A sky so filled with grey clouds still hovers over the city
Last week was quite a busy one. It began with th fridge not working ( it still isn’t by the way) , low water pressure in the bathroom which meant getting a booster pump fitted ( and we all know what that means), an unexpected healthscare of my ma-in-law, and a house guest kept me on my toes.
And just as things started sorting themselves out, the skies began to pour.
And what about the coastal road?
Normally Coconut Day heralds the retreat of the monsoon. As the rest of India tie rakhis to their brothers, we in Maharashtra offer coconuts tk the sea. At least this was the case while growing up. Now thanks to Bollywood and television, regional traditions are blurring and there is hardly anything left that is a particular practice exclusive to a region.
Yesterday this sky covered the buildings in the distance. The normally bustling school looks silent and desolate
Yesterday schools were closed and the kids were thrilled with the unexpected holiday. Not surprisingly, they were reluctant to get back today.
I am still waiting for the carpenter to fix up a cupboard that had to be removed to fit the booster pump. I am also waiting for the money to be recovered. And I am also waiting for my fridge tk start working.
In the meanwhile, the skies keep pouring down as we wait for Ganpati to come home next week.
Yesterday I was invited to tea by the Drs. Lad, a couple I always look forward to meeting. As we sat down, I noticed the Egyptian table cloth that brought back memories of our wonderful holiday to Egypt two years ago. Helping myself to the Bhel and Batata Puri, I didn’t bother with the fish cakes much to the doctors’ surprise.
“It’s Shravan,” I explained to them, “Besides, I’m vegetarian and off sweets for four months of Chaturmas.” I then explained to them why this time of year is of special significance to me and Dr. Lad regaled me with the story of Pundalik and how Lord Vishnu came to stand on a brick.
The Story of Pundalik
Pundalik is a highly revered figure among the Varkaris. These people from of Maharashtra make the pilgrimage to Pandharpur each year.
There are two stories associated with Pundalik who was known for his utmost, selfless devotion to his parents.
Pundalik wasn’t always a saintly person. In fact, like most saints, he had a terrible past. He was not only a local goon but also treated his parents very shabbily. This ill-treatment got even worse after his marriage. So in utter disgust, the parents decided to walk to Kashi ( Benaras). It is believed that if a person dies in Kashi, the soul is freed from the cycle of re-birth.
Pundalik’s wife decided to follow them so both of them got on their horses and joined the party going to Kashi. On the way they stopped for the night at Sage Kukkut’s ashram. The old couple was really exhausted and fell asleep immediately. Sleep eluded Pundalik
Early in the morning, he was surprised to see three beautiful maidens dressed in the shabbiest and dirtiest of clothes walking in. The girls swept the house, washed the sage’s clothes and came out freshly bathed and dressed. Pundalik thought he was dreaming but he saw the same girls the next day. He asked them who they were. They replied that they were the Holy Rivers of India Ganga and Yamuna. Their clothes became dirty because of all the sinners who washed themselves in their waters.
” And ,” they told him, “you, who disrespects and ill-treats his parents are the worst sinner Even if you cleanse yourself, you won’t be redeemed. What you really need to do is devote yourself entirely to the service of your parents.” Thus, Pundalik, the reformed thug became a truly devoted son to his parents.
In the second story, Pundalik changed his ways of thuggery when a saintly man told him that serving his parents was his only way to salvation.
The God Who Stands on a Brick
One day, Lord Krishna, who had now moved to Dwarka, was remembering his childhood days in Vrindavan. He recalled those carefree times when he played with the other cowherds and danced with his love, Radha. To his delight, Radha suddenly appeared on his lap! The two of them were happily reminiscing about the past when his wife Rukmini appeared. Obviously lived she went off in a huff and landed up in the Tamarind Grove or Dindiravan near Pandharpur.
Immediately, Lord Krishna went in search of her. He searched high and low and finally found her in the forest. Originally Pundalik and his parents live in this forest before he moved them to Pandharpur. Lord Krishna managed to placate Rukmini and agreed to return to Dwarka.
On their way home, Lord Krishna decided to drop in at his disciple’s (Pundalik’s) home.
But when he knocked at the door, Pundalik was busy giving his parents a bath. Without looking up, he flung a brick outside and asked the person to wait on the brick till he finished his task.
When he realised who it was waiting outside, Pundalik was most repentant. But Lord Krishna smiled and said that he was most impressed with Pundalik’s devotion to his parents. And to show his appreciation, he decided to wait in Pandharpur with his wife Rukmini.
