Bhaskar Solved.

Below is an entry from my husband, Asif's blog...

going, going, wait a minute, gone.

so today was bhaskar's last day as our driver. as of 2:55 this afternoon ravi is our new driver. it was a tough decision but we've decided that our comfort in the next year is with having a driver that is generally known to be honest and trustworthy. i made istikhara (a prayer asking for god for whatever is best when making a decision) and then met with the manager of facilities who makes all the decisions about driving.

wait back up.

so last night - bhaskar and i had a long talk where we (i) talked about honesty and how i felt when i learned about his dishonesty. i told him that kilometers didn't matter but it was the principle of being honest that was important to me. if i couldn't trust him with the books i couldn't trust him with my family. i asked him repeatedly if i could trust me and he assured me that i could. his responses were convincing and i felt that giving him another chance at honesty was the way for me to go.

backup a little more.

the manager of facilities came by and mentioned to me that my recently departed (left india not dead) friend's driver was available if i was interested in switching. ravi, has gotten rave reviews from my friend and from the management. he's trustworthy and honest. he has a pleasant demeanor. though tempted, i told the manager that i would get back to him after i spoke to bhaskar that night.

fast forward.

so i told the manager that i was ok with keeping bhaskar as my driver given that we talked and he seemed to be semi-sorry for what had happened and wanted to do better. the manager said that he would support me in any decision. he then asked the supervisor (reports to him) if this was the first time we had trouble with my driver. that's when things got clear. no, this wasn't the first time - this was his third warning. (ahem... three strikes and you're ...) when asked if the previous employee ever gave my driver bonuses, the supervisor said no - the occasional tip, yes - but the bonuses of magnitude which he asked for nope. so my suspicions were confirmed and i'm not one to marry someone to change 'em if you know what i mean. all praises are to Him for making my decision easier.

so in a memento-like narration, i come back to the point. bye bye bhaskar bhai bhai. ravi i will be seeing you sunny ravi. actually, he has sunday off.

thanks to all of you who offered your thoughts and advice. these are minuscule issues compared t the great challenges that people face every day in this world. i thank god that my problems are so small and so easily solved.