My four-wheeled two-wheeler drive -A dedication

“The deal is done…We agree to pay that much..” – the new master said to me and she was sold…My first car, with whom I have spent five precious years of my life, was to have a new owner in a couple of days. That day I drove from my office in a strange mood…living all the memories this machine has given me. I had been more or less the sole driver of this silver Santro LS Zip Plus.My husband had driven home this relationship in May 2003 - THE first big buy when you fish out all your savings but still feel happy as you drive your first car from the showroom to the mandir..so what if you had to wait for 3-4 hrs at the showroom just to get the keys and the final papers. You suddenly feel rich behind the wheels when the pandit congratulates you on your achievement – as if he is not at all bothered about the dakshina that was to follow…

For a road-traveller like us, our car has been really reliable and tough…bravely putting across the potholed roads- even in those times when there were never-ending “no-road” patches in Bangalore – when the going was real tough as the Dharam Singh government had refused to release funds for the Bangalore infrastructure (or probably they were released but went to wrong pockets ). The highway drives were adventurous especially once when I was trying to overtake a few trucks in a row with the Santro packed to full capacity and all of a sudden a few ominous looking gigantic trucks came from the opposite side – face to face with my sophisticated front-wheel drive. I had nearly made up my mind (if at all I was thinking at that time!!) to hide beneath the truck on the left – when my husband reminded me that it was no a video game and we might really be hurt. The power brakes were really useful and very very effective at that time and later we could afford to just laugh it off. Don’t take me as a bad driver (nobody has ever complained when I am behind the wheels), as there can be times like this when you think you can never get out of it in a single piece. Like once when we were returning from Ooty cruising on the famous 36 hair-pin bend roads (this time my husband had decided to take the driver seat) – and suddenly my husband declared that he was not able to put the brakes. Its worth imagining what the look on our faces would have been when we got to hear this going downhill at an angle of nearly 45 degrees!! Later he realized that it was his mind not the brakes playing the game – mind it - it can surely happen on that road!!

For the past couple of years my Santro has played an important role as a ‘city car’ – its as convenient as driving a bike with the added advantage of having an AC cooling your mind in the Bangalore traffic. Parking it is a marvel – anywhere and everywhere – it will just silently wait for you while you inhale the black smoke on the Bangalore roads or just jostle yourself inside the busy malls all in the name of shopping or entertainment. There were times when you just come back and see it scratched by an adventurous bike or slightly bumped just because somebody couldn’t maneuver their vehicle with adept…but then it is bound to happen in Bangalore. Even though I really appreciate the patience of our people here but there are times when luck is not with you even though your license is. Specially the month-ends- when the policemen are prowling like hungry tigers to cut as many slips as possible – just stopping on a footpath (ofcourse when you are ‘inside’ the car) can earn you a traffic ticket – the only relief is the low charges which we Bangaloreans don’t mind as much we mind following the traffic rules.

It’s just a few hours now before the new owner will take her away from me , never to turn back(hopefully not- its always difficult to give back the money you just put in your pockets)…I will be wandering ‘becar’ (in Volvos/autos/taxis) ofcourse only till my next Hyundai comes fully loaded - all set for action on “namma Bangaluru” roads!!! 