is arranged to take me back home from IIST where I spent the morning. A new faculty in Physics is sharing the ride. He is going to Statue junction to get a cellphone. "This is my first time in Kerala," says the man from Ghaziabad. "I have worked in Japan and Finland" 

"Where do you stay?" 

"In the hostel" 

"How are they?" 

"Much much better than IIT, I can tell you that much" 

Rain lashes against the car windows. He watches the wet greenery outside. "You can never see this kind of green in Kanpur" Slopes of tapioca fields. Enormous straight edged cliffs of reddish brown clay marking the edges of indiscriminate soil removal. The winding road is not damaged much. "What place is this?" he asks when we reach the crowded Nedumangad town. The court is in session there. Lawyers walking like bats, blind towards vehicles. 

"Are there any parks nearby where people go jogging?" "Not closer than 45 minutes from the campus," I inform. He is disappointed. "I am told a student activity center and swimming pool are coming up soon" I try to cheer him up. We pass Azhicode and Vazhayila. My first sighting of actual wall posters of Santosh Pandit's movie. We re-enter the city at Peroorkada. At the traffic signal, an autorickshaw carrying the board of "Maharaja Jewelers" stops beside us. 

"Who is this man in fancy dress?" 

"He was the last king!" 

"Name?" 

"Sri Chithira Thirunal" 

"What does this board say?" 

"Maharaja Jewelers. Ever since the treasure was discovered at the temple, lot of businesses have been using him as model" 

"Did the royal family know about the treasure?" 

"Yes" 

"One more room is to be opened, yes?" 

"Yes, one more vault. I will show you the palace on the way" 

"They still live in a palace?" 

"yes" 

As we near Kaudiar, past the Income tax office, I show him the wall of the palace compound. The stretch impresses him. The palace gate at Kaudiar too. "From this point, there is footpath for a few kilometers. People jog and walk on it in the mornings and evenings," I point outside the car window. 

"Ravile pick up cheytha sthalathale?" the driver asks. "Athey" (Yes) I am dropped home.

After Amma came back from work, we went to pick up the new Alto car. The driver from her bank, Ravi,came with us as the designated new car driver. At the Hercules dealership, the construction work has forced all the agents to sit outside under a shade. We make the remainder payment. A coupon for 5 litres of petrol, car keys, a heart-shaped transparent plastic box with around 50 "Kopiko espresso strong and rich coffee candy" and the vehicle manual are delivered along with registration receipts. Car is already garlanded. As soon as she sees the new number, 3834, Amma performs a numerological addition. "9 is good," she says. "It is excellent," Ravi agrees. 

An agent and the security guard at the dealership bring 5 sets of betel leaf & lemon combo. Four of them go under the wheels for auspicious driving over. The fifth one is handed over to Amma along with the key. The handing over needs to be done in front of the car with the giver and receiver oriented in proper direction. The security guard turns them around. He points to something in the sky. Amma and the agent shake their heads as if they understood. Key is handed over. Agent takes out something from a box. "They're going to fix a glass idol of Ganesh," Amma speculates. It turned out to be air freshner bottle. "But they gave a Ganesh with Ajith's new car in Bangalore." Air freshner is fixed. We're told that there is enough petrol only to get to the petrol bunk whose coupon we had received. 50 rupees each for the agent and the security guard. "Nobody should be unhappy when we drive out a new car," Ravi explains the logic.

He drives over the lemons. All of them are crushed. Gods were smiling. Onward to the petrol bunk. "Since you had been driving an old car, you will need a week to get used to the power steering. May be 3 days," Ravi warns. We fill gas. Tire pressure is checked. I fiddle with the radio and tune into some FM station. Amma insists that we go to the Althara Goddess temple first. As soon as he sees the garlanded car, the priest leaning on the temple door beams. We park by the side of the temple. 

It is the lamp-worship (deeparadhana) time. A young man with very well developed biceps starts ringing the big bell. Several smaller bells are awakened within the sanctum. I wait outside the car. Different expressions of devotion on the devotees lined up facing the idol being worshiped with circulations of the lamp. The priest handling the lamp is borderline obese. 

Looking upwards, through the beautiful canopy of the Peepal branches, the half moon lighting up the clouds around it, softly. A plump young lady in yellow churidar assumes a reverential pose outside the temple looking towards the idol. After half a minute, her smart phone draws her attention. She has a conversation right underneath the loudly tolling bell. She goes back to the original pose after putting the phone back in its leather case. 

After the worship is over, the silence of the bell continues to ring in my ear. Amma returns with another garland of rose petals and a banana leaf piece with sandal paste, more petals and kumkum. Devotees pouring out of the temple glance, stare, frown and curiously look at the new car. Ravi takes the banana leaf from her and goes around the car applying sandal paste marks on the hood, both the headlights and the rear lights, on each of the window panes and on both the mirrors. 

"We can keep the garland inside," he suggests. "No, hang it from the windshield wiper joint," Amma insists. "We came at a very auspicious time," she says. "Distribute sweets to everyone," Ravi reminds. The FM station has some mallu singer crooning "I do love you, do I want to leave you?" not making any sense. "You can fix an extra horn if you want," Ravi says. 

"Is this not loud enough?" 

"May be not" 

"Honk it" 

Geeeek.....geeeeeek.

A motorbike rider is shocked at getting his secret identity so loudly and musically revealed. Amma declares the horn satisfactory.

We get home. Achan had already kept the gate open. The Kopiko espresso toffee is indeed strong. True to its claim of "makes you STAY AWAKE". Made in Indonesia.