Episode 340 : The red L sticker
A few years ago, one of my colleagues expressed an interest in purchasing a Swift hatchback. And in order to fulfill his aspirations, he first enrolled himself in a driving school and got a license after learning how to drive a car.
Equipped with a new driving license and a new car with two large L stickers, he set off to conquer Bangalore's roads and its traffic. A few months later, he succeeded in his endeavours and learnt to drive and manage the traffic between his home and the office.
As a motorcyclist, I detested seeing cars with L stickers on them, and cursed drivers who still felt the need to use it as a crutch to show the world that they are incapable of driving a car and need support from us. Some of them even drove large cars!
* * * * *
For many years, I avoided buying a car. The home-office-home on the motorcycle was good enough, and I had two such vehicles for my daily commute and weekend fun. The apartment's parking lot allotted to me could not accommodate a car as well, and that was a reason good enough for me. Moving to another apartment wasn't priority enough.
Then came the neck aches, the shoulder aches and the troubles that Garud would impose upon me on almost every ride. The decision to get a car got a shot in the arm when I returned home sopping wet after a night at the movies and after a matinee the following day. It is no fun when clothes are unable to dry because it is raining cats and dogs.
For over a month, I pored over the classifieds, spoke to a few friends, and narrowed down my choice to one car.
It was over 5 years since I had last driven a car. My driving skills were going to be put to the test. But I was already ready for it- I had enrolled myself in a driving school to get much-needed practice before I went about denting my "new" old car.
The day my nephew turned a year old, I bought a Baleno.
It was a trial by fire. All these days, I had looked over the roofs of all cars, their headlights barely made me flinch. Now, the lights blinded me, the honking made me go deaf, the pedestrians made me curse louder than usual, and all the vehicles around me made me feel claustrophobic. Driving in the night was worse. Perhaps the world would be much kinder to me if I stick that L on the car's windshield.
Such a fall from grace. In my eyes, I had failed. I asked myself whether I should try one last time before sticking reflective tape in the shape of an L?
* * * * *
It took me a drive to Madras for the nephew's birthday party to get things into perspective, especially since the last 60 kms was driven after sunset in traffic that was slow and in some cases even bumper-to-bumper. All I had needed was practice.
The two L stickers and the roll of reflective tape can stay in the drawer.
And I continue to curse other car drivers who use L stickers, while carefully avoiding nasty glances from others.
Equipped with a new driving license and a new car with two large L stickers, he set off to conquer Bangalore's roads and its traffic. A few months later, he succeeded in his endeavours and learnt to drive and manage the traffic between his home and the office.
As a motorcyclist, I detested seeing cars with L stickers on them, and cursed drivers who still felt the need to use it as a crutch to show the world that they are incapable of driving a car and need support from us. Some of them even drove large cars!
For many years, I avoided buying a car. The home-office-home on the motorcycle was good enough, and I had two such vehicles for my daily commute and weekend fun. The apartment's parking lot allotted to me could not accommodate a car as well, and that was a reason good enough for me. Moving to another apartment wasn't priority enough.
Then came the neck aches, the shoulder aches and the troubles that Garud would impose upon me on almost every ride. The decision to get a car got a shot in the arm when I returned home sopping wet after a night at the movies and after a matinee the following day. It is no fun when clothes are unable to dry because it is raining cats and dogs.
For over a month, I pored over the classifieds, spoke to a few friends, and narrowed down my choice to one car.
It was over 5 years since I had last driven a car. My driving skills were going to be put to the test. But I was already ready for it- I had enrolled myself in a driving school to get much-needed practice before I went about denting my "new" old car.
The day my nephew turned a year old, I bought a Baleno.
It was a trial by fire. All these days, I had looked over the roofs of all cars, their headlights barely made me flinch. Now, the lights blinded me, the honking made me go deaf, the pedestrians made me curse louder than usual, and all the vehicles around me made me feel claustrophobic. Driving in the night was worse. Perhaps the world would be much kinder to me if I stick that L on the car's windshield.
Such a fall from grace. In my eyes, I had failed. I asked myself whether I should try one last time before sticking reflective tape in the shape of an L?
It took me a drive to Madras for the nephew's birthday party to get things into perspective, especially since the last 60 kms was driven after sunset in traffic that was slow and in some cases even bumper-to-bumper. All I had needed was practice.
The two L stickers and the roll of reflective tape can stay in the drawer.
And I continue to curse other car drivers who use L stickers, while carefully avoiding nasty glances from others.
Labels: Carnama
Aired at 12/06/2012 06:58:00 pm
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