India is a land of jugaad and there’s no denying it. If we can’t manage to buy something, we have our quirky ways of inventing it (at least close enough replicas). So, what if you don’t have enough money to buy a four-wheeler — you are still the boss when you devotedly convert your auto-rickshaw to a Scorpio (quite literally).
Yes. Way back in March, someone spotted an unusual vehicle on the streets of Kerala that looked like an autorickshaw from the front but had a flat back of a Scorpio from behind. The auto driver took great care in replicating exact details with a glass panel and the Scorpio’s signature decals. The creator even installed a spare tyre at the back. Pretty impressive, right?
@anandmahindra .image shows how the scorpio design turned generic and popular among Indian roads. This mans way of “dream big” pic.twitter.com/jMoJiB5gGs
— Anil Panicker (@AnilPanicker3) March 19, 2017
In fact, it was so impressive that Mahindra CEO Anand Mahindra wanted to buy the gem and store it in their museum! “Iconic. A way to ‘Rise.’ Thanks for sharing this.Can you help locate him? I’d like to buy it for our museum & give him 4 wheels in return,” The CEO had tweeted in March.
Iconic. A way to ‘Rise.’ Thanks for sharing this.Can you help locate him? I’d like to buy it for our museum & give him 4 wheels in return.. https://t.co/uwQ5wYcDpW
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 19, 2017
Keeping his promise with the help of active Twitterati, the man behind the iconic assemblage was traced and the CEO gifted him a new four-wheeler! Anand took to Twitter to share the news and also posted a picture of the man, now identified as Sunil. Soon Twitterati showered praises for the CEO for his kindness and keeping his promise.
Here’s Sunil, the proud owner of the 3 wheeler ‘Scorpio’, now a happy owner of a 4 wheeler. All thanks to you twitterati! (2/2) pic.twitter.com/5nb12j2dnj
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) May 3, 2017
Twitterati showered heaps of praises on Mahindra CEO for his kind gesture.
@anandmahindra Wonderfully gesture sir !
— WINGS OF FIRE (@shenoy70) May 3, 2017
@anandmahindra 🙏 we proud of u .. Anandji
— NayaN (@nayanchandra) May 3, 2017
@anandmahindra Doff my hat in admiration Mr Mahindra – wish we had a few more like you & the world would be a much brighter place with hope
— Narayan Ramachandran (@mendbones) May 3, 2017
@anandmahindra Such a nice gift for a true Scorpio Fan!
— Vinod Singh (@do4win) May 3, 2017
@anandmahindra Anand sir. That's a great informal reward for innovation. All possible because as a CEO you are on twitter and actively reply too. Kudos.
— HSN (@netaniti) May 3, 2017
@anandmahindra Reward for thinking big. Wonderful gesture @anandmahindra . Rise, rise and rise…
— Revathi Ram (@revathee) May 3, 2017
@anandmahindra Wonderful and impromptu gesture has changed the life of an ordinary citizen. We hope other able people learn from your fine example!
— Sanjay Soni (@sanjaysonis) May 4, 2017
@anandmahindra Amazing hatsoff to you sir, wonderful gesture love your company and ethos
— arshad.h (@zameer2cute) May 4, 2017
@anandmahindra heart warming sir.. very sweet
— ganesh narayanan (@gganeshhh) May 4, 2017
@anandmahindra @QweenOfHells Kept your word 👍☺️
— VISHAL MAHAJAN (@game_tweiter) May 4, 2017
But this is not the first time Mahindra CEO has stolen all the thunder on Twitter. Earlier in January, he had shared a picture of a Pininfarina Maserati Birdcage (2006) and wrote that that is one cage he doesn’t mind being imprisoned in. Soon, one ‘smart’ user tweeted why doesn’t Mahindra buy the car if he liked it so much. And his answer was gold as the business tycoon tweeted, “We bought the company instead…(Pininfarina)“!