“Dadi, I spoilt it.”
A little girl is helping her grandmother with the Diwali rangoli when her hand smudges the colour. She pulls it back and waits. Dadi looks at the mark for a moment. “Wait. I see a wing.”
The girl looks again. “Can I give it a tail?”
What stays with me is how quickly she wants to try again. A moment earlier, she was ready to leave the rest to Dadi.
That pause has a place in insurance too. Imagine a shopkeeper calling his broker the morning after a fire. Everyone is safe, but some of the stock he bought for Diwali is damaged. Halfway through explaining what happened, he says, “The bills were in the shop. How will I show you what I bought?”
If the broker starts reading out a list of documents, the shopkeeper may put the phone down believing those lost bills have settled the matter. I’d start with the question he actually asked. “Who supplied the stock? Could they send you copies? Let’s report the loss now, and I’ll check with the insurer what they need.”
The insurer still has to assess the loss under the policy. But when the shopkeeper puts the phone down, he knows whom to call and why.
There was an opportunity to listen at renewal, too. “What changes in your shop before Diwali?” might have brought out a detail missing from last year’s paperwork. Perhaps he buys twice his usual stock and keeps the extra cartons in a rented room across the lane. Now there is something specific to check together. Is that address on the policy? Is the amount insured enough for the weeks when both rooms are full?
When we light a diya at the door this Diwali, I hope we find a quiet moment to notice one of our own habits. Mine to watch for is forming an answer while the other person is still speaking. I like to think of Dadi looking down at that patch of colour. Had she spoken a second sooner, the little girl might never have asked about the tail.
Happy Diwali to you and your family.
Rahul Meena Mishra