DADA
saved us_Part 3
Jai
SriRam ЁЯЩП
Last
month Noopur, Vedika (my wife and daughter) and I were unexpectedly thrust into
very challenging situations. Noopur tested positive for covid and her condition
rapidly deteriorated from mild to moderate to almost severe. On the other hand,
Vedika had to see her mother get hospitalized and then travel to college
dealing with uncertainty and risks of journey during peak of covid in
California. Noopur has shared these experiences in Parts 1 and 2. As
these events were unfolding, in parallel, regulatory issues impacting Noopur
and my businesses cropped up out of nowhere. In addition to this I faced a
completely sudden and unforeseen potential liquidity crunch (due to payments
which I had initially budgeted for late 2021).
Looking
back, the first two weeks of January tested all 3 of us in ways we had not
imagined and beyond. However DUE TO DADAтАЩS UNLIMITED GRACE AND BLESSINGS we
came out of these situations calmly, smoothly and our faith and conviction in
the path shown by DADA grew stronger and stronger. I have tried to describe below
some of the miracles we experienced.
In
late December, both Noopur and my companies received service tax notices
relating to 5 -6-year-old matters. Unlike other regulatory notices, I observed
the government officials were extremely aggressive. This was due to pressure on
them to generate revenues at year-end. I spoke to our CA, lawyers and several
other consultants - but none of them inspired confidence in me. Moreover, most
of the old financial records were in storage and difficult to access due to
covid restrictions. Meanwhile, the department was sending us daily emails and
threatening legal action. However, with DADAтАЩs Grace, one of our former employees
(now consultant) who was at that time in the US took charge of the situation from
there. He supervised the retrieval of old accounting records, drafted the
response to the notices and even called up officials in the department to stay
any action till he returned to India. His level of involvement and delivery was
unexpected. Another friendтАЩs friend who is a big and successful lawyer sent his
junior to meet the staff at the service department several times. Once again
this was unexpected help from nowhere in the middle of the Christmas - New Year
holidays. The matters continue .. but the urgency and aggression have ebbed
significantly.
In
late December I was in Goa and messaged DADA if I could come by for Darshan.
DADA with Abundant Kindness sent his car to my hotel. As I was about to sit in
the car I realized I had left my sanitizer bottle in the bag which was
already in the trunk. However, as soon as I opened the car door I found a bottle
of sanitizer on the seat. I smiled and thought of course - this is
DADAтАЩs car. A couple of minutes later I half-jokingly thought to
myself ` kya yaar manga bhi to sanitizerтАж kuchh aur hi maang leteтАЩ
. Upon more reflection, I realized there wasnтАЩt anything I
really needed and everything was fine. After 5-10 minutes, I again thought - well..
not that I need it but some additional liquidity in the bank wonтАЩt hurt. It
was just a stray thought. It came and went. After half an hour as I was about to reach DADAтАЩs home, I received a message from my real estate agent in Dubai. I
had put up a property on sale 6 months ago. Although I received some offers
they were all at post covid prices. I was quoting a pre covid price and not
really expecting a sale. The message I received was that we had a firm offer at
a price slightly higher than my limit. I was stunned. This was totally
unbelievable given the state of the property market in Dubai. I realized this
was ALL Thanks to DADA.
A
couple of days later I received an intimation regarding an under-construction
property in Dubai in which I had invested. They had achieved 80 percent
completion and wanted the milestone-based payment. In my wildest of dreams, I
never thought the building had progressed so far. I was expecting this to come
due by the end of 2021 or early 2022. In addition to this 2-3 other unexpected
payments came up. Although I had money to meet the obligations, it was
invested in bonds, so it would earn a return. During covid, bond prices had
come down and I figured I would have to book a loss if I liquidated now. A
quick calculation showed me that I had enough float to pay 90 percent of dues.
I had to manage only 10 percent. The property sale proceeds would come in by
end of January and that would replace the existing float. As I was wondering
how to plug the 10 percent gap without touching my investment portfolio,
a friend called. He had some money owed to him in Dubai - could I collect it
for him and keep it with me. He said he had no immediate need for the money and
I could use it as I pleased for the time being. Once again, out of the blue, I
received HIS Help. My immediate requirements were met. A few days later the
property sale went through and the sale proceeds replaced the float in my
banks. I didnтАЩt have to touch my investment portfolio.
I
checked on the bond prices last week. They were back to pre covid levels and in
green again. The name of the person who gave me the money on behalf of my
friend was Nitin. The same Nitin was instrumental in connecting us with the
doctor who organized NoopurтАЩs hospital room when she was admitted. The bonds I
invested in are of a company called ShriRam Transport and Finance.
A
couple of days before Noopur fell ill, my friend Nitin told me, hospitals are
admitting if at all, only those covid patients who can pay cash. They are
discouraging insurance patients because insurance companies donтАЩt pay on time
and make lots of deductions. This piece of information stuck in my mind. Two
days later when I took Noopur to the hospital I remembered this and wrote cash on
the form. This took the staff by surprise. It is not usual for patients to pay
cash in hospitals here in Dubai. Medical costs in Dubai are quite steep. Surprised as
they were, this went in our favor in getting a room. From the bottom of our
hearts, we thank DADA that we have enough resources that the extent of medical
costs never entered into our calculus. Once Noopur was discharged we filed the
insurance claim but with no real expectation of it being passed or rejected. A
couple of weeks later I was talking to a very dear friend. We were exchanging
covid experiences - I mentioned Noopur's. He talked about how he helped
all his employees in various businesses through the hospital network of his
recent acquisition - A health insurance business. When I told him I had just
filed NoopurтАЩs claim with his company, he just laughed and said let me know if
there is a problem - I will take care of it.
Everywhere
we look, we see DADAтАЩs subtle hand in Guiding us, Protecting us and Blessing
us. UNDOUBTEDLY DADA SAVED US.
Jai
SriRam ЁЯЩП
20-02-2021 02:26 pm / POSTED BY : manish kanchan / Where the Experience took place : India, Dubai
