I still remember my very first car. I was 24 and the only car I could afford was a second-hand Fiat.
The gears used to be next to the steering wheel. It was already 14 years old. Of course, my first memories are from my driving school. The man who taught me started with, ‘Ma’am, you need to know your ABC first’.
When I asked him what he meant, he said it was the ‘accelerator, brake and clutch’. My learning was also an experience in itself. I kept bumping into things!
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One day, even before I got my licence, I sneakily took my car out at 5 am.
I lived in Gandhinagar then and drove till Kumara Park where I had to reverse my car when the car banged into a lamp post. It was bent completely and the commotion led to people waking up.
I raced away in panic. A few months later, when I drove by the same road, the lamp post was still bent (laughs).
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Memories of that car are really special.
The experience was something else. Everything was manual.
It would break down in the middle of MG Road in Bengaluru and I had to push it to the side. However, there would be no traffic jams even if the car broke down in the middle of the road.
People often got out of their cars and helped others. That car trained me to handle any situation on the road. The cassette deck for music reminds me of an era gone by.
I believe it had a mind of its own. I am glad I started out with that car. I had it with me for three years.
And, till about five years ago, I had this tendency to pick up only second-hand cars till I bought an electric car — the Reva. I feel it works more like a computer. It is also special as it reminds me of how times have changed.
As told to Shilpa
Sebastian R