Beware, van owners!

I’ve often been dumbstruck in seeing a general weakness amongst us Indians. Most of us like to flaunt our position in society and are guilty of vulgar display of wealth. Otherwise, one simply cannot justify parents insisting on elaborate wedding ceremonies for their children or throwing lavish parties on somebody’s elevation to a higher position. While it’d be prudish on my part to insist on not celebrating important milestones in one’s life, it’s my earnest thought that ostentation should be kept on a tight leash on such occasions!

Coupled with this attitude is the tendency to pay undue importance to status symbols and to display behaviour accordingly. And I’d like to recount an incident that happened at the petrol pump this morning and mind you, it’s a place that I normally take in fuel for my 16 year old Maruti Omni(the reason for resorting to this practice is that the level of impurities, more or less, remain the same and hence, safeguards the vehicle’s carburetor).

As I turned my vehicle into the pump’s premises, I was directed by one of the boys to the farthest end and as my van was brought to a stop at the appropriate counter, I heard the head boy chiding him for not giving me a more central spot. I was rather amused when the owner, then, came and apologized for the ‘misunderstanding’ saying that the new boy didn’t know that I was an important(?) customer and had behaved so because my vehicle was a van(all van owners and potential ones, be aware of your standing and refrain from buying one if you’ve a fragile ego!)

I’ve even been told by many well meaning friends that I should indeed dispose of my van to a better vehicle and my question to all of them had been as to whether I was being an embarrassment to them because of that. And the mulish guy that I am, I continue to drive my van and enjoy it because, to me, a vehicle should have two qualities:-

(a) Should be smooth and ever ready for a trouble free journey.
(b) Should start at the first crank of the ignition.

‘Cutie’, as I call my van, is just that despite her vintage!!