Drivers...

21 0ct 09

I laughed the first time I read a fellow Chennai expat’sblog about her driver. She calls him “Mr. Fixit” and it is soooo true. If you need something done, these guys get it done – if they can’t they definitely know someone who can! What a hoot.

Kumar is building us a dog pen this week. Living right smack dab on the beach, a metal pen just wouldn’t do so he declared it will be stone/brick/concrete… a bomb shelter, I’m sure! He says he is also our security, we are his family & responsibility. He is concerned about my running and pretty much offered to ride a bike with me as I run (no, thank you). He loves to play with the kids – baseball/cricket, anything to make them smile! He is also a gardener… helping decide what goes in the barren landscape I keep calling a garden. And he was quite instrumental in getting the plants up to the terrace & potted “properly” HA!

Our other driver, Jagan, took hubby to a firework outlet and they paid wholesale prices, he has connections!! He claims he can cook better than me (to the kids) but I’d love to see him cook something the kids would eat! Plus he built shelves in our cabinets, fixed the door and appeared at the drop of a hat to help us when our electric box to the house shorted out.

This is worth a side story from yesterday/night before...
Lights started flaring, AC’s and fans were whizzing - it was a power spike – I yell to turn off & unplug the computers/transformers/refrigerator – as the message sinks in – the TV goes ZAP, light bulbs blow!!!! Whoops didn’t get to the TV or microwave. We ask the alert as ever security dude to switch us to generator. POW – more light bulbs blow. Half the house is bright, half dim… great, it’s on the house side of the generator. Joey yells from upstairs, the fuse box blew blue, literally. Hubby throws a few switches and we start calling folks. It doesn’t’ t help that security dude’s English is very iffy. All we get is a confused star and a whole string of head bobbles. Then, ironically, the gardener rings the doorbell - his power in his little "cottage" is out (babble, bobble)! HA! First person to appear – our reliable DRIVER (Jagan)!!! And the first return call I get is, yup, our other reliable DRIVER (Kumar). Talk about a network!! Hubby and Jagan discover the culprit… when the generator was installed they cut the wires to attach to the household switch box. Whoops, they cut the ground wire too short so they simply twisted another wire to it to reach – THAT OVERHEATED!! POW! Jagan hops on his motorbike, returns with an appropriate wire and tadah – problem temporarily solved. We then continue to wait until the electrician arrives (who then adamantly denies that was his handy work – it was the generator people!! HA!) So we ended up with a committee of folks yesterday. Jagan in the lead as translator and guide… replacing 20 light bulbs (it took he electrical committee 15 minutes to count then another 15 to decide to go back and write down the inventory needs, then another 15 to figure out how to take down the front porch fixtures and ended up with Jagan scaling the security gate to reach them, whew!). The TV survived but the microwave is toast. What a hoot.

As a driver, Kumar is very cautious. Almost too cautious but I did make him laugh yesterday. First time in 3 months I closed my eyes while he was driving – all over a street dog! He missed the street dog but commented on my closing my eyes! Then he is quite efficient (ha). I told him we had a string of things to do/places to go yesterday (as the committee repaired the electric issues at the house & anpther committee appeared to "seal windows") Anna got her cast off (a trip to the hospital)! Yeah! The boys went with friends to a gamers’ haven at some theater in town. (Appropriately called “Blur”!) I told Kumar that we needed to go pick them up at 3. Then go to the dentist. I asked what time we needed to leave, “2 o’clock, mam, I leave, enough time” Well, I’m doing whatever I do (really, what do I do all day?!) I look at my watch – 1:55. I go to gather the girls, and toothbrushes… and I hear the car start up . Hmmm. Maybe he’s turning on the AC or turning the car around (Jagan does that – like preparing for the great escape) I send the girls out. I come out. No van. (Girls are in the dog cage – ok that sounded funnier than I thought – they are playing around) I call Kumar (It’s now 2:13), “where are you? I need to go, too!” “ Sorry m’am – I will come back. Very near.” …wait…wait… wait ring… “Mam, I’m at the end of the ECR” (it would take about 30 minutes to return to get us…) “No, continue on to get the boys.” What a hoot – I’ve been left behind! But he was doing what he was supposed to be doing – leaving at 2:00!! I call my friend, whose son is with the boys, she laughs! Yes, what a hoot!!! Good thing Jagan can break away from the electrical committee to take us the 45 minutes to the dentist, Kumar gets the boys to the dentist. All ends well. Ironically, Jagan took us (me & the girls) to the dentist a different way – I think it was shorter but who knows. I think the drivers just drive us around in circles!!

These guys are invaluable - translators, deliverers, helpers, resources, and drivers. It just all makes me laugh!! (I remember my grandmother's chuckle and now I get it!!)