A halted chariot on the road

Road congestion is on the rise in smart city, Hubballi.

Road congestion is on the rise in our smart city, Hubballi. But quite paradoxically, I prefer driving my four-wheeler over a scooter. Why, you wonder, when a two-wheeler may
be quicker?

I choose the slower pace inside the car, navigating the chaotic roads like a warship, rather than risking somersaults over potholes or being crushed by speeding, reckless drivers when I ride a two-wheeler on the crazy roads. The drivers here follow no lanes; there is no left or right; they take only the middle path.

On rare occasions when the warship, our car, is resting and unavailable and I must traverse narrow lanes, I am forced to borrow my husband’s chariot, the heavily built scooter. But before venturing out, I make sure to round off a statutory checklist. That is non-negotiable. One day, I asked my husband, “Is there enough petrol?” He replied in the affirmative. Do the brakes work? “Of course!” came the terse reply.

Horn? An irritated “Yes, yes!” was delivered. Since it was during the day and it was bright, I skipped asking about headlights.

This thorough check stems from a past experience where one of these points failed me at the right moment.

As it was quite early in the morning, the traffic was yet to pick up, and I happily drove along the pot-filled road. Midway through, I saw a schoolgirl waving at me and asking for a drop. Although I was running behind schedule, I could not refuse her. I slowed down, but her destination did not match mine, but she requested a drop a kilometre away, much closer to her destination. I obliged and asked her to climb gently onto the mighty vehicle.

Balancing as she climbed on, I was all ready to speed off, but the engine fell silent. Once again, I balanced bravely as she climbed down, and I looked around for help as the auto-start refused to work. An auto driver looking at my plight came to my rescue and helped kick start it, but the engine wouldn’t rev up. This went on for some time, and I almost decided to hire the auto to take us to our respective destinations, but the engine revved up. I dropped the girl, all the time anxiously managing both the brake and the accelerator.

Back home, listening to my narration of the ordeal, the better half calmly said, “There is a problem. When the speed is reduced, the engine dies down. It wasn’t on your checklist, so I didn’t warn you.” It’s on the checklist now.