Finally a post that I have been wanting to write for a while. In this post I am going to reveal all my deep and dark secrets related to driving, right from the time when I took driving lessons for the first time ... Year 2001: My instructor (whose name I don't remember now) was a very polite young man in his early twenties. He was such a nice person that he never told me I was doing anything wrong; even when I drove at 50 in second gear or passed by a pedestrian merely centimeters away! About 7 classes and 1000/- Rs later, all I had learnt was to start the car and keep it moving at a constant speed somehow. I could not afford to buy a car in those days so due to lack of practice I managed to unlearn whatever little I had learnt within no time.
Year 2007: After being subjected to many harassment by Bangalore autowallas, spending a fortune on cabs and getting almost daily dosage of sarcasm filled lecture from my sister (who became an expert driver in the years that went by) I decide to take driving lessons again. Fortunately for me Mr Pillai, my instructor, speaks good English, is polite yet firm while giving instructions and keeps giving driving tips. This time around I try to practice a bit in my sister's car, but somehow I was not driven enough this time again. Bangalore traffic seems to have grown by ten folds! The fact that there's always my sister's car or City Taxis available to get me around doesn't help me with my driving again. And this time again I let the opportunity fizzle out ....Year 2009: The fact that my sister was getting married and moving to another home, albeit in Bangalore itself, jolted me out of my comfort zone and think seriously about re-learning driving and buying a car. Thankfully by then my dad, who is an expert driver and teacher, had moved here and I had to look no further than home to learn driving for the third time. Many early morning practice sessions with him later, I was finally in a position to even think of driving on my own. The biggest challenge for me in bringing the car to work was not to face the traffic (because I take an alternate route which avoids most of the city traffic) but the fact that I will have to go over the ramp to park my car and pass through the two security personnel holding large mirrors to check the underside of the car. I always told my friends that with my kind of precision in driving I would definitely knock off at least one of them!
But on the brighter side, my car doesn't get stalled in slow-moving traffic or at inclines, I don't burst into cold-sweat on seeing more than 2 vehicles on the entire stretch of road, I don't wait for early morning or late night to take my car out and I even overtake vehicles :) But the best part is - the two mirror-holding security personnel at my workplace's parking lot are still unharmed. They have no idea how lucky they are!
Images courtesy:
10 comments:
nice!!!!its actly pretty wel written!!btw if u do manage to read the book called superfreakonomics!!!then tell me howz it!????
ha ha ha!! I really liked that one. Of course, I do remember the one where you forced the approaching guy to test his brakes' functionality. I was laughing at the bit where total strangers helped you with parking the car (they were men? I don't think a lady can replace another in the driving seat and achieve more!!) [and yeah, I know what you have in mind at this moment, but I am not near you; you can save the punch for later!!! hee hee hee :)]
I will be eagerly awaiting your Bombay trip musings. I plan to write something myself. Of course it will be in malayalam, but I plan to try a little bit of translating activity as well. Let us see..
@Sidharth: Thanks. Have not read Superfreakonomics yet, but had read freakonomics few years ago and loved it. BTW, does the SuperF talk about new drivers' (in)capability being linked to some apparently unrelated economic phenomenon? ;)
@Chithal: How could I forget, you were right behind me when that happened! I used hear that crash-braking sound even in my nightmares for some days :). Yes, the people who parked my car were all men, and I know one lady who would take offence as she has proved to be a pretty good driver :). Am thinking of writing on Bombay trip, but would need the pics from you to accompany the post, so until then ...
Errmmm ... "two mirror-holding security personnel" still unharmed? Then you haven't learn't how to drive yet. Take that from a once-novice, now a self-proclaimed expert driver - who, believe it or not, drove on mission road/double road/lalbagh/kormangala/inner-ring-road/indiranagar at 7PM, for the first time. And it wasn't a test-drive. I was picking up my new car from the show-room and driving it home :-D
And I got 2 scratches in the process, bumped an auto the next day and here I am 3 years later, still going strong and planning on moving to a SUV. Believe you me, a couple of dents and scratches and you won't have the teeny-weeny doubt that you still have.
A lot of solace from ME-MOI-MYSELF!! Well, in one way it is true.
I have all photos with me. I have already sent you the prize one! I will slowly send them one-by-one :)
@Me-Moi: Although I hate to admit this, but driving is one of the very few things that men are naturally better at compared to women. I hope to get better at it without having dents/scratches on my car for sure :)
@Chithal: Yes, got all the pics. Will try to put together a post some time soon.
Hilarious! One of the best reads on driving!! Highly recommended if one wants to laugh and read "How to become a good driver 9years?" ;)
It gives hope to people like me who are scarred to sit on the driver's seat!!
Welcome back. Yes, it does sound funny when one reads it, but trust me going through all those experiences in real wasn't one bit funny. I am glad I can look back at it now and laugh at my stupidities :)
hey...just googled my name and got to see your blog..really interesting...esp this driving one....i can realte to this one so much that its not funny :)...anyway good writing...really enjoyed!!!
Thanks Vineeta, I believe someone arrived at my blog through that route for the first time :). About my driving incidents - I didn't find them one bit funny when they were happening to me.
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