Residential high-rises along highways through Bombay and its outlying suburbs are connected by approach roads that run parallel to the highways. Usually known as service roads, they are often home to garages busy servicing vehicles of all shapes and sizes, and ages.
There’s much business to be had along highways. It is common to find these garages attached to vehicle spare parts retailers, in many instances owned by them.
Once an authorized distributor for Shell, the ‘For Shell’ on the back now erased, this rickshaw carrier appropriately named Divine Treasury is making rounds of neighbourhood vehicle spare parts outlets and garages situated off a major highway, retailing portions of the Divine Treasury to buyers.
Didn’t someone once label oil as the Black Gold?
The divine hand played the world a favourable roll of dice several eons ago, so that we could power the wheel.
But mankind long stopped treating oil as Divine Treasury, to be used judiciously lest the treasury deplete and render the wheels useless.
Until then this rickshaw carrier will carry on with its rounds of neighbourhoods, dispensing Divine Treasury to outlets while filling their own, a treasury divined by oil.
15 comments:
Interesting post...I wish we did not rely on the black gold so much.
When I saw the title of your post before I logged into your blog, I thought it was about the 'hundi' at a temple!!
Divine treasury indeed!
Still, nice to see that someone continues to use this label instead of the Black Gold. Gold rushes no matter from what substance seldom have positive otucomes.
Interesting post.
Unfortunately there's lots of that black gold floating in the Gulf right now.
Riot Kitty: Thank you. At the rate we're going I won't be surprised if we are forced to cut our reliance on oil before long.
Radha: That too would be apt for Divine Treasury.
Cate: I would suspect that their usage of the term Divine Treasury likely came as a translation into English of a vernacular term from a regional language, with reference to God as in to ensure a good bearing upon their business.
Riches have the power to curse the land in the manner of Africa's Blood Diamond.
Nona: Thank you.
The Urban Cowboy: Very unfortunate situation there. I hope BP can pull back on the breach soon.
I can hardly bear that gushing oil in the gulf - no way does that stuff seem like black gold.
Interesting term - divine treasury, though. :)
Divine Treasury - that somehow seems a completely apt name for the by-products necessary to honor our oil guzzling creations.
very interesting...
Lynn: Thank you. To the companies, and petrol stations, it is the Black Gold, surely not to the birds and the beaches.
Talon: Guzzling till we can guzzle no more!
Anu: Thank you.
As we can see now see at least here in the states, oil will indeed be the death of us ; (
Anil,
I used this a few days ago...
"As one of the few who have tried to write about the floating world of oil, I can bear witness to its slipperiness, to the ways in which it tends to trip fiction into incoherence" -Amitav Ghosh in 'Incendiary Circumstances'.
Coffee Messiah: Too deep in to find the way back. True of most economies.
Magan: Well said. Incoherence is the trademark of situations skewered in the pursuit of oil.
It takes an unexpected shower to trigger events, I agree. Similarly, it takes a whiff of a scent to trigger memories of the past. Have a lovely day!
Use cautiously because it is going to end of divine treasure which people can not create further.
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