On The Road of Life

I started learning how to drive a car when I was 19. There was this school run by a family. They had cars with two sets of brake/clutch and accelerator – one was regular, the other was in front of the passenger seat.

This school got me a licence in the weirdest way. I was ecstatic. The day my classes ended, my driver came to pick me up. I sat on the driver’s seat and tried to work around the driving bit. I could do nothing!

So now I had a licence but couldn’t drive a normal vehicle with just one set of brake/clutch and accelerator. A few months later, we found this gentleman who came to our house and taught me how to drive in my own vehicle. Thanks to him, I was able to drive.

I was always a very darpok driver. The Boy was studying in my city, so it was me who took him around. He use to make fun of me when I use to let cycle and rikshawalas pass by me. I was sort of being considerate. You know, just because I was in a better mode of transport did not mean I ruled the road!

In a span of some 3-4 years, we had to change the clutch of the car 3 times. This was because I had difficulty in moving my foot from the clutch to the floor of the car. And so, I use to permanently keep my foot on the clutch. That’s when I realised how supportive my father was.

He never complained about taking the car to the garage every few months to change the clutch. I had weak muscles but that didn’t give me the privilege to ruin things often. But he never mentioned anything about it.

I was always afraid of driving on the road lest I would lose control but he was always confident that I would not have any problems. Thankfully, I never had an accident, except that one time.

I was driving to my MBA institute at 7 in the morning. The music was on and I was driving on an empty road. I am sure my speed wasn’t that much because I was always careful about that. As I was passing the Taj hotel in my city, someone from the other side of the road decided to take a right turn and enter the hotel gate without looking who was coming.

I tried my best to stop the car. But there was no time. I banged into the Indica cab’s left door. Even the road had my tire marks because the car screeched so badly.

A lot of people came down from the hotel to see what had happened. Thankfully, no one got hurt. My bumper was pushed back and that Indica’s left door was flattened. I locked my door and took a deep breath. Then I took out my phone and called my elder brother. I told him that there was a small accident and I wanted him to come.

The guard was sweet enough to tell me that everything is ok and I should go now. The cab driver was sort of hinting that it was my fault. I decided to stay in the car and say nothing.

Within a few minutes, my dad, my brother and a servant came to the spot. My father got pillows for me in the car!! My brother took my car home and dad dropped me to the college in his.

I broke down in front of my friends in the college. It wasn’t a bad situation, just that I was in shock. At around 11, we were having breakfast in the canteen. I received a call from my father. I thought I wouldn’t be allowed to drive for a long time now.

It was surprising to hear what he said next. He told me that the car was now in the garage and that it would be repaired soon. He said that I would be able to drive it again in max two days.

That made up for everything. I cannot forget my father’s words that day. He doesn’t say much, but his actions meant a lot. That day I became more confident and more self-reliant than ever.

Thank God for such fathers!