17th July, 2012. Just another warm summer morning, another day in the calendar. Not for me, it wasn't. I was to take a flight back to Coimbatore and start my second year in Engineering; but that's not what this is about. The alarm went off at 5.30 AM; any other day, I would've put it on snooze. But not then. I got up, got ready in 20 minutes and took off on the Scooty (which couldn't be much faster than a cycle, but I had no choice). The wind was quite cold for a summer morning in Chennai. A few minutes later, I found myself standing at the entrance of Sri Raj Driving School, wearing formals, hair neatly combed.
Yes, I had my license test in a few hours. I walked in and found around 15 people cramped into a single room, the size of which was less than a Tempo-Traveler. The instructor called each of us, gave us the necessary instructions and checked if our details were right. Then we all followed him to some ground in K.K. Nagar. It was quite big, and a lot of people were practicing driving. I was confident of getting the four-wheeler license, but two-wheeler was another story - I had never ridden a bike before, and I had practiced the 8 they make us do only once, in a Kinetic.
Once it was 9.30, a few people in white-and-white entered the field. Order was established almost in an instant, and I realized that they were the inspectors who were to certify our driving. They first called me for the two-wheeler test. Although it wasn't how it should be done, I made the 8 in a Honda Activa. Simple enough to get me a P. Then came the car. Something I saw slightly withered my confidence - we had to drive a Maruti 800, and I practiced driving in a Santro Xing - it had power steering and power brakes. I was given a chance to drive before the test, and I made good use of it and got myself somewhat acquainted with it. Other people from my driving school were so bad, and they still passed. This boosted my confidence back to normal.
Finally, my turn had come. The inspector was an old man, probably ready for retirement. He poked his very shiny head out of the car and asked me to come in. I did what was necessary, followed his instructions and drove neatly. Once I stopped, he told me, "இண்ணும் கொஞ்சம் practice பன்னனும் தம்பி." (You need more practice, boy). There was no necessity for such a comment, and it made me feel uneasy. I got off and had a feeling that something was wrong. "You did great," said one of my fellow students (?), a middle-aged woman who had no hope of getting the license.
An hour later, when everyone else had completed their tests, the instructor brought the papers. The uneasiness was still in me, and I was hoping that my instincts were wrong. So I waited patiently for my name to come. "Arun, failed." My instincts were right, something definitely wasn't right here. People who couldn't start the car got a P and yet I got a -2."Come back in two weeks," the instructor said, and I nodded politely and left.
My parents were more dejected than I was; actually, I wasn't dejected at all! I knew I deserved to pass and all that, but somehow my system was ready to accept defeat. I left for college, got jeered at for not passing it, took it lightly, came back a month later and got the license, like a boss ( B) ). And so, as it is famously known among my friends in my hostel, I passed the license test in the "supple" exam!
Yes, I had my license test in a few hours. I walked in and found around 15 people cramped into a single room, the size of which was less than a Tempo-Traveler. The instructor called each of us, gave us the necessary instructions and checked if our details were right. Then we all followed him to some ground in K.K. Nagar. It was quite big, and a lot of people were practicing driving. I was confident of getting the four-wheeler license, but two-wheeler was another story - I had never ridden a bike before, and I had practiced the 8 they make us do only once, in a Kinetic.
Once it was 9.30, a few people in white-and-white entered the field. Order was established almost in an instant, and I realized that they were the inspectors who were to certify our driving. They first called me for the two-wheeler test. Although it wasn't how it should be done, I made the 8 in a Honda Activa. Simple enough to get me a P. Then came the car. Something I saw slightly withered my confidence - we had to drive a Maruti 800, and I practiced driving in a Santro Xing - it had power steering and power brakes. I was given a chance to drive before the test, and I made good use of it and got myself somewhat acquainted with it. Other people from my driving school were so bad, and they still passed. This boosted my confidence back to normal.
Finally, my turn had come. The inspector was an old man, probably ready for retirement. He poked his very shiny head out of the car and asked me to come in. I did what was necessary, followed his instructions and drove neatly. Once I stopped, he told me, "இண்ணும் கொஞ்சம் practice பன்னனும் தம்பி." (You need more practice, boy). There was no necessity for such a comment, and it made me feel uneasy. I got off and had a feeling that something was wrong. "You did great," said one of my fellow students (?), a middle-aged woman who had no hope of getting the license.
An hour later, when everyone else had completed their tests, the instructor brought the papers. The uneasiness was still in me, and I was hoping that my instincts were wrong. So I waited patiently for my name to come. "Arun, failed." My instincts were right, something definitely wasn't right here. People who couldn't start the car got a P and yet I got a -2."Come back in two weeks," the instructor said, and I nodded politely and left.
My parents were more dejected than I was; actually, I wasn't dejected at all! I knew I deserved to pass and all that, but somehow my system was ready to accept defeat. I left for college, got jeered at for not passing it, took it lightly, came back a month later and got the license, like a boss ( B) ). And so, as it is famously known among my friends in my hostel, I passed the license test in the "supple" exam!
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| Like a boss B) |
