The day was October 3,2008,Friday.My Clock reads 17:30 IST. Just done with my packing,of course the dirty clothes and my two sets of new dresses which am gonna wear for the function.As usual waiting for a girl is pain,no matter whether she s your lover or friend or mom or sister.This time i was kept waited by my better half , the dentist.
I have booked the tickets in advance(to Tirupur) so as to avoid the last minute hassels.The usual shuttle which runs between adayar and CMBT was cancelled.So we were looking for an auto to ferry us.Negotiating with auto drivers is always a skill which i rate as significant as flirting with a girl(boy).I dont have that skill,my better half is better than me in this aspect.Finally we got one auto to CMBT by 18:15.Our bus was scheduled to depart by 21:30.Even if we opted for a Chennai Metro bus service we would have reached in time,but as usual lazyness and the Software Engineer within me prevented us from taking the Metro.
This auto driver was very soft spoken,in his early twenties.But the auto was in a real bad condition,this vehicle has lost its indicator to some accident,a lot of dent in the body.I thought this junk yard vehicle is never gonna cross twenty miles per hour and i m not supposed to have any fun on my transit to CMBT. I was proved wrong and i admit that Appearance is deceptive.
Things went usual till Vadapalani Signal.One more Auto just stopped near our auto.Both drivers winked at each other and greeted.This is not a uncommon behaviour between two auto drivers,ofcourse they belong to the same breed.Both the drivers made some quick exchanges with their palms.Only God knows wat those signs meant.Later i realized that it was a signal for the heart throbbing race.
When the signal turned green both auto drivers show cased their driving skills.It was more like a Need for Speed-Auto to me.The race lasted just two minutes till the next signal,but the twist and the high speed turns i experienced during those two minutes was fascinating.Arti thought that she's never gonna make it for the function and started praying all the God's she can remember-:)
Eventually our auto won the unofficial race and the winning driver was given some money by the other one.This happened in a real quick fashion that nobody can notice wats happening.At the next signal the auto's diverged in different directions.Our driver just turned back and gave a guys-Still-Alive-look?He explained later that there is a separate pool of auto drivers who drive auto just for these races.Usually these races are schedule in the early morning ,around 4-6 AM.The Race length is usually a straight 1km-2km Stretch.These were the official races and they play for money.The Bet amount can vary from 1000-15000 max.
The one we experienced was an unofficial race and he said something which relates to AeroDynamics.I cannot believe that an Auto Driver can think of Aero Dynamics.His little brother was working in a mechanic shop and he used to modify the Auto for his elder brother.
No Pit Lanes,No Safety Cars,No Defined Circuit,No Crew but still a race happened and i m lucky enough to experience one.
Cheers,16.01.26.07
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