There was a stranger at my door recently. I guessed this must be one of the numerous salespeople who visit our house regularly. I feel sorry for the salesperson who spends a few minutes trying to convince us to buy something because we have not bought a single thing from door-to-door sellers for more than a decade. However, this guy at my door wasn't going to speak to me. He was trying to find the person in my house who was recently knighted: "Saar ilva?" "Isn't sir at home?" I now assumed he must have some business with my father, but insisted on knowing who he was. His reply was the same. He would deal only with the saar. I then called out for my father. "Appa..." To my surprise, the stranger immediately left the scene. I stood puzzled for a while until the reason for his behaviour dawned on me. During the above conversation I was sitting next to my bike, trying to clean it's spark plug. The stranger must have assumed that I cannot be the owner of the house because I was doing the work of a mechanic! I looked again at what I was wearing and it looked alright to me... but then I am a guy, so I don't know much about dressing :-)
After building my house I realized that it is the house that really owns me, not the other way around. It is like a cranky little baby that demands constant supervision and feeding. There is always something to fix or improve. After having haggled with the plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc who either refuse to do any such 'minor' jobs or do a bad job of it, my father and I decided that self help is the only effective way to get things done. So we equipped our house with enough tools to carry out any repair and improvement jobs. We do most of the things like plumbing, electricals, painting, primitive carpentry, etc ourselves as far as possible. Since the last few years I am cleaning our overhead tank (Sintex) myself. However, a LOT of people just can't understand why we do these things ourselves. For example, while buying electric wires and pins, the store owner insists that he will send his electrician with me. He looks at me strangely when I say I'll do it myself. I have been asked various questions when people saw me painting our gate, trimming our plants and so on. Our neighbors are not an exception to this, though they are getting used to it now. I guess they think I am stingy or strange or both when I tell them I don't need any help. Thanks, but I'll happily soil my hands rather than go after the elusive repair guy.
