In India, knowing how to drive a car and having a valid driving license (DL) are two different things. They are absolutely not correlated to each other. You will find scores of under age or non-licensed people driving vehicles on the road. At the same time, there exist many like me (until last October), who despite having a valid DL aren't actually well-trained enough to venture on public roads. For the safety of general public, they are better off at home or on the passenger seats.
With this pandemic, public transport has become a no no for many. My mother, in very clear terms had mentioned that we soon needed a car post this lockdown. This also meant I would need to soon brush up on my driving skills and get up to the mark. Coming back to Calcutta made it easier. I now had the luxury of 3 cousin brothers who could help me become a pro. Also, since my Mamaji lived next door, I even had a car to practice with. With little emotional blackmail, my brothers finally gave in to my pleas of becoming my gurus.
Guru No. 1 - Vivek started it off the training sessions on a Sunday afternoon after numerous failed attempts to wake him up. Mamaji had clearly instructed him against allowing me to drive on main roads, especially busy ones. It had to be strictly within the empty by-lanes. Salt Lake and Rajarhat are two hotspots for driving lessons within Calcutta. Every morning, it's very easy to spot a new driver out here. I was to get on the driver's seat after 5 long years, and hence quite obviously my heart did skip a beat or two. Vivek, as a learned trainer, had strictly warned against the speed going above 20 kmph and gears above 2 levels on the first day. Aim was to get myself comfortable in basic stuff and take proper turns. Another important skill to master on was - constantly running your eyeballs through the rear and side mirrors. To be honest, this was perhaps the most ignored aspect until now for me. There were numerous occasions when he frowned on me to ignore looking on both sides of the road before taking a turn. P.S. till date, he keeps an eye on me for this mistake.
Guru no. 2 - Rajiv was destined to be my next guru. Regarded by most in the maternal family to be the safest and the best driver. Mind you, he is the youngest of all out here. We decided to stay at my aunt's place in Salt Lake for a few days. My sole incentive was to gain some apprenticeship under the watchful eyes of the most skilled driver. Salt Lake is undoubtedly the safest place to master your driving skills. Ask anyone in Calcutta to imagine a DL holder banging a car in Salt Lake - their only reaction would be "I'm sorry, I don't think it's gonna happen in this lifetime" (I didn't bang though). Every day, morning and evening, it was a fixed routine to go on driving lessons across the length and breadth of Salt Lake and Rajarhat.
Rajiv's car runs on diesel - something quite uncommon for most private cars in India. Turn on a diesel car and the very first move will make you realize the difference b/w a petrol & diesel run car. A diesel run car has a faster pickup, especially on the first gear. It's because of this change, I was very close to banging the car in my first few attempts. Rajiv's focus was on ensuring a seamless gear change process. Also, he constantly reminded me on why it was important to press clutch + break together while reducing speed and changing gears. In early days, I always missed out on applying this suggestion and used to be pissed off at myself. But he always told me - with regularity, unconsciously you will do it in future. And I'm so glad, it's true today. He kept me assuring me that I would be good enough to drive alone by my deadline - Diwali 2020.
Guru No. 3 - Ankur. Ankur went on to spend the maximum time towards honing my driving skills. His first experience of me being behind the wheels is a legendary one. Those 30-40 mins were quite anxious for him, maybe because I was driving my eldest cousin's car. So skittish was he that he was constantly shouting and giving directions each time we approached a nearby car, took a turn. He wanted me to stop taking last minute turns. Mind you, it wasn't a close shave in any of these encounters but he was simply too nervous to handle it. He literally had his heart in his mouth. All what I used to tell him was - Relax, I am a F1 level driver who is a master in such last-minute strokes. However, it was quite memorable for me as I had finally drove across some of the busy roads of North Calcutta. During the initial days, he often complained about the very small gaps I kept with the car in front of us and pulled my leg saying - "the way bhaiya stops at the signal, it seems like he will straightaway bang in to the car in front". Even today, I remind him of the sufficient buffer I now keep between the two cars and we then share a good laugh about it. During the initial days, seeing my driving skills, he even confessed that he then understood the tension running through the body of my uncle and brother when he drives a car. One such evening while I was driving, we randomly took turns across the streets to eventually lose our way. It was quite embarrassing for us to switch on Google Maps to find our way out as we played the song 'Kho gaye hum kahaan'...
Ankur sacrificed a lot to ensure I met my target deadline. Despite having just 3-4 hrs of sleep, he used to still wake up (whole-heartedly) @6 am. He was the only guru I was scared of. Quite religiously, he used to give me a scorecard on my daily driving lessons. I achieved two important milestones with him. I clearly remember the first time when I drove a car on 5th gear. We were on one of our morning ritual of driving classes, when he suggested to take the Baguiati flyover. Man, it felt very nice to experience the cool breeze at at that speed + some excellent background music. Next time, I literally drove across the two ends of Calcutta - from the Calcutta Airport all the way to Ganga ghat. More than me, it felt like an achievement to him. His happiness knew no bounds as he fondly broke this news to my mother. I know felt confident, it felt like now I'm here. I can now drive a car without their supervision.
In coming days, Mamaji handed over the duplicate keys to his car. It was a sign of a formal approval to drive, thus giving a new wing to my aspirations. Up until now, I was happy to on the passenger seats, sit back and relax. But now, it feels like "sher ke muh mein khoon lagna". My gurus used to often tell me - once you know to drive, you won't be able to resist yourself from getting behind the wheels. And today, it feels so true. I now even volunteer to do tasks which I would normally avoid as I find excuses to drive a car. Driving a car also brings along higher responsibilities and patience. Although I am not very good in mental maths, but each time I drive there is a calculation going on in my unconscious mind as I take into account the speed, distance and time of other vehicles & people on the road. Mamaji rightly mentions - a driver needs to have 4 eyes to constantly watch out everywhere and have an excellent hand-eye combination.
As people say - if you can drive through the streets of Calcutta, you can drive anywhere. It's like an unwritten formal approval of your driving skills. Up until now, whenever I was back in town, my gurus used to be on my duty so that I could go out and enjoy life. But now, it's time to turn the table. Now, it's my turn to fulfill my responsibilities of being an elder brother - take them out on fun rides where they can forget about the roads, bills and simply enjoy life with some rocking music to accompany. Rides like these wherein we can speak our mind on everything under the sun, pull each other's leg and still keep our secrets as part of our unwritten bro code. Thus far, we have only managed to have small glimpses of such rides (stories which can't be shared for obvious reasons). But wait, hold on, I forgot to include my BIL who too wants to be a part of such rides but only under one condition - it should exclude my sister ;)
Hoping for the pandemic to end soon so that we can embark on a brother's/bachelor road trip before either of us are sacrificed in the hands of our family into the next phase of our lives..
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