Sunday, March 6, 2011

Easy Come…

We got our new car this past Tuesday; a blue Hyundai I20.  Paul drove it home, and I admit that I was a bit freaked out.  Not only did he have to drive on the opposite side of the road which is different than what he’s used to, but he also had to use his left hand to shift as opposed to his right.  Oh, and let me point out the fact that the roads here are insane; trucks, buses, cars, rickshaws, motorcycles, pedestrians and cows sharing a small space in a kind of chaotic harmony…with my husband driving off key.

Anymoo he made it home in one piece as did the car, which sat in our parking lot until Thursday morning; Wednesday being a holiday.  Note:  For those of you that have been following, he informed his rickshaw driver, Vikram, that his services would no longer be required and that he needn’t worry about the money he had advanced him for the month of March.  We both wish him well and hope he finds another benefactor.

We finally had a car and it would just be a short time before a driver was hired. On Thursday morning Paul drove to work, while I cringed at the thought.  After half a day he returned to pick me up with a taxi as we were flying to Hyderabad for a long weekend.  We left for the airport with an air of excitement around us.  Paul was looking forward to conducting interviews for a new sales rep in Hyderabad and we both were anticipating the rest of the weekend to be relaxing yet fun filled. 

The car was left at the office with Paul’s accountant, and right hand man, having permission to use it until Monday.  Knowing this man is married with two children, and only a motorcycle to get them around, Paul wanted to make a kind gesture. 

On Friday evening, after the interviews, Paul was finishing up his weekly reports so we could enjoy the rest of the weekend, but while checking his email he came upon this:


Subject: Car Damaged

Dear Sir,

I am very regret to inform you that I have did very irresponsible mistake which is not forgivable to me.

Our car has get damaged and sent back to showroom for repairing.
Mr Vikram (auto driver) will give us the service till receiving our car from showroom again.

I am guilty and ready to accept your punishment for the said inconvenience.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Best Regards,
Dhananjay


I asked Paul to call him right away to find out what the damage was and how it happened, but he wanted to wait until Monday to find out.  Thankfully, he called him when we got back to Mumbai a couple of hours ago.  I agree with Paul that it is just a car and it can be fixed, and the important thing is that no one was hurt; but after reading that email I’m sure this guy has been worried and losing sleep. “Just call him and put his mind at ease.” I said.  So he did.  Paul’s not clear as to what exactly happened or where…or even the extent of the damage, but he does know that it will take 10 to 15 days for the repairs.

We’ve been without our own car and driver for this long…this long being well over a year for Paul…so what’s another couple of weeks?

Stay tuned for an upcoming post about us eating beef in India…Yes, BEEF!  Three times in two weeks.  Yes, the good does outweigh the bad.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

wait, did you say shifting with your LEFT hand???

Expat No. 3699 said...

@ Moonspun
Yes! So you can understand my concern with him driving here...in addition to everything else.

Avitable said...

His poor accountant - I bet he was despondent over wrecking the car.

hello haha narf said...

my heart broke for the guy when he wrote, "I am guilty and ready to accept your punishment for the said inconvenience."

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

Oh, holy crap! That poor man! Can you imagine that happening in America? The accountant would have been all, "Dude, that crunched bumper has always been there. Are you high? Don't you remember doing that last week? IT WASN'T ME!" I just want to pat him on the head. :(