It all started on a Sunday evening when I had gone to meet a couple of friends from college ,who are married to each other, with Vikram (my other half - I consider myself the better one, but that's my personal opinion which my sovereign secular democratic nation allows me to have) . By the way when in Bangalore you don't have much of choice in terms of places to go to on a Sunday evening in case you are not a pub hopper like me. And luckily the rest of the gang was also not interested in drinking that day so we went to Ameoba (a popular bowling alley and other indoor games parlour).
Well, after a few rounds of usual lifting, twisting, rolling , falling, jumping and cheering of the ball, pins and human bodies (not necessarily in the same order) - the humans got tired while the balls and the pins got pricey!. Hence we headed for a nice place to eat at. Although Bangalore never ceases to surprise you with choices for foodies , we decided to keep it simple and small. The married couple (Deepankar & Deepti) suggested a small but decent place near their house, and we all agreed. Deepankar suggested that we keep the bike parked there at Ameoba while we all go in his car to his place and the restaurant nearby- which seemed quite fair cause it was drizzling outside.
As Deepti and I waited outside Ameoba discussing what gift to buy for Vikram on his birthday, which was round the corner, - I saw Deepti waving at Deepanker to guide him to the place we were waiting at . And wow! what a sight, Ah! - I saw him inside this shiny, luxurious, stylish, powerful and secure machine running on four wheels called the Ford Fiesta!!!!. Deepankar was steering the machine close to where we were standing so that we could hop in.
Go fida!! goes the punchline and there I was standing or rather sitting inside the car all flat and fida. Not that I had seen a ford fiesta for the first time - it was more to do with sense of security I felt in that drizzling evening which had spoilt or at least delayed the plans of many and had them running for shelter while we drove away cruising through the rain and the pot holes full of water!!
I suddenly felt the urge to arrest this feeling of security forever and felt this longing to own a car or..or wait a minute - even better.... to gift one! Voila!! I knew right that moment what to buy for Vikram on his 26th birthday.
It all happened so fast but still my thought process seemed to keep pace with the chain of events. I was so excited that I couldn't help having a quick discussion with Deepti about my idea of gifting a car to Vikram. In that frenzied excitement I didn't realize when I popped the question to Deepti, ' How much is the on-road price for this beautiful machine?'. 'Well, it was a gift from my parents' pat came the reply. 'But..' , she continued ' I guess they paid around 8'. 8 Lakh!!! my heart sank the way it had soared.
Vikram was seated in the passenger seat next to Deepankar , who was behind the wheel, oblivious to the thoughts running through my mind. I saw him quite pleased with the car and found him enquiring about the technicalities like mileage, engine capacity, speed pick up, maneuverability etc etc.
I wanted some time for myself so I started looking outside the window in the blank space where objects, people, other vehicles and the like appeared for a few seconds and disappeared again. I did not want to kill this feeling, I thought to myself if not a ford fiesta perhaps a smaller car. After all - it is all about feeling secure and safe and besides - a smaller car would serve the same purpose as a big car like Ford Fiesta except for the luxury part- which, I thought, could wait till I earned more.
I took a deep breath and decided to enjoy the feeling and dream on..... That evening we had a wonderful time together, we spoke of good ol' days and shared secrets and goof ups of college days. However - there was one secret which was not shared cause it had to be revealed..revealed in style! And boy what revelation!!
Dear reader please watch this space for more....
