73.Upgrade from Two-wheeler to Four-wheeler

While staying  in the  campus, I had purchased  a  two-wheeler  LML Vespa 3 gear  model. I had  used  it only  inside the campus and occasionally to go to   Chinmaya  Sree Krishna  temple at 12^th mile or Kattangal.  In fact,  I have  gone to Kunnamangalam or Mukkam only  once or twice, the simple reason being my fear  and more  than that  my wife’s poor confidence  in my driving after she fell down  from the scooter ( REC  Memories - 59). I had    got the  license to drive  four wheelers by that time. Moreover,  before  going abroad, I had already sold out my  scooter to a  colleague among the  non-teaching staff in our department. So, after coming back from  Singapore , decided to purchase a  four-wheeler.

Since I was  not still confident  of my driving, I thought  it will be  better to buy a  used car rather than go for a  brand  new one. Moreover, the  money available  from the Singapore  assignment was  not big enough  to buy a new car. When we  were  deliberating  on this at home, one of  our cousins  in Bombay  working in Larsen & Toubro volunteered  to  get a  used car from one of his  colleagues at a moderate price. Since  it was  from Bombay, he said  he can arrange a Maruti 800  quite cheap as his boss was  buying a  new  car soon. He  made  the purchase  on my behalf and   said he will arrange a driver to bring the vehicle. I did  not want to   send my first  car (though  used)  to be sent through a  driver alone, I reached  Bombay and next day started on our journey  to Kozhikode  via the coastal road.

The driver was an excellent one  who had  been working Saudi  Arabia  for   several years. No rash driving, very careful and never  over speeding without being excessively overcautious. One thing I noticed in him was that he very rarely used the  horn. When I asked him , he said  ‘Sir, while driving abroad, we never use  the horn as everyone will follow the traffic rules exactly and there  is no need  to  alert them  by sounding the horn. If we don’t follow  the traffic rule, we  may even loose  our job if it is a driver’s job. Otherwise, the driving license  may be suspended  or even cancelled based on the type  of traffic   rule  violation committed’.  While sitting in the front seat with my son or son in law in UK or USA, I have  never heard anyone using the horn. If we see our  private  bus drivers using the horn, it will look as if all the persons on the road, pedestrians or other drivers are all  deaf. Even if they are  not, there is every chance that they become deaf very soon. 

My children  were telling that  in USA and UK, they use  the horn to insult  other drivers  or to make fun of them. My son left for UK with an international driving  license  but  decided to take the driving lessons and get a licence issued by the  British Government before starting his driving.  After  getting the license, when he took out the vehicle for  the first time, his friends asked him ‘How many honks, did you get?’. If a driver   makes a single ‘honk’  it is just  pure insult but if it is repeated, it is big scolding, ‘better take care  of yourself.’ Only problem for me  in USA was while sitting in the  front you feel really scared when a vehicle is approaching you from your  left side as  the driving there  is by right handed.

 But even  our ‘smart’ driver had  a problem, as we were approaching Mangalore, suddenly the  vehicle stopped.  He started  tinkering  with the vehicle  after opening the bonnet.  Then I asked him, please  check the  petrol. I had been asking him to see when the  tank is approaching empty, fill petrol as and when required. He forgot to  observe that. Fortunately,  it was  day time, around 3PM. We stopped the car and he got a  lift to the  nearest pump, bought some petrol in a bottle, poured it into the car  and we  moved to the nearest  pump and filled the  petrol tank. So, even clever and smart drivers can be  absent minded !!

We reached Kozhikode in about 18 hours  with a few hours rest in between. The  white  car was almost black in colour due to the dirt   and  oil  from the highways. My wife  was really disgusted to see  such a dirty vehicle. Fortunately, the driver was good enough to wash the car before  he  took a bath, had some food with us  before taking rest  for few hours. Then he collected his  fee  and left to his native place Tirur  to meet his family.  His  commitment  to work  was  really remarkable. That, I am sure,   is because  of the  work culture  that they learn by working   outside  our country.