Part 1
Maan Singh Khurana flinched.
There was no gainsaying it… Maan Singh Khurana flinched.
Closing his eyes, he mocked at himself as he remembered his bold, brave, careless words.
Foolish words that he was being made to eat now, he thought self-deprecatingly.
"Maan Singh Khurana ko kisi bhi cheez se ghabrahat nahi hoti…"
Yeah, right... that was before he had met Geet Handa.
Geet Handa. A chit of a girl who had single-handedly turned his well-ordered life upside down… without the slightest effort on her part, he added bitterly to himself.
And so here he was, having given in to the pleading in those ridiculously large, soft almond-shaped hazel eyes… eyes that had lit up the moment he had acquiesced.
He groaned inwardly as he thought, he really needed to stop giving in every time those eyes looked at him - smilingly, accusingly, pleadingly or…or…anything-ly.
He just needed to stop giving in. Period.
…Coz Geet Handa… Geet Handa would soon drive him mad.
'Drive' being the operative word!
And so here he was, for the first time since the age of sixteen, strapped into the passenger seat in the front of a car,
And it wasn't just a car - it was the car, his car.
His sleek, glossy, black, beautiful car; his beloved Maybach 62S*, his only gift to himself!
With its smooth ebony curves, which he had spent hours polishing lovingly, not trusting the driver with them; its exquisite engineering, which he had spent precious hours understanding, learning, mastering, tinkering around all the time; its feel… oh the glorious feel, the exhilaration, the warmth, when he was at the wheel. It was like a part of him, responding to his every thought at the slightest touch. From the hand to the steering wheel, from the accelerator to the foot that pedaled it, it was one person. One person that ruled the roads, ripped** each territory, reveled in that adrenaline rush, one person......
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!
Maan flinched. Rudely woken up from his reverie, his eyes flew open…
"Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet…" Maan hissed out, squirming inwardly as the grinding, protesting sound tore through both the car and the owner!
"How many times have I told you, don't brake so suddenly and don't press the brake without pressing the clutch; it will wear out the parts!!"
"Maan, woh... there was this li'l puppy that ran across all of a sudden… and in my nervousness, I just forgot everything and braked…" protested Geet, somewhat guiltily.
She'd better learn all this fast, coz she could see Maan's patience wearing just a bit thin!
Then, defiantly… fine, so she was a beginner, everybody makes mistakes, hai na Babaji? she thought indignantly…
Even Maan wouldn't have been born perfect, would he… or would he have...? Actually, she wouldn't have put it past him… it just wasn't fair, Geet thought gloomily.
However, she squared her shoulders, getting back her never-say-die attitude, she would show him, of course she would learn, she was a Hoshiarpur girl, and hadn't she been one of the few who knew how to ride a bike..? And anyway, it wasn't her fault; she had just been saving that poor pup. Ha! Geet thought with a martial light in her eye.
"Geeeeet", repeated Maan exasperatedly, "how many times have I told you, animals have a natural instinct, they will always move out of the way automatically, as long as you're not hurtling down the road, which…" he said, checking the Speedometer needle, stubbornly refusing to move beyond 15kmph, "…you won't be doing for another hundred years, the rate you're going at…" he ended caustically.
"Haan so what," rallied Geet, her fighting spirit well and truly aroused. "Dad used to tell me, better safe than sorry… so if you'll just get off your high horse and focus on the job here, we could get a move on…" she flashed, with her chin decidedly up!
Take a deeeep breath, Maaan, count till ten… yes you can do it…attaboy!
"Fine…" Maan literally grated out through his teeth, "let's begin afresh shall we? Switch off the ignition and start again…"
Geet looked at him triumphantly, before starting the ignition…
Maan continued… "Now remember, press the clutch with your left foot, put the car into the first gear, then gently… remember gently release the clutch and at the same time press the accelerator with your right foot. Smoothly, slowly…"
Clutch pressed, gear changed from neutral to first, clutch released…
Chug…chug… cough… cough…the engine stalled, spluttered and finally died!
Silence.
Too fast, I released the clutch too fast… thought Geet ruefully, looking at Maan sheepishly with an apologetic twinkle in her hazel eyes!
Maan rolled his eyes heavenward, sending up a silent entreaty. It was going to be a tough day. A lesson to be learnt… in patience, tolerance!
Sigh!
*Creative liberty taken with the brand of the car!
**Guy-speak for going full throttle!
comment:
p_commentcount