When I moved to Bengaluru from Dubai, the first car that I bought was a maroon Santro Xing. It was the first thing I bought for myself, six years ago, with the money I earned.
One of my first memories is of my cat Red, whom I picked up from Lavelle Road, over five years ago, in the car. At that time, we had just lost our oldest cat, and my mother was not at her happiest. I think with Red coming home, I brought happiness back into my house. Red used to love sitting on the dashboard of the car. I also picked up a very special person in the same car, when she moved to Bengaluru. She’s been living in this city ever since.
Most of my meetings, whether it was with the radio station I worked for, or in connection with the events I worked on initially, and also my first meeting with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), for the RCB Insider series, happened with me driving that car. I even got the call about my first big TV break, with Star Sports, when I was in the car. I remember crying after I got the call.I’ve also shed many tears in the car when I felt things weren’t working out personally or professionally. I have had moments of frustration, even aggression. There are so many memories associated with this vehicle.
The car also accompanied me on my first ever holiday, to Puducherry since I moved to Bengaluru and also when I drove to Coorg to visit my school.
All these memories hark back to Bengaluru. I have been talking about life between Old Airport Road and Marathahalli, and places such as the Bengaluru Airport and Lavelle Road. I hold the city in the highest regard, and the vehicle I drove around in was a harbinger of happiness.
When I first came here, I remember spending a lot of time commuting, listening to the radio. It has been an interesting journey.
But my mother finally sold my car, after I met with a couple of accidents. She felt that it was time to say goodbye to it; she sold it when I was out of townbecause every journey must have an end sometime. She ended up selling it when I was not in town, and by the time I came back, it was gone. I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye to my car.My Santro Xing has taken me through the foundations of my career; that’s what makes it special to me. Even now, when I am travelling by cab or driving, if I see a maroon Santro, I check the number plate to see if it’s my car.
As told to Harshini Vakkalanka
