I decided that I should know to drive the car before my professional life started. There was this long vacation between completion of engineering and the time to start work - about 5 months.5 months break sounds like paradise on earth now :-(. I joined a class based on my friend's recommendation. The class was excellent.
How much people manage to scare you before the test - they will make you perform an 8, go round and round, drive near a bus and maybe perform some gymnastics! I imagined the worst and got into the car.
While giving the demo to the traffic inspector, the vehicle conked off. I was all tense. But the inspector was extremely nice:). He just waited for me to start it again and proceed with the drive. He asked me whether we have a car at home and I answered in negative. So his question was - why are you learning - are you planning to drive your neighbor's car?!!! I got my liscence successfully. That was back in 2004.
After a long hiatus, I touched a friend's car in 2006 and it was a total mess. My friend was sitting next to me on the drive and I almost managed to hit a lorry head-on. Somehow, when I was turning the corner, the car wheels refused to move to the side of the road. And I ended up in the middle with the lorry guy wondering if I was a lunatic.
I ventured boldly again into the car driving world in 2008. This time for a second class:-). By then I had completely forgotten which was the accelerator, brake or the clutch. For this, I had to drag myself out of bed early at 6:30. I kept promising my sleep that I would compensate by sleeping more once I learn driving. The dream was to sleep more, get up late, leave late to office and come back early - all this was held back by my car-handicap. But I managed to learn driving yet again.
And managed to fall out of touch yet again. The year was 2009 now. It was high time. So I forced my dad to teach me. Lets look at out time-tables. My dad wanted this early in the morning - means 6 am. For me, this was almost impossible. For every other reason, our cancelled classes continued. One fine morning I got up unusually at 6. Gulp! My dad was not happy - danger itself was approaching his car. [He was terrified because once my bro had taken the car for practice and collided into a stationary bus..guess it runs in the blood:-) But he is a great driver now]
But still, the mandatory condition had been met. He could not avoid it. We decided to practice on the beach road. This road is 4 km from my place and what do you expect to find on the roads so early. But my dad would not have any of this. He would drive me to this place and I can drive ONLY on the beach road. Agreed. When we reached there, I took control and rode happily for 2 minutes. But the happiness was short-lived. We had to take a left turn and soon there was a traffic signal. I could see that dad was extremely careful and every second doling out a benevolent warning - 'theres a cyclist', 'theres a women,'ohh.. signal is approaching', 'hold the brake. hold the brake'. That day I realised I am an 'epitome of patience'! A bus approached and was waiting next to the car in the signal. And thats it - my dad had had enough. His face was all pink and struck with fear - all my brothers doing! He got down and flew to my drivers window and exchanged the seats. We managed a 30 minutes drive with my practice restricted to 2 minutes. Phew!
Now its 2011 and almost 2012 - I travel on my Scooty or office bus or in the famous Chennai autos. No more attempts as of now.
How much people manage to scare you before the test - they will make you perform an 8, go round and round, drive near a bus and maybe perform some gymnastics! I imagined the worst and got into the car.
While giving the demo to the traffic inspector, the vehicle conked off. I was all tense. But the inspector was extremely nice:). He just waited for me to start it again and proceed with the drive. He asked me whether we have a car at home and I answered in negative. So his question was - why are you learning - are you planning to drive your neighbor's car?!!! I got my liscence successfully. That was back in 2004.
After a long hiatus, I touched a friend's car in 2006 and it was a total mess. My friend was sitting next to me on the drive and I almost managed to hit a lorry head-on. Somehow, when I was turning the corner, the car wheels refused to move to the side of the road. And I ended up in the middle with the lorry guy wondering if I was a lunatic.
I ventured boldly again into the car driving world in 2008. This time for a second class:-). By then I had completely forgotten which was the accelerator, brake or the clutch. For this, I had to drag myself out of bed early at 6:30. I kept promising my sleep that I would compensate by sleeping more once I learn driving. The dream was to sleep more, get up late, leave late to office and come back early - all this was held back by my car-handicap. But I managed to learn driving yet again.
And managed to fall out of touch yet again. The year was 2009 now. It was high time. So I forced my dad to teach me. Lets look at out time-tables. My dad wanted this early in the morning - means 6 am. For me, this was almost impossible. For every other reason, our cancelled classes continued. One fine morning I got up unusually at 6. Gulp! My dad was not happy - danger itself was approaching his car. [He was terrified because once my bro had taken the car for practice and collided into a stationary bus..guess it runs in the blood:-) But he is a great driver now]
But still, the mandatory condition had been met. He could not avoid it. We decided to practice on the beach road. This road is 4 km from my place and what do you expect to find on the roads so early. But my dad would not have any of this. He would drive me to this place and I can drive ONLY on the beach road. Agreed. When we reached there, I took control and rode happily for 2 minutes. But the happiness was short-lived. We had to take a left turn and soon there was a traffic signal. I could see that dad was extremely careful and every second doling out a benevolent warning - 'theres a cyclist', 'theres a women,'ohh.. signal is approaching', 'hold the brake. hold the brake'. That day I realised I am an 'epitome of patience'! A bus approached and was waiting next to the car in the signal. And thats it - my dad had had enough. His face was all pink and struck with fear - all my brothers doing! He got down and flew to my drivers window and exchanged the seats. We managed a 30 minutes drive with my practice restricted to 2 minutes. Phew!
Now its 2011 and almost 2012 - I travel on my Scooty or office bus or in the famous Chennai autos. No more attempts as of now.
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