something new

New Appliances

My husband does not believe in buying new things. “This is India, “ he was fond of saying “,everything and  anything can be repaired”.

This meant that he reversed the collars of his shirts regularly. Sometimes he forgot that he had reversed the collars and tried to reverse them a second time.

We had a regular tailor for this. A paraplegic who sat in a wheelchair in a shop that specialized in repairs on old outfits. Needless to say we were his best customers.

Once the man fell ill and was admitted in the rehabilitation institute for three  months! All repairs were put on hold. I found that it really did not make a difference. Raymonds opened a showroom in town and so did John Players. I just replaced the old shirts with new ones, same size, shape and colour.

“The tailor is doing a really good job” remarked my husband. “The clothes look really fresh. Have you changed your detergent?”

“Yes” I said shamelessly, “I switched to Tide.”

I discovered a fact of life. Men do not really notice their surroundings, they only care about their creature comforts. As long as everything works and life runs smoothly they don’t care. It helps that I work so I am not dependent on him financially.

Our washing machine had served us well for around eight years. I felt sorry for it sometimes ( I know it is not human) but it really worked hard. Three loads a day all on “hard wash”. One day it just packed up, let out a few screeching noises shuddered at the sight of the load and then came to a complete grinding halt.  No matter what I did ( I tried every combination in the manual) it would not restart.

I called the whirlpool service center. I was put on hold for 12 minutes while I listened to an electronic voice alternated with music urging me to persist. Eventually a man turned up two days later.  He switched on the machine. Nothing happened. “Madam,” he announced, “the motor is dead.”

I could have told him that. I did not really need to pay Rs 300 for a house visit for that!

“I can rewind the motor. It will cost you Rs 2000.”

“How long will you take?”

He looked shifty eyed.

“Five days.”

“Is there a guarantee?”

He looked at me like I was an idiot. “No guarantee. The company does not do it, I do. Madam also the bottom of your machine is rusted. I don’t know how the machine even holds water. Even after the motor is repaired it will leak.”

I kept silent. Now I knew why my work area was frequently flooded. All these months I thought it was the tap!

I spoke to my husband. (I had still not learnt my lesson).

His reply was quite confusing. “Get it repaired, get the tub changed.”

I protested “ the man says it will take two to three weeks.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Who will wash the clothes—the uniforms?”

“Get a servant for a month.”

Unreliable servants , ones that never turned up, others that washed their clothes along with ours and gave all of us scabies, these were a few of the reasons I had dispensed with them in the first place! Besides it takes a few weeks to even find one willing to function as a dhobhi.

I consulted my children. My son said’ “just get a new machine. A replaced tub and a rewound motor! Never heard such nonsense! It won’t work more than a week. “

I bargained with the mechanic. “Can you not give me a exchange?”

He announced firmly, ‘No madam, your machine is not worth more than rs 1000.”

So I ordered a new machine and arranged for monthly EMIs. It arrived the next day. Unfortunately it was a pleasant pista green whereas my old one was white. It also had a few extra controls, hot wash very soiled etc. I kept it in the exact same spot.

My husband did not even notice it for a few days. Then one day he entered through the back door and placed his lunch bag on it.

“Hey the machine is back. Why is it green?”

Before I could reply my daughter said,” they repaired it in a day and painted it green.”

A few months later it was our turn to have the monthly medical unit meeting in our house. One of the consultants bemoaned the status of his washing machine. “It makes a noise, I don’t know what to do. Sometimes it even gets stuck half way through the cycle.”

“Call the service people” said my husband. You won’t believe it, they even paint it before returning it.  My machine is ten years old now. The service is fantastic!”“

The consultant went to have a look at the machine. “This is a new machine. It has a hot wash option.”

Shamelessly I said, “they added it when they repaired it and changed the control panel. “

The bemused guests left, probably to badger the call center for the next couple of weeks!

gitamathai@gmail.com