KL7-1697

As long as I can remember we have had her.This turd color FIAT Padmini.KL7-1697.Our very first car.It was quite a sight inside our car shed and on the roads.As it raced the roads resplendently the passengers subconsciously gave silent prayers.There was always a "what next?" with our car,'cause it had a dungeon of odd behaviors.

I loved her nevertheless and was possessive too."Ammeee he calls our car a motor boatttt!!!".Everytime Ajithettan visited, I would spill tears of same kind."Tell him that his car is a steam boat".She would say as she winked at him over my head.Not to forget mentioning that the neighbourhood would wake up if we went out in her at night.Talking of waking up people it did get people out of their beds one peaceful night.

As we lazed unassumingly in our house one night we heard our car horn go off.Well no one can ever be sure about the sound of horns.But we never doubted at the sound of ours.Our ears were in synch with its sound quality and frequency.Scared out of our wits we dashed out to find this person who had got into a car to honk at its owners!!

I stiffened when I saw that there was no one in the driver seat.There was no one inside the whole car!The horn was still sounding.Lights were going up in the neighboring houses.Achan unlocked the car door and got into the driver's seat.He looked curiously at the horn button resting at the center of the steering wheel.Realising what was happening he looked around at us sheepishly.Ma glared at him with a look that said all she would have wanted to say."Stop the damn thing!We woke up our neighbours!!!".

Acha asked me to run and get a spanner.Oh yeah some loose connection,it dawned on me.I had been blaming the ghost species.By then our neighbours had solemnly assembled at our gate.Imagine their faces when all they saw was the head of the family seated at the driver's seat honking away in the middle of the night while the rest of the family got entertained watching it!

Acha quicky found the culprit wire-with the horn sounding in the background ofcourse - and cut it short.Silence prevailed.Neighbours dispersed suppressing giggles.We got back in solemnly.Well one more to our Padmini's attributes list..

Epilogue

KL7-1697 still races against time in the roads of Cochin.We gave it away tearfully one spring. By then it had begun engaging in more merciless attributes.Long after we had all assumed that its scraps would be undergoing galvanization I saw it parked alongside the road one day.It had bright yellow flowers placed close to its rear glass.