Driving

Hi! I was wondering about the sudden writer’s block that seems to have seized me. I had started writing a post on more than 2 occasions only to have scrapped them after a few lines. So this is my third attempt let us see if the third time lucky funda works.



I have posted earlier about bad driving and its consequences well the earlier post was more on the negative aspects of it but I have noticed lately that there is also a positive spin-off to this, however on a purely personal front. The indiscipline on the road by a few morons is teaching me patience and self control.



Previously, whenever somebody drives rashly or does something that makes my blood boil the immediate reaction from me would be to bad mouth the offender with some choicest terms. My personal favourite roughly translated would mean “customer of death”. My blood boils when I see one of these customers choosing my car to commit hira kiri or something similar. I go into a tirade abusing the offender with do you not have any other vehicle to die… (You get the idea) and another phrase borrowed from the auto drivers of Chennai, (this is priceless when heard in Tamil) “have you informed at home that this is your last journey”.



However such outbursts distracted my concentration and increased my blood pressure and really put my day off every time. So when I made it a habit to drop D to office (its become a daily routine, we get to talk only during these drives, poor us) everyday this behaviour of mine really put her off. After watching me for a few days she made me promise to stop swearing else dire consequences….. The consequences were sufficiently dire enough for me to keep a check on my words. So often I ended up biting my tongue instead of screaming at yet another reckless driver. (You might see my tongue all scarred!), next she keeps a restraining hand on my hand every time I get irritated. This never fails to cool me off.



Of late I have mellowed to a great level on the road, cursing silently at any idiot who offends me with his recklessness and apparently whistling away my anger. This has immensely reduced my irritable nature and ensures that I don’t start work on the wrong foot. I am keeping my temper under check and also learning the virtue of patience. By constantly talking to myself about restraint and self control I am discovering a newer side of me.



Finally, all said and done, you cannot teach old dog new tricks, so while I am well behaved when D is there, I do drive alone and if ever you hear me screaming “Saavugrakki, veetila solittu vanthuteya” don’t tell D.



Cheers!