That is how Vishnu in the form of Krishna came to stay at Pandharpur. He is worshipped as Vithal or the God who stands on a brick.
So this is why pilgrims go to Pandharpur to seek the blessings of Vithoba or Vitthala on Ashadhi Ekadashi and Kartiki Ekadashi.
After tossing and turning in bed last Wednesday night, I got up feeling anxious and nervous. I thought that all was not right with my world. And sure enough, by mid-morning on Thursday, 7th August, I had one of the worst experiences of my life.
I WAS SCAMMED AND BECAME ONE OF THE MILLIONS OF VICTIMS OF CYBERCRIME.
it all began with the refrigerator
Last year, we began the project of renovating the kitchen and making over the house. It wasn’t exactly the best time to start such an important project but then, when is it ever convenient to do anything? My mother had just passed away and I was busy making trips to see my dad who was also slowly dying.
But of course, life goes on while we pass through. And the house renovation finally got over after 4 1/2 months of sheer torture. I put off buying the refrigerator simply because I couldn’t bear having another strange person in my house. However, I couldn’t put it off for very long. Finally, at the end of APRIL of this year, we bought a new fridge. It was a SAMSUNG RT45DG6A2BSLHL
This sounds like gibberish but it translates into 480 Litre fridge. It had a grey metallic finish. It would fit into the small space provided by MAKWANA (the modular kitchen provider). Unlike their Sales pitch, they provided me with a kitchen that neither fits me nor my gadgets.
Thanks to Makwana’s botched up job, I had to do a lot of research to find the fridge. I was totally disappointed when it started giving me trouble with cooling. There were mornings when I would open the fridge to look inside a dense fog.
how it happened
Finally, by last week, it stopped cooling and on Thursday last, I contacted the Service Centre.
Unfortunately, the Service Center was NOT the official service center but a website I found on GOOGLE.
The ‘customer care agent’ listened to my complaint. He asked me if he could call back on a WhatsApp call since he couldn’t hear me too well.
Then he sent a message acknowledging my complaint with a link to a site. That , he said, would take me through the rest of the process of registering a complaint.
Foolishly, I clicked the link and I was told to pay Rs.5 to ‘book’ a technician’s visit request. At that time, I felt something was wrong. Because I HAVE NEVER BEEN ASKED TO PRE-PAY FOR ANY SUCH SERVICE . But since a disaster was waiting to happen, I complied.
Then, he asked me to SHARE MY SCREEN so that he could share his Bank details. Again, this was stupid on my part.
But the worst was still to come.
He asked me to open my UPI interface so that I could complete the transaction.
He then asked me to fill in my own number as the recipient. I was told to fill in the first 5 digits of my phone number in the Amount space and Rs.5 in the messages space and that this amount would go to ME. This was just a way of confirming that my request came from the Registered phone number with the company!!!!!!!
Of course, all this sounded extremely fishy but one never knows what companies are up to these days. Gone are those ‘prehistoric’ times when we dealt with actual people and made actual complaints in person.
Anyway, I clicked Proceed and whoosh, the amount was out of my bank and into his. I don’t know how he managed to attach my phone number to his bank account but he did.
When I didn’t get another message from him confirming the technician’s visit, I realised that I had been scammed.
next steps
I immediately went off to the Police station and registered my complaint with them. I also registered with the Cyber Crime branch. And told my bank to freeze my account so that he couldn’t drain it dry.
I traced all transactions on my UPI app and made screen shots of them.
I managed to track down both the bank and the account to which the money was transferred.
I have also made a claim with my bank and hope to get the money back.
Meanwhile, I de-linked my bank from all UPI apps, stopped autopay options and also logged off the app. I have also removed the app from my phone.
lessons learned
ALL ON GOOGLE IS NOT TRUE.
INSTALL TRUECALLER TO IDENTIFY ALL CALLS
NEVER SHARE YOUR SCREEN WITH ANYONE
aftermath
Getting scammed makes you feel assaulted. It makes you feel foolish, inadequate and incapable of cognitive function.
I felt like curling up and never opening my eyes again.
I am scared to pick up phone calls from unknown numbers.
After I got scammed, lots of people told me their stories. All of them were smart and educated. They were also tech savvy.
Friends and relatives consoled me that it was a lesson. Some told me that it I had to lose something so it happened.
But Ms. Papaya told me that more than anything else, it was my ego that was hurt. I was upset because I didn’t know how to deal with failure.
I wonder what it was. I wonder how it happened. And I wonder when I’ll get my money back.
Twenty- five Seven 