two days in the life of ......- Part 2

Monday was never one of my favorite days and this one was no different. The only consoling fact was that I hadn’t had to travel 60 kms to do nothing.

Job 1 ) Give the car to the service centre. My dad and me went along and gave our car to Trident Hyundai and waited for like 1.5 hours before we could get the estimate. It was a shocking 48 000. There went my appetite along with my mood. Lucikly , 15 grand was labor charges which was fully insured. The remaining amount comprised of spare parts to replace, Bonet, side panel, headlight, compressor, radiator, windshield, coolant etc etc…The list was just endless.

Job 2 ) Go to Peenya Police Station and collect the acknowledgement. We made our way though to the station only to discover the cop we were supposed to report to was on rounds and as his junior put it ..”ille hogidhare saar. Kothkoli. Aydhu nimsha ashte banbidthaare”("he has just stepped out saar. sit down. will be back in 5 mins"). That “aydhu nimsha”("5 minutes") turned into 2.5 agonizing hours.Every half hour the constable would come out and reassure us that the cop was on the way. Eventually at 1:30 the cop landed up and said . “Saar. Firsht you call the other party. Make sure He doesn’t file a case against you. Also, call insurance agency and enquire about the amount they will cover upto. Becaaase an acknowledgement may be enough to cover only upto 10000 Rs in repairs. You might need ad FIR for more amountu.” We left the police station dejected that 3 hours of waiting accounted to no work being done.

Job 3 ) We called Mr.Prasad, the other party. He said his Ford service station has given him a bill of 12 grand, which he was ready to produce in front of us, and as his insurance company wouldn’t reimburse a lot as the bumper was a plastic part, he wouldn’t claim the insurance as his premium for next time would go down compared to the amount he would gain out of the compensation. Whew. Long sentence !!! Basically he was driving to the point that we give him the full 12 grand. Obv we weren’t ready for that and hence told him that we would talk to our insurance guys and get back.

Job 4 ) After a tidy meal at home, we met up with our insurance agent and he explained tht an acknowledgement would suffice for the amount we are claiming for. That was the only piece of good news we received all day

Job 5 ) We headed back to the station and asked for the acknowledgement. The cop as usual was insistent that we settle the amount we pay to the other part first as he shouldn’t file a complaint later. So, negotiations began over the phone with Prasad and we settled to a reasonable 7 grand. Now, it was time to feed the devil The cop was hinting at a bribe. My dad said he worked in BSNL and any problems regarding phone they had he could help them. Nothing more. Eventually he asked for a new instrument as his cabin didn’t have one. My dad agreed to that demand as we had quite a few spares at home. After getting the acknowledgement from him, first hing we did was to get him a new instrument from home. The joy on his face was unbelievable and I actually felt an iota of pity for him. The kind of office he had was a pig sty compared to the ones we sit in day in and out. The kind of people he deals with on a daily basis are rednecks compared to those we encounter. If we thought local politically stimulating Bengalis were the worst, he has to deal with drunk lorry drivers. At the same time, a huge 7 foot cupboard was delivered to his cabin and I was about to walk out when I noticed the sign “Donated by ITP Industries” on it. One more accident case eh?. Couldn’t help but chuckle over it

Job 6 ) Went to Mr. Prasad’s industry and gave him his 7 grand and he was throwing all dialogues like. “Noodi saar. Ee accident nanige losse alla.. Nenne ondhu property deal madodhikhe hortidhe. Full mood offu aagoythu. Adhu nange real loss”("Look sir. This accident is no loss for me. I was going to do a deal on a major property. My mood turned foul after the accident.That is my real loss") Just as I was about to take my money back and say “F**k off then !!!” my dad butted in saying “No sir. You may take this in the wrong sense but whatever happens is for the good only. Maybe something was wrong with the property. So, maybe this accident will benefit you in the long run.” Why doesn’t he say the same to me ?? J J. Anyway, I walked out of there 7 grand poorer and hopefully if the insurance guys strike us a good deal, maybe only 15 grand more to go.

Worst of all, I felt very guilty and offered my dad to pay the entire amount from my savings. He obviously refused.
Me : “look pa !! It’s my fault and I’ll pay with my money. Don’t spend your savings for that. Etc etc”
Dad : “Look son. If I had done the accident, would you not have paid then??”
Me : “Errr. I.. err..definitely would’ve paid….Ah My phone is ringing….Aaaa….Helloooooooo”

…walk off into oblivion..

This, my friends is the story of my last 2 days.
A few words of advice to all you people.
1) Wear seatbelt. That was the only thing that prevented any bodily injury to any of us. Please heed this always
2) Please cross check with your insurance company as to how much you are covered etc etc.
3) Don’t beat me up after listening to this long sad tale of mine. I’m jobless