Why? I’d just brought the car home from the service centre. We were heading to Mumbai the following day for an important interview and I did not want any mishaps or delays on the way. The car normally purred along - even on highways, at 130 kmph, with never a hint of insubordination. On the morning that we set off for Mumbai though – two hours behind schedule – I sensed that the engine was sounding a little louder than usual and a little gruff too. Like it had a slight sore throat. I put that down to the change of oil and the clean-up during the servicing, and we set off . After a minor hiccup (starting problem) the car behaved pretty well and I was soon enjoying the rare, uninterrupted drive on the expressway - with my foot off the brake! Nikhil, his ears plugged, was listening to his favourite band. Mallika was doing what she enjoys best – catching up with her sleep. It was a glorious morning and we were making good time. The traffic too was unusually light - thanks to the merchants’ strike on account of the LBT issue. We crossed the ghats without incident. A little after we drove out of the last of the tunnels though, I heard a strange, scratchy sound. I ignored it, confident that it came from the old vehicle just behind us. Then it happened again and I noticed that it happened each time I stepped on the accelerator pedal. Now this could surely not be a coincidence. I got more than a little concerned. I turned to Nikhil. He returned my worried look and said “Dad, the car seems to be having a problem”, Fortunately we had reached the food-mall and hunger drove us inside the SubWay eatery. While we waited for our breakfast, I called up the toll free Maruti Helpline number. The lady at the other end of the “Helpline” was anything but helpful. She was either out of her mind or just hated her job. I was trying my best to convey to the lady that I needed help and that too ASAP. She mumbled something about wishing to know my location. Working out of Delhi, the lass did not have the faintest idea of where or even what Panvel was. I tried telling her but she simply disconnected. Twice. I was at my wit’s end. Had I not lost so much hair to age and Pune’s hard water, I may have pulled some out in sheer frustration. I was tired, hot, angry and anxious. There was no way we could leave the car at the food mall, or even on the expressway. Either the car carried us or we abandoned her. Since the car was still moving, we decided to drive up to a service center in the nearest town and get the car fixed quickly so that we could keep our all-important 4 pm appointment in Bandra. We also did what we always do when we find ourselves in a jam – we prayed. We drove slowly along the highway , hoping and praying that the engine (which by now had become quite vocal in its protests,) would hold on long enough.But that was not to be. After a few kilometers of a rough, jerky ride, the car engine refused stubbornly to respond to the persuasion of the accelerator pedal. We pulled over. This was it. I was about to explode. I called up my friend Ravi to tell him the mess I was in. Just as I was doing this , a patrolling policeman rode up to the car on his motorbike and asked us what the problem was. We told him. Just behind him – you would not believe this – was a tow truck. Option-less, we agreed to be towed to the nearest garage in Panvel It was 12 noon when we reached the service station. 4 hours and about 60 odd km of heavy traffic lay between us and the interview. I was hoping the service engineer would say “it’s a minor problem. Don’t worry, we will have it fixed in a jiffy.” Instead he told us that the problem seemed to be a major one and that they would know the exact extent of damage to the engine only after they took it down. That would take anywhere from 15 to 20 days. I had no choice but to leave the car there. At least it would be safe. Hurriedly signing a document, we were driven to the Panvel Railway Station, courtesy Maruti Pick and Drop service. Nikhil enjoyed his first Local train ride despite our state of mind and extreme dehydration. Forty minutes later we were in Ghansoli. It was 2 pm. The interview was only 2 hours away. We splashed some water on our sweaty faces, changed into fresh T shirts, snatched some soft drinks at my niece’s home and jumped into the waiting taxi – arriving at the venue for the interview at 3 PM.. one hour before the scheduled time for the interview ! Praise God. The second round of the interview was held the following morning and we left the place with huge smiles and prayers of thankfulness. Three weeks the car was ready. I finally drove it home last Thursday. The bill..let’s not talk about that. It nearly erased our bank balance. Yes, God did intervene at every step and the now the car is running even smoother than before and is giving me a better mileage too. But the questions that kept popping up in my mind over the preceding three weeks were - “why did God allow, such a loss? What wrong had I done to deserve this? How could a car that gave absolutely no signs of trouble suddenly break down just one day after it was serviced? Why was the bill so steep?” I do not have the answers as yet, but as I pondered on the situation and the questions that stemmed from it my mind went to the story of Job and the losses that he suffered – a million, may be more times than my own. Unlike me, he was a good man. If it happened to him, why not me? My thoughts also went back to an incident that occurred a few years ago. A friend and his wife left the restaurant they had enjoyed their dinner at, only to discover that their car had been stolen. It was an old vehicle and not really in good shape. The friend’s wife had a very simple answer to his why - “ May be the Lord allowed the vehicle to be stolen to prevent a bad accident that was just waiting to happen with the old car.” Perhaps this could be the reason the Lord allowed the breakdown in my case. I don’t Know. What I do , know is that had it not been for the Lord’s care n protection, the story may have ended quite differently. As the popular chorus goes “We will understand it better by and bye.”
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:43:31 +0000
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