I love cars and I love driving; it is one of my favourite things to do. The first car I ever bought was a black Hyundai i10. My parents were opposed to me buying a car, but one day I decided I had to get one. I just Googled for a Hyundai showroom’s number and asked ‘do you have an i10?’
An i10, because it was the smallest car I knew and one I thought my parents would be okay with. They were like ‘no, no... we don’t need a car!’ — but I thought let me buy the smallest car so that they would be comfortable with it. I was around 22 or 23 then and it was a spontaneous thing to do. The showroom said they indeed had an i10 and I replied: ‘okay! I am coming.’ In fact, I drove it home myself. Actually, I didn’t drive very well then. But that day, I just bought the car and drove straight into Bengaluru’s peak traffic.
Even today, when I am on that road, I remember that day. It was around 5 or 6 pm — rush-hour traffic, cars honking — and I got stuck in bad traffic on Richmond Road. But I got out of it in one piece.
I had never had a car before, so, for me, getting one was about gaining freedom and being independent. I felt my independence grew with the car and that I could do what I wanted to from then on. Until then, I was extremely protected, so I needed it (the freedom). I always look at my car as a friend. I see it more as a companion.
My car took me wherever I wanted to go and I am very attached to it. I now drive a BMW X1 M Sport, but I still have the i10 with me. I will never say never, but, as of now, I have no intentions of giving it away as it means a lot to me.
As told to Shilpa Nair Anand
Published - March 05, 2019 05:12 pm IST
