It8217;s all in the numbers

Until that day, the number 10 held an ominous significance for me: it applied to those with criminal proclivities. Dus nambari badmash, t...

Until that day, the number 10 held an ominous significance for me: it applied to those with criminal proclivities. Dus nambari badmash, that8217;s the colloquial expression. It also signifies glory, of course, being the residence number of the British PM. But that was until my friend, a numerologist, informed me that if any sequence of digits adds up to 10, it has to be favourable. A random totalling of the serial numbers of many of my personal documents and even the registration number of our family car, used for decades, all turned up the number 10.

Had this vehicle favoured us? Indeed, it has been a lucky possession for the four decades it has been with us. Purchasing a new car in the Forties was a cumbersome process. You had to make an application to the Home Ministry, specifying conditions like the state of the purchaser8217;s health and whether he was fit enough to drive a fitness certificate from a registered medical practitioner, contingent upon which the fitness certificate of the car would be issues,the distance from his residence to his office which could not be less than eight kilometres, source of income and finally, the attestation of a gazetted officer. My father had successfully overcome these very considerable hurdles.

Happy coincidences followed the purchase of the car. The showroom manager turned out to be extremely percipient he sensed that my father was a novice behind the wheel. So he offered a driver to drop his new baby home.

The second problem: the government house where we were staying didn8217;t have a garage. But that too was sorted out. The CPWD reluctantly parted with a sanction which allowed us to demolish part of the backyard wall, so that the vehicle could at least be parked within sight. Sure, a temporary arrangement, but luck favoured us yet again.

First, a colleague of my father offered him a garage free of rent. And then the Estate Department allotted him a house with a garage within a year. The serious consequences of traffic violations, neglecting the Automobile Act andaccidents are some of the dreadful hazards car owners are wary of. We were no exception.

But how smoothly these problems were got over! Once a burly traffic police inspector let me off, all smiles, after I jumping a red light in the heart of the city. Luckily, I was recognised by a bystander, who told the cop that I worked for a newspaper. A more grievous offence is not registering a vehicle in one8217;s name within a year of its purchase.

The Act imposes heavy penalties and the authorities are even empowered to confiscation the vehicle. I had not registered it in my name even 10 years after my father8217;s demise. I was summoned by the Authority but was acquitted. Either the purchaser or the buyer can be punished, the Act says. I fell under neither category!

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I recall a nasty accident in the vicinity of Delhi8217;s Teen Murti House in the mid-Seventies. I was returning from the Ashoka Hotel with a journalist after attending a press meet with film stars, and we collided almost head-on with another car. There weresome armed policemen posted there. They rushed towards us and pushed the damaged cars onto the footpath.

No sooner was this done than a motorcade of the Chief Minister of Punjab sped down the cleared road. Neither party was badly injured, and the cops were not there on traffic duty. They left, telling us to sort out our differences. The justly-feared police enquiry never got under way.

My family was holidaying in our home town, so they never found out. The good offices of the insurance company prevented the outbreak of domestic unrest. They did a splendid job of getting the damage repaired in record time. So, the power of lucky numbers would seem to be indubitable. Isn8217;t it time you got acquainted with yours?