Every year during the Ganapathi festival my neighbour Ramakant binges on lottery tickets, the ones that each Ganapathi pandal sells. He'll buy not one, but an entire booklet of 100 tickets totalling 5,000 rupees in the hope of narrowing his chances of winning the big prize: a maroon Maruti Alto. So far he has spent 15,000, a lot of money for a man who trims trees and brings down the coconuts. But probably his two grown sons paid.
This year, to his utter astonishment, Ramakant won. Ganapathi be praised!
The car was brought home, everyone came to oohh and ahh over it, aarti was done. The next day the family of eight and a horde of relatives – dressed in their most elegant clothes - went for a spin in the car and a hired van.
Then the bamboo compound fencing was removed . The car was placed inside and covered with old saris and a plastic sheet. All evening Ramakant spent putting the bamboo back in place.
The car is now safely inside.
Every day the wrapping is removed and the car cleaned thoroughly.
But the car never goes anywhere. None of them knows how to drive.
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