My black Mercedes-Benz SLK really made me feel like I had arrived. Most people who have a two-seater sports car end up keeping it in the garage. But not me!
In the four years I had it, I managed to clock 40,000 kilometres. Almost every weekend, I’d take it out on long drives to Hyderabad, Goa or Kanyakumari. I miss those drives and that car.
I bought it for between ₹55 and 60 lakhs at that time, a huge moment for me, because I am a self-made man. When I broke the news to my father, he was very upset about the price, but when he saw it for the first time though, he too fell completely in love with it. We have one life, so I was making the most of it!
One of the biggest advantages with these cars is you never have to worry about parking space. Wherever you go, people want you to park right in front of the building because it’s so attractive. I never spent time waiting for the valet to bring my car around. Any hotel I visited, there it was, always parked up front. It wasn’t just about the glamour of it though; it was useful too. It had a really good music system, so I would test all my sound mixes in the car. I would put my rough mixes and works-in-progress into a thumb drive, take the car out, stick it into the sound system, and let it rip.
On the long drive, I’d listen to music, usually on the Electronics City flyover. And I’ve received quite a few speeding tickets there! I would go maybe upto Krishnagiri and come back. It helped me listen to the music from an outside-the-studio perspective and make judgement notes on what needs to be done.
My golden retriever, Hutchie, was my constant companion back then (I wasn’t married at the time), and he used to love the car because it was a convertible. He had gotten used to hanging out with me in it, and when we’d take the top down, he would absolutely love it! These cars have a very good downward force, so you can take sharp turns and be a little adventurous. Also, the fact that it was a hard-top convertible made it very secure and safe.
Another place I used to go often in it was the NICE Road. My favourite roads to drive on, however, are not in Bengaluru. One was the Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad. I used to drive all the way there and do four or five laps on the entire ORR stretch and come back in the evening. The second road is the glorious stretch from Madurai to Nagercoil en route Bangalore to Kanyakumari. You see about a 1,000 windmills that stretch for about 20-30 kms on either side of the road. The stretch is fenced off on either side, so there are no animals or humans crossing.
I would definitely love to go back to a car like that in the future. But right now, since I’m involved in environmental causes, I’d avoid anything that guzzles fuel.
In 2014, I sold my Mercedes-Benz SLK. I felt bad seeing it in my garage gathering dust, but since I had started travelling a lot internationally, I spent very little time in Bengaluru.
As told to Allan Moses Rodricks
