I bought a car today. It doesn't make it any easier to do this in a country where I never understand what is going on. I decided I didn't trust anyone so bought a used car from the only dealer who does the "certified used" concept. So I bought a Maruti Sazuki Zen. Or at least put a down payment and they'll work on fixing all the little things we negotiated and hopefully I will pick up the car tomorrow. I already have a driver. My friend/colleague Meg is leaving India to go back and work at PSI's DC office after almost 3 years here (she's the one I initially stayed with when I moved here in 2003). So I'm inheriting her wonderful driver Setender. Now my guard will have something to guard:) I brought Setender, the office driver DP, and another person from work, Rajat, to look at the car and tell me which one to buy. We (Setender driving me sitting in the backseat) test drove a bunch and they recommended this one, so I bought it! Rajat negotiated new tires (or tyres as they are spelled here), Setender said they needed to realign the wheels and DP and I joined forces to negotiate the price (we didn't get far as these are non-negotiable).
It has also been brought to my attention by Cheinan that I have failed to mention the India v Pakistan Cricket match. That would be because I have totally ignored it. Apparently Pak beat India by 341 runs. What kind of sport allows someone to win by 341??? And takes 4 days? A bunch of my colleagues are visiting our Pakistan project now so it will be great to hear how it was to be in Pakistan during the win. The matches do seem to have helped relations between the countries.
To be honest. I was paying more attention to the airport staff strikes that are causing all sorts of havoc.
PS. Saw my first monkey gang since I've been back. When we were test driving the car they were on the side of the road, like 40 of them! I locked the doors and laughed.
Was it a test match?
ReplyDeleteIt was a test series and India was crushed. My Indian friends were crying. India hasn't lost to Pakistan in decades.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line in the BBC story is "Ganguly eventually played down the wrong line to a ball from Razzaq soon after tea and was out lbw." Can you imagine an American sports match breaking for tea?