An ode to our DOLPHIN car!

I had written this epilogue in my diary many many years ago .. and here, I reproduce it in my blog!  You see, our family is a sentimental lot; we get attached very easily, even to the 'treasures' we possess. From 1988 to 1992, we were the proud owners of  a second hand Sipani Dolphin 2-door car and like every such decision made at home, selling the bright red car was more dramatic (traumatic?) than buying her! 

We should have realized it the first day she came home. But the little red car just bowled us over. She would start with a purr and she would race away. My husband got her for a tidy sum and declared, quite unnecessarily though, that the car was not a luxury, rather a necessity. She sat demurely in the garage, her red hue sparkling and glittering in the sun. My husband believed that she just needed a quick fix and then she’d be as good as new!

Soon, the day dawned, wet and cloudy, the sky threatened to pour down the whole day long. My husband looked delighted! This was the day he was waiting for…the day his friends at office would really envy him!  He called out belligerently to his brood and we rushed in to enjoy our first drive in the rain. The little red car came to life with a twist of the key and sprinted off. She sailed and she glided through the wet streets. The family was ecstatic.

Suddenly the children fell into deathly silence. They were stretched across, heads upturned, gasping in disbelief. What’s the matter? barked their father. They screamed in unison, Dad, she is a tent on wheels, look, look, there are raindrops all round!

Oh sighed he, the rubber lining needs to be changed!

First it appeared to be a sigh, then ….was it a moan? For just as smoothly as she had started, she came to a halt. At first, the husband patiently turned and twisted the keys. He then screamed and cursed, finally he brought his fist down -wait till I get rid of you, he threatened. And lo and behold, she was gripped with a new spirit. School and office were soon forgotten. Away she sped through traffic and terrain with such a practiced ease that the husband was quiet delighted with his skills.

She oft repeated her wily acts. Sometimes it would be stretched too far and we would have to give her the royal push. She’d smirk and beam and then jump into action. She sometimes drove us out of our minds with her tricks and tantrums. That’s when my husband decided to dispose her off. But the resolve failed to take off. Prospective buyers would be conveniently shown the door for test rides revealed that she was fit and raring to go. After his drives alone, husband would return beaming; but with the family, she would be upto her tricks, stopping and starting in the middle of streets and roads. 

Finally, we had to let her go and in October of that year, we found a buyer. I did not fail to notice that my husband had gladly and patiently put up with all the little red car’s tricks…..I jealously wondered why!