A few days back, I read the post of Geetashri Ji (Geeta 1963) in which she had shared her sentiments towards a tree. I have got inspiration from her write-up to write this DP. Attachment or emotions can exist for any creature or any tree or even any non-living thing and in my view, it is the attribute of a sensitive person. Myself, being a sensitive person, shares today with you my sentiments towards a non-living thing which is no less than a family member for me.
This non-living member of my family is my Bajaj Super scooter which I had received in my wife's dowry on 1st December, 1995 (my marriage day). MS members may please forgive me for accepting the dowry because it had been voluntarily given by my in-laws to their daughter and there was no demand from my side. The scooter was given specially because my wife had been driving a Bajaj Super scooter for the past many years since her adolescence (and she is able to drive both the two-wheeler and the four-wheeler much better than me).
This scooter has met many accidents because (may be due to the movement of my stars) I have been accident-prone in my life. However it has endured everything and never let me down. Its body and machinery have been so strong that immediately after meeting any accident, it was found in running condition. It has seen my heyday, it has seen my loneliness and melancholy and you may ridicule it but the truth is that at times, I have shared my grief and emotions with it. It has stood by me in my all times, both good and bad, during the past one and a half decade.
I have never riden a bike in my life but with this scooter itself, I have travelled several times for more than 100 kilometres in a day. I have spent more than six years at Rawatbhata (Rajasthan), a beautiful place some fifty and odd kilometres away from the city of Kota. Despite the availability of the regular bus service from Rawatbhata for Kota, I always loved to cover that distance by my scooter only. In between these two places, there was a forest track (the Durra wildlife sanctuary) and myself being a nature lover, always enjoyed travelling through that natural environment on the scooter. Even today, I cherish those days.
There is no dearth of free consultants in India who can always be found on your side to provide you free (and unwanted) advice. Such wise men have advised me hundreds of times to sell this scooter or exchange it for some bike in any exchange-offer scheme. Thank God, I have never paid attention to any such superfluous advice thrown to me. How can I think to part with a member of my family ? It has seen my sorrows as well as my joys (including the births of both of my children). Even today if I feel very happy within my heart, I vent my joy out by driving this scooter on any empty road for a few minutes.
Like my own body, the body (and machinery) of this scooter has also suffered several setbacks and the effects of wear and tear are clearly visible on its outer look. But I love it. Now its production has been stopped by the Bajaj company, yet I remember the days when the advertisement of Bajaj scooter used to be telecast on the TV portraying it as a symbol of a happy Indian family. Whenever I ride it alongwith my family members (wife and both the children), I feel that it is truly a symbol of my happy family, in fact, a part of my happy family.
