In pursuit of owning a Jaguar car

My wife wish to buy a Jaguar car and that too in cash. It was a terrifying news for a husband who is comfortable  riding a two wheeler. But, she is so loving and caring like all other Wives in this world,  that a big “No” cannot be the answer. I have never checked the price of a Jaguar car but I assumed it to be in the range of  Rs 1.0 Cr  but my wife confirmed  that she had read in a newspaper, price starts  from Rs 44.89 Lakhs. A registration number and accessories of her choice is definitely going to add few extra lakhs.  

 I have a flat, which I can sell, her brother has recently won few thousand rupees playing online game, Dream 11, he will definitely donate for the cause of his only sister. Her father is going to retire in a couple of months, so he may wish to contribute from his PF.  Mother- In law, won’t stay behind, she too will be ready to give away her old Santro Xing for any exchange offer with the Jaguar. So, my first fear of the budget, seems to be an achievable target at least for the time being.

 It was my second fear which was actually bothering me. What outfit a prospective Jaguar buyer should wear to the showroom to look like a genuine buyer? What question should I ask to those smart looking executives at the showroom?What is the on road price ? kuch exchange offer hai kiya ?  Does the basic model has power windows? What is the mileage?  Kitna servicing free hai ?  Servicing may kitna kharcha hai? Is there any servicing Centre near Lajpat Nagar?  What is the waiting time ?…….Am I supposed to ask all these questions. Because last time we purchased a Maruti car, I enquired all these ? Will the same question be valid for buying a Jaguar car, I was very confused, which exactly was my second fear.  I am not among those smart person who ask those right question at the right time and return back with the best product . As a twelve years old, when I first went to a boarding school I had similar apprehensions in my mind. Also, the first time I joined regular office work after retiring from sports it was a similar kind of situation for me. Nevertheless with time I overcame all these fear but in this case the problem was, it would be an one time encounter. 

While I was wondering about asking the right question at the showroom,  suddenly another fear appeared on my minds. Oh God, where would I park our Jaguar car in Lajpat Nagar !! the cost of  repairing the dent every alternate month would be equivalent to buying a Maruti car.

 My wife came up with a quick solution to this. Let’s shift to our flat in Ghaziabad, there won’t be any parking problem. I found it to be a practical solution, so again I went back to addressing the second fear of asking the right questions. I called few of my friends, who have the experience of buying such luxury cars. One of them laughed listening to my concern. “Don’t worry, bondhu      (bondhu is a friendly term to address a  friend in Assam)  they are like any other vendor in the street selling vegetables who knows how to sell their products. There is no difference between buying potato and buying Jaguar cars, provided you have enough cash in hand”.  Another friend said  “Dosti ( Dosti is a  friendly term to address a friend in Hindi) don’t worry they are very well trained executives, so they will actually make you feel that you are the only one who can buy the Jaguar car and  after a while you will just enjoy talking to them”. After listening to their advice I felt slightly relaxed. Couple of weekends passed on in excitement finalizing the colour of our Jaguar through rigorous Google surfing. Brohter In-law, Father  In-Law , Mother In-Law  were eagerly waiting to contribute for the cause once we finalized the colour. But, again I discovered a fourth fear, which was in fact a byproduct of my third solution. I was supposed to sell my Ghaziabad flat to buy the Jaguar  but if I do so where will we park the car ???.  So, first, we have to find a rented house with a parking space in Delhi , which was in fact a bigger challenge than buying a Jaguar of our dream. Oh! sorry dream car of my wife not mine.

 As it became evident that we need to wait to bring home the dream Jaguar, my wife started exploring  something new to demand. But, every day I kept reminding her of her Jaguar dream. “Parking is not so big an issue that we won’t be able to overcome, we have found solution to bigger problems in life than finding a  parking space for our prospective Jaguar”. This I occasionally kept reminding her, so that she don’t come up with a new wish. In the past every time, she comes to me and say “Abhi may kuch soach rahi thi” and believe me I knew, thunder was  about to fall. Buying a Juguar was the only soch of her which was somewhere close to achievable, for the rest of her Soch I have to either become Amit Saha or Bills Gates, Tom Cruise, Roger Federer put under one soul. 

    This practiced continued for couple of months. Then one fine day the Eureka moment came. My name appeared in the tentative transfer list of my company. A posting to Karaikal, Rajahmundry or Nazira will guarantee a huge parking space for our prospective Jaguar car. As I narrated my eureka moment to her, she suddenly seems to found a better solution. Now, she wanted to just change the seat cover of our existing car, make it dent free and paint a new colour of our choice that we decided for our Jaguar. I found it to be a better Soch and agreed to go ahead with her  wish immediately. My salary is mortal but my wife wish is immortal. I believe, the day when both my salary and her wish become immortal there won’t be any fun on this earth. These are the minor in-balances which helps us to live a balance and exciting life. And yes,  I also do believe that we see only those dreams which are achievable, so on that analogy I may one day become a Bill Gates or Tome Cruise to fulfill all my wife’s dream. 

(Discloser: This article is written in good humor without any intention to hurt anyone feelings and published with permission of my beloved wife who unknowingly helps me to live a balance life) Abhijit Bhattacharya, ONGC, Delhi