New moon and my old scooter

My neighbor who is always punctual for office, whether it is rain or sunshine,

usually did not have time for pleasantries, so I was surprised when he said a warm
good morning to me, on a clear morning, while, washing and cleaning his Two
wheeler decorating it with kumkum, a jasmine garland, two green chilies and a
pierced fresh lime, explained that, the day was the worst Amavasya (new moon
day) of the year and it is absolutely essential that he protects his new vehicle (2
year old) from Evil eyes.

Being an Agnostic, I do not believe in such ostentatious rituals to protect my 12year

old Scooter from evil eyes, but it reminded me that, I have also not cleaned or
washed my scooter for a month, blaming the recent Rains, but embarked on this
tedious task forthwith.

“You have time to waste and to spend on your old vehicle ,but no time to go to the
market to buy me a blouse piece”.

As I had finished by obligation to the scooter, I decided to go and get a blouse

piece, of a particular shade, which was available only in a shop, which is exclusive
and costly for a pensioner.

I parked my vehicle, in an unmanned parking lot near the shop, went in, and
came out in 10 minutes., as I did not have any other purchases.

I was aghast to see that my vehicle was missing, and realized that the vehicle has
been stolen.

Heartbroken at the loss of a 12 year old companion, who has been with me
through thick and thin of my life, I was at a loss and confused to plan what to do
next. With tears clouding my eyes. I went back to the shop and told the
shopkeeper that someone has stolen my scooter. He tried to console me with his
own story of How he had lost his own scooter from the same parking lot 6 months
ago, and complained to the nearby police station, after frequent visits , they
found the scooter in a nearby housing colony, where it had been abandoned.“So
you got your vehicle back? I asked . “No” was the reply, because there are some
legal hurdles to be sorted out, before the vehicle could be released, which will
cost me more than the 2’nd hand value of a scooter, I have not taken delivery of
the reclaimed scooter yet.”

People around me offered many unsolicited advice. and In the end, I decided to
file a police complaint, that is when I went through an inquisition.

I went to the nearby police station, met the policeman at the front desk with a
small sign board, “Complaints”, where a person with a clean shaven face,, in a
spotless starched uniform, and spectacles sat ,( the glasses gave him a scholarly
look), He politely offered me a chair, set aside what ever he was doing, and
looked at me, through his glasses, shot out questions after questions.

1. Name ..........
2. Age.......75plus,
3. Do you have a license? Yes! (I could overhear his feeble murmur,” who
gave this old hag a license? )
4. Are you Diabetic, or do you have Blood pressure, Amnesia, or any
disease connected with old age? No.
5. Do you wear glasses? Yes, cooling glasses while riding

I meekly asked him, without offending him, what relation, my physical conditions
had to do with the theft of my vehicle. His reply was not very convincing, when he
said these questions and answers prove whether your complaint is genuine or
not.

Further questions were in a peculiar staccato voice from the earlier authoritarian
rough police voice, about the brand, model, the registered Number ,colour of
the vehicle, whether the vehicle was registered in my name , had I insured the
vehicle, emission tested, and whether the vehicle was locked when it was stolen
and had obtained the parking token to which I said No there was no attendant
because of Ammavasi .

In between he answered many phone calls, stood up umpteen times to salute his
superiors, followed them in to their cabin for some discussions etc.etc. by the
time he was free to talk to me again it was more than an Hour, from the time I
had entered the Police station. then came the final verdict, Please come after a
month; let us see what can be done.

With a heavy heart, I started walking back to the spot where I had parked the
scooter to pay obeisance to a lost friend, cursing myself for not protecting my
scooter from Moon’s evil eyes, but soon better sense prevailed over me and I said
to myself that the Moon does not have any power of it’s own, it deflects only
Sun’s rays to us and does not have an evil eye to seduce an old scooter. the
Americans have walked on it with their Boots on, and till now there are no
repercussions.

when I reached the spot I saw a fair , well dressed young man sitting on a parked
motor cycle, who asked me, why am I looking so sorrowful , Sad and fidgety
touching other vehicles, then looking up as if saying a prayer?

I confessed to him my loss, and told that I cannot afford another vehicle with my
meager pension, whether old or new .He was very sympathetic about my loss
and hinted that he could give some clues ,that may help me to get my vehicle
back, I was jubilant and was willing even to fall at his feet.

He said, according to his knowledge, Vehicle thieves carry 12 to 14 duplicate Keys

that could open any two wheeler locks in a jiffy , take it, lock & park it in any
nearby unmanned parking lot till dusk and if nobody shows any interest, ride it
out with other office goers, who come together and ride out one after the other,
mostly with Helmets, without evoking any suspicion .

Excited I asked him what I should do now? Go out on the roads in all four
directions from here, at least for half a kilometer , if you are lucky, you ‘ll find it in
one of them.

I found my vehicle nicely parked on a Road side parking ,during my search .

I rode back as I had the keys with me to thank the young man, but there was
None.

George kallupalam