I was 6 when my dad first taught me how to ride a bicycle. I had a BSA Champ & every evening my dad would hold my bike n run with me while I pedaled faster. I had fun making him pant for his breath :D One fine day, just like any other day, he let me ride the bike & started running with me. I started talking & kept pedaling faster, a little later when I did not hear any response, I turned around, only to find him standing far behind, got scared I landed in a thorn bush. A lesson well learnt :D
After many yrs it was time for me to start driving my dad’s scooter n his turn to give me gyan on the nuances of a Chetak. You need to tilt the scooter on your right, so that the fuel flows to the engine & your Chetak can be a real Chetak [King Prathap’s horse] in just a single kick. He also told how to slowly release the clutch while raising the accelerator so the engine doesn’t turn off & how to put the stand without having to do a weight balancing act with the heavy Bajaj.
Time flew & soon I had my hand on the 5 wheeler... the steering wheel of the car. My dad owned an antique Fiat which had a hand gear. I always had the feeling of driving a covered scooter. To apply for a license, he put me in a driving class. But unfortunately the teacher was more like my dad’s guru. He used to come to my place by 6 in the morning, I was the first one to be picked up, then we would go pick other students & each of us got out chance behind the wheel for not more than 15 mins. The teacher loved his old Maruthi800 so much that he would never let us apply the brakes, but would do it himself with his controls, hold the steering wheel for every sharp turn. He would yell at us for slamming the door & eat our heads for each mistake we made. Fun times never end.
Today even after more than 10 yrs, my dad is still disappointed that I’m not a good driver :D You should never cut off the engine, avoid the smallest of the pits, stones, speed breakers, keep going on 3rd gear w/o pressing gas, maintain a speed < style="mso-spacerun: yes"> The fun part is it’s not just me who gets all the free advice, but the cotravellers on the road get them too. [If you know what I mean] Becoming a good driver in my dad’s eye is a distant dream!!
