Driving Diaries of A Silly, Silly Girl

Do you know how to drive? A two or a four wheeler or just a bicycle too? Do you? Well, let me tell you today about a silly girl and her exploits with driving lessons. Hailing from the small hill station town of Shillong, she never quite felt the need to learn the intricacies of driving what with her school being within walking distance of her home. Added to that the presence of a driver, whenever she needed one, kept her far away from literally taking the driver's seat. It was as though she was kept in an ivory tower oblivious to the needs of driving while the entire world mastered the steering wheel.


It was many years later, once she moved to the city of Bangalore, that she first decided to take up driving lessons. The ordeals of going from one corner of the city to the other, changing buses and haggling with auto drivers, warmed her up to the idea of owning and of-course driving her own car. But, well, what did she know what was in store? Lack of time on weekdays limited her classes to weekends. You would think that those would have been enough but no! Sleep, her Achilles hill heel, and the excitement of dates with her boyfriend reduced those lessons to mere formality. Thus without any change in her expertise with the clutch, brake or accelerator, stopped her first tryst with the four wheeled beast from the driver's seat. 

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That was in the year 2009. Her next rendezvous came in December of 2011. She attended the classes regularly but this time around the fear of hitting someone took over her senses. The reckless driving of bikers, cab drivers and then those erratic ones on foot started giving her nightmares. Of-course, the fact that she now had her husband around to drive her everywhere and the luxury of booking cabs if needed didn't help the cause either. So, as you see her second attempt too went by without really moving her from the passenger's seat. Driving her own car, that dream, was again banished to the rear end of her wishlist.

The third endeavor came sooner than later, in January 2012 and this time her father was entrusted with the duty of teaching her the nuances of driving a car. But of-course she was still the same paranoid person when it came to controlling the beast. So, that didn't do any good either. Every day for two whole weeks she went out early in the morning with her daddy dearest. While he tried his best to not let panic take over him as his little girl made turns, she tried desperately to fight off sleep to still appear interested in this thing called driving. But as you must have guessed by now, this attempt resulted in her miserable failure as well. It was as though driving was a subject she was destined to fail in.

And now after almost 3 years since her last attempt she has again decided to take the driving bull by the horns. This time though with the aid of her husband. She has had two classes so far and seems very much eager to not fail this time around. Of-course, the car battery dying merely two days after she sat in the driver's seat, even if for a few minutes, could be the universe telling her to stop dreaming. But this time around she seems quite adamant and even ready to defy higher powers if need be. So, will the fourth attempt be her last?

Well, only time will tell what happens to this girl and her adventures with driving. Till then if you happen to be in Bangalore for the next few years or so and you happen to see a woman on a driver's seat, staring ahead as if at the start of a duel in a western, give her some space, will you? And while at that maybe even wish her luck from far? Oh, by the way, she did manage to get her driving license 3 years back but that's a story for another day.

Ciao,
Drive Safe!