Derek, my landlady’s son-in-law, is called upon each time the flat is faced with some problem. This time it was the replacement of the Cooker. One of the hobs would continue to burn, even when turned off. This problem was graciously rectified by our generous landlady, by replacing it with a brand new Cooker, and Derek had been called again to install it. He is a genuinely lovely man, who took pride in his workmanship and meticulous execution of jobs. He was very knowledgeable about structure of buildings, water supply systems, electrical appliances and just about everything that goes into the making of a house, which we are all dependent on and yet take for granted without giving it much thought. He was a builder by profession.
Today, even as he was installing the Cooker, I was standing next to him, offering a hand whenever required and shooting questions at him at periodic intervals. He was explaining the difference between electric and gas Cookers and the advantages of the old wood burning range Cookers when he suddenly noticed a wire slightly protruding out and asked me to pull the Cooker to one side. He had connected the wires and turned all the hobs on. Even as I replied, ‘sure, will do’, I was leaning over him, to put off the main Cooker switch. Derek turned to me with incredulity in his eyes, ‘you don’t have to turn it off’, he exclaimed. ‘But if I am going to move the Cooker, won’t it be safer to first turn it off?’ I questioned back. He looked at me bewildered, and asked bluntly, ‘are you superstitious?’ ‘These things go through rigorous safety checks and they are completely safe’, he explained and I, ‘non-superstitious’ that I was, reluctantly pulled the Cooker to one side leaving the switch on. Job done, pleasantries exchanged, Derek was on his way out. But his question ‘are you superstitious?’ stayed with me, even as he left. What action or disposition of mine was superstitious? What does he mean by the word ‘superstitious’? And am I really superstitious?
Derek’s question got me thinking...
