It is still hard to believe. I was on a call with my parents from New York. It was just another day of catching up with them.
I think I was pouring some cereal in a bowl, cracking jokes about work and saying how much I miss eating with them. For some reason, I asked my father what his favourite car was. “I would definitely love to own a red Mercedes,” he replied.
I then had a friendly tiff with him asking him, ‘Why didn’t you tell me about this all this time.’
A few days later, much to my shock, my dad passed away. I flew down to Amritsar to be with my family, performed the last rites and finished other formalities, and headed straight to a Mercedes showroom.
A red Merc it was. I, however, don’t drive, but my mother, Bindu Khanna, is a very good driver.
Fruit cream treat
I drove around Amritsar with my mother and headed to a fruit cream place that has been my favourite. In Amritsar, whipped cream and fresh seasonal fruits is a thing in winter. Earlier, when I was running my catering company, my mother would pick me up from work in my dad’s old car. Both of us would relish the fruit cream before calling it a day. This is my and my mother’s most favourite thing till date. I find it a simple joy worth more than any other riches in the world.
Long drives with music
Driven with love: Chef Vikas Khanna with his mother Bindu Khanna behind the wheels
The red Merc is still with us and I don’t intend to part with it, because that was what papaji always secretly wished for. My mother, who’s 70 now, still insists on driving and waits for me at the airport when I come home. She does not want anyone else to pick me up. When I land, we don’t drive straight home from the airport. Instead, we do long drives as my mom plays old Raj Kapoor and Lata Mangeshkar songs. We sing duets and laugh and make the most of the time we are together.
I don’t own a car in the US. Cabs are good here and I cannot keep up with the fast cars abroad. I think my mother fills up for the fact that I don’t drive. She recently went for the Himalayan car rally.
We call our car rath (chariot). Of all the cars our family owns, my mom has a special liking for the red Merc.
As told to Prabalika M Borah
