When I was in school I didn’t really care what a Jaguar, Pontiac, Cadillac, Bentley or even Chevy meant. Only when I was in college did I realise that all these stood proudly in my garage and I hadn’t cared much for them while I stood a mute witness to how some of my friends went crazy about the cars I had. When I watched their extreme reactions of joy on driving or even merely seeing them, I would feel like asking them what the fuss was all about. I mean, for me they were only four wheels that transported me from point A to point B, but for these chaps they were objects of their dreams and desires. Then arrived the turnaround; where lately and for some odd reason, I have been suddenly struck by this ridiculous urge to get for myself a Bentley, a Mercedes, an Audi or a BMW. As the interest to procure something fancy only seemed to escalate in me, not forgetting that I am not a great car enthusiast at all, I did the next best thing - ask friends which would be a good car to buy. If one friend suggested I buy a Mercedes SUV, another suggested a Range Rover and the list only seemed to swell with more names like Porsche, Maserati, Aston and what not. Perplexed and unsure, I knew there was one person I hadn’t asked, my buddy Nakuul so I sent him a text enquiring which car he thought I ought to buy. Past two days and with no reply from him, I called him. He apologised for his inability to respond much earlier due to his shooting schedule and said in his customary, calm manner, “What difference does it make, FK. It’s only a car, bro - four wheels that need to take you from here to there. If you ask me, what matters really is who is sitting inside the car, than the car itself. So for all I know you don’t need to buy anything fancy, but if you really want to then get something, get yourself a Beemer. I’ve seen it and it’s a good car,” he paused, “but forget all that and just drive the cars that you have now, na, baba.”
Inwardly, I knew that this was the voice I was most used to hearing in myself for all these years and of late I truly couldn’t figure what had got into me that had made me get off track because ultimately that’s what matters - who we are on the inside and nothing else matters. I must add that speaking to Nakuul as usual yielded the peace and balance, in thought and in life, that I most expected I would find in his deeds and thoughts. Thank you, Naku for being YOU!
PS - This is what my buddy Sushma had to say when she read my entry. Adding it as it came to me from her on email.
i second what nakul said....very hypocritically though, but what can i say....i'm a victim of the world i help create myself
cheers baba!
PS - This is what my buddy Sushma had to say when she read my entry. Adding it as it came to me from her on email.
i second what nakul said....very hypocritically though, but what can i say....i'm a victim of the world i help create myself
i knw how there's product parity, i knw how stories are created around different products to turn them into "brands" with "auras".....we turn reality into dreams
when u choose a "car on four wheels" - you're choosing it for what it is
when you choose a "car brand" - you're choosing it for what it stands to represent
and who's to say what's good or whats bad....sometimes we need reality and sometimes dreams...each rescues us in its own way
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