Herby – A relationship for miles and miles to go

Chapter 1 

Some time in 1997 –  The train chugs into Lucknow Station after a long really long journey 29 hours from Chennai. After my window seat experiences of being a little kid watching the tracks and train go clickety clack and to add to the icing , I was going to see my father in vacation time and this time its special because we have a Car . Stepping out of the station I see this little white gleaming maruti 800 bearing the registration DL3C F 7596. Like a kid bursting with energy , I asked what’s with the Delhi registration . Soon I was in the back seat being driven back home.

Thus begins the story of a car and the journey along with it .A car which saw through our different phases of life right from the first argument between mum and dad on it being crashed into a wall , the next time being driven into a Corsa by myself and yet came trudging along every transfer of ours across states. The car now has a name and is called Herby and I will be referring to car as him because today he is probably the only non living thing which speaks with me and vice versa . Sounds mad ? , well lets put it this way , for some a car is just a medium of transportation , takes people places and put you in a different strata of society oh the so called upper middle class. To me he is a friend an other side of me none have seen or will know until today .

I must admit , that I too was like that recognising the car as a machine which elevated our status symbol at the age of 14.And today when I think of the things I have done with Herby over the period of years , I only wonder and say , he sure put up with me and my tantrums. Back in Lucknow to the year 1997 m herby was maruti 800 bought second-hand from the company , a 1996 model 800cc engine and the perfect family car. The car that took us places, fun frolic , could take 8 people with 2 siting in the dikky with rear hatch open . Ahh well those were the days , the days when used to have dinner at 10 , run to the only Baskin Robbins in Lucknow at 12 AM midnight to have ice cream. My dad was a simple man and thus Herby did’nt get any fancy stereos or Air conditioning and till date doesn’t have the air conditioning or any sort of sun film .With the family being travel junkies , herby soon too followed along with us in the travelling sprit ,Herby has been driven to Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi Jaipur, Ranthanbore, Sariska, Mumbai, Pune Mahableshwar and then what we thought was the final run to Hyderabad .

Hyderabad is where my love for Herby begins , where man and machine truly talked to each other and Yes I do believe that cars do talk to you and are your perfect companions.

Reaching Hyderabad in 2005 from Mumbai , was my first stint with Herby over long distance when I accompanied my dad in driving it down . Of course I did start driving in Mumbai when I turned 16 .

                                                                                                            To be continued