Friday, May 30, 2008

An On the road Saga!

Chapter 1

I felt so thrilled , so confidant, so grown up when I held tightly to the steering wheel and the Premier Padmini zoomed ahead. I was sitting on the lap of my favorite uncle, thinking that holding on to the steering wheel was all I needed to learn about driving. I used to wait eagerly for these driving lessons as a child...Brimming with energy and innocence …firmly believing that I have mastered the art of driving. The only hindrance that forbade me from practicing my skills was the lack of a car.

It took the child in me some time in accepting that I had more to learn in order to drive and that I needed to wait till I was eighteen to be issued a driving license. When I was finally eighteen I signed up along with a few friends at a driving school next to our colony. On my first day of driving lesson, Bashir Sir honked in front of our house on a tempo trax. He had collected all his students on his way and thus began my journey of enlightenment on Indian roads. Each day was an experience on the road ….. Our master had his clutch accelerator and break under perfect control on his side of the vehicle that we hardly learnt to drive. The only thing each of us learnt with out fail was the regular route he asked us to take during our driving sessions. Our Bashir Sir had three wives. One legitimate wife and the other two his well known secrets. Each day he would visit his wives and the road that connected his various houses was to be our driving route. His fourth stopover was a toddy shop. And once he was satisfied with the final stop we would head to our respective homes and our Basheer Sir knew not to open his mouth.


Our Basheer Sir was a man of many connections… Though a puny little man he knew what to do when and how…He knew how to satisfy the staff in the regional transportation office and get things done… Thus without learning much to drive and without facing any dire situation I was issued a driver's license.

to be continued................

11 comments:

Sum Raj said...

nice reading ur post...anyways now ur perfect in driving....and mee having license i still dont have confidence yet to start....waiting to read ur next post

Mishmash ! said...

"His fourth stopover was a toddy shop. And once he was satisfied with the final stop we would head to our respective homes and our Basheer Sir knew not to open his mouth." My goodness!!!!

krystyna said...

Hi Nanditha!
I like saga story and I like to read your writing. You have a beautiful, interesting style. You write from your heart!


God bless you!

Susan said...

You learned where all his wives lived and how much he liked his toddies! Nanditha, you are so funny.

Anonymous said...

lovely reading this post...your writing is so wonderful...about the license part, it is such a common thing here in India, even who hasn't been in the drivers seat for once gets a license issued....the incidents you narrated are very lively!

J said...

It's the same story in India, most of us get a license without knowing to drive! :)

krystyna said...

Hi Nanditha!
Have a beautiful, blessing Sunday!

Pradeep Nair said...

May be there are lots Basheers still, but things at RTOs have changed a bit, for I know people who have got licences without even sitting in a car!

Lakshmi said...

sounds like the way I got my licence..except that I didnt have such a colourful personality like Basheer as my instructor..waiting to read more

Lakshmi

Maddy said...

interesting - he had an accelerator as well on his side? cars here have only a brake!

i did my first lessons on a premier padmini!!

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