This incident dates back to the period when scooters were not readily available and had to be booked in advance. One evening, I happily came home from office and told my wife that my scooter booking had matured and I was going to take its delivery the next morning.
My wife exclaiming with joy, added a rider: "That's wonderful but tomorrow is Saturday." "So what?" was my question to which she replied, "Steel should not be purchased on Saturday." I corrected her, "The scooter is not steel. It is made of plastic, brass, copper, glass parts along with steel parts."
Knowing my nature, she concluded, "I have said what I wanted to. Now do whatever you like. I know you are averse to sane advice."
On Saturday morning, at the bus stand, knowing my intention, Mr Rao, my friend, almost ordered me, "Sirji, I know you don't believe in such things but at least heed to my advice. Please go home today. You can purchase the scooter a day after."
I brushed aside his polite advice saying, "Rao sahib, different days are associated with this purchase. The day on which I paid the booking amount, the day on which I received the maturity letter, the day on which the demand draft was made and the day of delivery.
{{/usCountry}}I brushed aside his polite advice saying, "Rao sahib, different days are associated with this purchase. The day on which I paid the booking amount, the day on which I received the maturity letter, the day on which the demand draft was made and the day of delivery.
{{/usCountry}}Why should only the day of delivery be targeted? Can any particular day be auspicious or inauspicious?" Speechless, he left the place.
As I entered the scooter showroom, it wore a deserted look. But I carried on with my mission. While preparing my bill, the staff murmured in a low voice, "It is very rare to see a Hindu gentleman buying a scooter on a Saturday."
I retorted in the same tone, "Sardarji, do Sikh gentlemen purchase a scooter on this day?" He was probably not expecting such question but replied, "They are also very few but some do come."
I sought his expert advice, "If nothing happens to Sikh gentlemen buying a scooter on a Saturday, what could happen to a Hindu gentleman?" He concluded, "Oh, jee it's all in the mind. If you believe in such things, only then they affect you."
This last piece of conversation set me thinking. I began wondering if I was really on the wrong path. At that time, a childhood story came to mind in which a poor man carrying a gifted goat was made to believe by several people that he was carrying a dog and foolishly, he abandoned it finally.
I consoled my mind with a thought that all days were God's days and nothing good or bad could happen on the basis of a day. Back home, I went to the temple with my wife on the new scooter to thank God.
Surprisingly, the pujari did not comment on the Saturday purchase of my scooter. I felt relieved.
The scooter served me almost trouble-free till I sold it after five years to buy my first car, the then prestigious Maruti-800. Probably, it was bought on a day other than Saturday as no one interrupted me on its day of delivery.
When I entered home in the new car with my wife, my Prabha aunt, who was holidaying at our place blessed us and advised, "Edde pichhe parandiyan latka le (Hang a parandi behind it)."
She was referring to the common practice in North India to hang a woman's hair accessory to ward off evil. Saturday or no Saturday, the saga goes on!