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When black cat crosses the road: Astrology, beliefs in TOP GEAR
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Check out the natal chart of the beauty on wheels you want to possess. RAKHEE MOHAN finds astrology, prayers and superstitions in the driver's seat, as car dealers ably match their clients' unusual requests.
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FAITH has moved from the very personal puja rooms to showrooms. And business has sensed the need to cater to faith. When customer is king, everything veers round to pleasing him. So, at Popular Vehicles and Services Ltd, they have an in-house priest who conducts the auspicious pooja to ward of any evil influences, when customers buy a vehicle.
Says Somy K. Cheruvathoor, Manager Sales; "we want the customer to remember this occasion as a milestone in his/her life so we even capture this proud moment in photos." The car keys are handed over to the priest who performs the pooja and then along with the blessings and `prasad', hands it over to the devout customer. In most of the showrooms, limes are placed under the four wheels to be crushed. This is a common practice along with breaking a coconut to begin a propitious innings for the car.
"They just have to tell me their birth time and nakhshathram that is included in the prayer recitals." Ramana Rao, pujari
Ramana Rao, the `pujari' has been for a-year-and-a-half with Popular Vehicles performing the various rites before handing over the keys to the customers. According to him, "Customers are very keen to have the rituals performed. They just have to tell me their birth time and nakhshathram that is included in the prayer recitals." Other rituals include an alternately beaded lemon and chilli strung from the bonnet or garlanding it with flowers. Camphor too is burnt on the coconut to ward off evil forces. Driving at the wheels of a swanky new car is the stuff that dreams are made of . And it takes years of hard work to materialise this dream. So, finally when the keys are in your hand and the fast lanes are yours for zooming on, what's the hitch? Well, as Mr. Titty Thomas would tell you, "one makes such a big investment that you don't want to incur any losses. There is an inbuilt fear somewhere, so rituals and ceremonies are a natural fallout to neutralise such fears." He is an accounts director at TBWA and recently bought a car. "I wanted it on a Thursday as I felt Friday was ominous. Many would avoid the colour black as being unlucky but I went for it."
So, numbers, colours, planetary positions, timings and even days influence customers while purchasing a vehicle. And showrooms, in the city, too gratify the whims and fancies of clients.
Mr. Siddique from MGF Hyundai adds, "once or twice I have seen customers lighting lamps before driving off." Most of the Christians said they take the car for the first drive to the church to get it blessed by the Father. The Hindus too drive to a nearby temple and perform the `vahana' pooja and also do the pooja of the key before driving off in style. Mr. Jayachandran, AGM of Marketing Division in Benz Automobiles says, "even before getting the registration papers we allow our customers to take the car to the temple or church for getting blessed but they have to take our driver and it has to be within the city limits."
"We even capture this proud moment in photos." Somy K. Cheruvathoor, Manager, Sales.
And with numerology gaining enthusiasts by the day, the number game is played to the hilt. The most waned numbers are one, seven, and nine. And the number avoided like the plague is eight. But as Mr. Sebastian, General Manager of Indus Motors informs us, "The RTO office sorts out all the registration papers according to the alphabetical order and so desired numbers are very hard to come by, now." Moreover, you have to shell out bucks if you want a number of your choice. But even then some hardliners go the last mile to register numbers of their choice. And if numerology is practiced can astrology be far behind? Leena Reghunath, a law student says, "when my mom decided to buy a car the first thing she did was to go and show her horoscope to the astrologer and find out whether she was accident prone or not. Luckily she wasn't so she got a car but my brother was told not to meddle with anything on wheels so he missed out on the latest bike." People also consult astrologers to find out the auspicious days and time to buy their dream cars. No one dares buy it during `rahu kaalam' and according to statistics the first day of `Chingam' is the day when the maximum number of gleaming cars take to the roads. `Karkadaka Masam' sees customers shying away from making any purchases. Some of the customers also consult astrologers to find out the position that they have to stand while the priest hands over the keys to them. Most are asked to face towards the west. But the trend of performing rituals, according to Mr. Sebastian, is on a downward trend. As he points out, " Earlier buying a car was a grand occasion where the whole family came, sat and chose after much deliberation. Now, office going clients just walk in, make a choice and walk out expecting it by evening. Cars have become a common commodity like a bike." But Mr. Cheruvathoor maintains that when it comes to buying a car, 80 per cent of the customers still like to perform the rituals associated with good luck.
So, with cars being insured, policed and blessed, it remains to be seen, how far fate will still call the shots.
Photo by Mahesh Harilal
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