Automotive Drive

I love the sound of rubber on tarmac. Wind blowing through the windows into your hair makes it better.  My first memory of a car is that of a Standard Herald (clone of a Triumph Herald from the UK) it was Dads first car after me and Darshana were born. A convertible!! Way back in the late 70s.  I remember going to Mains Street in Pune (or Poona as it was called then) in the back bench of the car with my monthly list of toys I wanted. The list was long but I could get only one for the month from a store named “Novelty”. Mum and Dad would finish the rest of their shopping while I would be in the back seat dismantling the toy that had been bought half an hour ago. (They never got angry with me for breaking the toy apart, rather they would encourage me to try and put it back together- maybe it’s one of the reasons why I became an engineer). I remember going to Khapoli  in the same car and it broke down on rainy evening (Hight of the Monsoon - So it was coming down in buckets). Some garage helped sort out the issue and I don’t remember what time we got back to Pune. 

My grandpa had a Fiat.I remember trips to Solapur that took half a day and tripes to Mumbai that took forever due to the bad roads. I remember a huge road trip to Gujarat when I was a tiny tot.  Over the years the Herald got changed to the Fiat and then we had a 800 in the late 80s. We did road trips to Ajanta, Ellora, Aurangabad, Mahabaleshwar, Jalgaon , Solapur , Mumbai and god know where else in Maharashtra In that unbelievable Japanese engine. It was not super comfortable but Dad always says it was a better ride than the Herald or the Fiat.  I started to learn how to drive on the Fiat (must have tried my hand at it the first time when I was I the 8th - not legally appropriate but then Pune was a tiny town in the 80s). I failed at the first attempt and subsequently all plans of driving were shelved till I reached the 10th. 

Dad taught me - the reverse gear. His argument was everyone can drive forward; learn how to reverse and then the rest is easy. I spent countless days perfecting driven 8 in reverse. Once’s Dad saw that I was good at it he then said now you are ready to drive. I could drive but not yet with a licence. Had to wait a couple of years to get the license for a four wheeler. During that time I was happy on two wheels. Pune to Mahabaleshwar or the weekend climb to Sinhgad Fort were what one had to contend with. We became a 2 car family in the 90s - two 800’s one for Dad and he bought me the first car I could call my own. A blue 800. I have had so many memorable trips in that car that I could fill a 100 pages with just reminiscing. I did a Pune to Madras with a halt in Hubli and Bangalore in that car;  She never gave any trouble.  That car had no AC , no Music system. It was a bottom tier 800. I was working at the same time as studying and managed putting in a cheap cassette player that would chew up tapes that were not correctly wound. I loved that car. 

Closer to the late 90s. We moved from Swargate to Aundh and my ride got upgraded from a 800 to a Gypsy !! Hard top again it was essentially Dad’s purchase that I used. Lots of unforgettable memories in that car too. I got married and we got rid of the Gypsy in about a year. Meghna and me were quite happy with two 2-wheelers; and if we wanted to go somewhere I would borrow Dad’s car. 

My first car was a Ford. What a boat :).  Loved the drive the road handling the AC. Everything about it was great. I purchased it soon after Simonne (the younger one) was born. Have excellent memories of drives to Goa, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Sangli and almost all over Maharashtra in that car. Changed it to a K-10 when the cooling system finally gave out. I still have the K-10 and now have an S-Cross too. (I have 2 cars as Ishan drives. Dad now has just one.  The Circle is complete ?). 

I can drive 15 to 16 hours at a go with a few break for coffee etc irrespective of the car and the fuel it uses. Friends and family often ask me “Do you not get tired?“. My answer is always been - driving allows me to clear my mind. There is no noise in my head. All that is happening is me being present 100% to what the road provides. I hate people telling me what to do while I am driving (backseat driving) not because they may be wrong or they may be right - but because it breaks my Zen space and get me to look for more things that need to be accounted for. It is basically creating noise in my head that is normally there in any-case when I am not driving. 

Driving is a pleasure and a privilege. For me it is also the place which allows me to almost be in a mediative state of mind. What is your Drive story ?

C