Pooja Vs. Protection - An Experiment

My search for a car came to an end unexpectedly. Thanks once again to Mr.A.T
for this invaluable help. I became the owner of it within three hours after
he found the car in e-bay on Monday evening. We went to the car dealer.

That is a Mercedes Benz showroom. The range of cars they sell is surprising.
They sell expensive brand new Benz cars; they sell cars that are more than
ten times less in price. I remembered how I felt when I first entered
the Forum mall in Bangalore. But this time I didn't feel that I can’t afford
to be there. Who knows may be I can buy one within next year. In fact I bought
my car from a Mercedes Benz dealer. I felt the car is heavy on me. It took
some time to sink in; I gave a small treat in nearby Chinese restaurant.

Thanks to Rajesh for helping me in the deal and for driving it home that night. Through out the way he kept on saying that the drive was pretty good. After
coming home, Harsha said “Wow, fantastic.” That’s the reaction from the
owner of an Acura. I always wanted my car be red in color. The electric
red car looks really outstanding in the parking lot. Everybody who had a
look at it said this fact. By then I said to my self “Ok, now I should be
prepared both mentally and monetarily for any damage caused by envious
neighbors and kids”.

Arun bought a car the previous day. He proposed we all go to Meenaakshi
temple; perform a car-pooja for the safety of him, Nandeesh and me.
I, personally, do not believe that pooja would protect me. If doing pooja
guarantees my protection, I would not have bought insurance. It doesn’t.
So I refrained from it. I, being an inexperienced driver who doesn’t care
for poojas, might not get the sympathy when something bad happens to
me or to my car. Instead I might get this blame – “You don’t care God, see,
this is his power”. If that is how God shows his/her power, how does he
differ from a local rowdy who demands your respect and attention?

Let me see what Meenaakshi of Houston thinks about it, if at all she exists.

Rajesh drove the car from the showroom. Before starting the car, he asked
Aaraj to give a CD. Aaraj gave his new Guru CD. About to play the CD, Rajesh
paused it and asked me "I am sorry,... would you like to start with..."
I understood what he wanted to ask, and said, "Who else is the God,
if Rahman is not the one?". Rajesh smiled and continued till we reached Aaraj's home.