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MirrorFixes-It
When dreams come true!
Go ahead and make a wish, we will fulfil it for you. Every Sunday.
Hummer aapke hain koun?
Sreehari Nair wished to ride in a Hummer. We requested Ronit Roy, who owns one, to fulfill his wish. Sreehari tells his story
Iam what you'd loosely call 'automobile-crazy'. The only reason my room isn't plastered with posters of cars and bikes is that my father is strict about these things; hence I keep pictures of my favourite cars on my computer desktop. Remember the movie Awara, Paagal Deewana? That was where I had seen a Hummer for the first time - and what a sight it was.
Taking a drive in a Hummer was a dream I'd held on to since last year, until I wrote to Mumbai Mirror. Before I knew it, I was on my way with a Mirror journalist to meet Ronit Roy at Cinevista Studios, where he was shooting. Ronit greeted me and asked his driver to get the Hummer out. Now here's some trivia - though Ronit's car was silver-grey, Hummers are often painted yellow as it makes them look larger in size. Originally meant to be a military car, the latest model H3, which Ronit owns, is a six-cylinder one and had been designed for commercial use.
We got into the car. With the door shut behind me I was automatically transported to a rugged terrain with mounds of sand in the background and a tough road in front of me. Barring the sand dunes, my imagination wasn't too far from reality, thanks to Mumbai's roads.
Peering out of the narrow windows and windscreen, I felt I was inside a Patton Tank. "When did you buy the Hummer?" I asked Ronit.
"Last August. Though I think I've crossed the age for driving one. This one was more of a "heart" buy, I just couldn't resist buying it," Ronit replied. He added, "A Hummer is not really a family car. My daughter loves my BMW, but my son likes this one more."
"What's its engine power?" I asked him. "3000 cc," he said. Wow!
I stared at the gigantic rearview mirrors and wondered if this mammoth was going to make it through a narrow lane ahead. I was in for a surprise, it miraculously did. We drove via IIT Powai to Hiranandani and we had quite a few heads turning. "Have you been on any adventurous trips in this car?" I asked Ronit. "I've just been on the Pune Expressway at a speed of 180 kms per hour," he replied. "My passion for cars goes back a long way and my dream car would be the Aston Martin DB7. Last year, someone ran a screwdriver through the bonnet of my BMW, for no reason. I couldn't understand why anyone would do that," said Ronit.
I could relate to his feelings. Soon we were back at the Studio and it was time to thank Ronit for the best ride of my life. "Thanks, the ride was so smooth," I said. "Oh, then you must sit in my BMW next time," said Ronit.
Shot at 2009-02-08
Shot at 2009-02-08
