One Two ka Four

After struggling with driving around in Bangalore traffic in a car for over a year, I recently got back to my original machine, the Honda Dio.
Whenever I was behind the wheels of my Wagon R, I used to reminisce about the good 'ol days of the 2-wheeler when I could feel the wind on my face, (for a looooong time, I always drove the car with the window down to get a feel of the wind coz I just could not make out how fast I was going otherwise!! and no, I wouldn't look at the speedometer at the cost of getting my eyes off the road for even a second.) and back to the original sentence again,
.... I used to reminisce about the good 'ol days of the 2-wheeler when I could feel the wind on my face, being able to zig zag and cut, doing that weird curve on InnerRing road without reducing the speed, going through those small gullies where a car wouldn't dream of even trying, knowing exactly how much space I would need to make a turn, using the left/right mirror and knowing exactly how far/close to me the next bike is, cursing people with fat cars (yes, u read that right- I mean come on, people driving Taveras and Scorpios alone and blocking so much of the road, yeah, I had a warped sense of logic back then ;)), the feel of rain on my face and the look on all the other bike-people (who would have stopped under a tree or some shelter) when I would be the only one driving in the rain at 60-70... now those were the good old days, sigh !
And as luck would have, some one must have heard all my cribbing and gave me a chance to relive those days !
First things first, I drove around extra carefully for fear of having forgotten the art of driving like a college-goer. I realised that my bike wasn't what it used to be, the brakes work when they feel like, my using them isn't incentive enough! And that actually scared me !! The left mirror isn't there anymore (must make a note to ask B what happened ), so when I need to make a left turn, I have to twist my head around and risk losing control!!
Going out now isn't the simple matter of turning the house upside down for the house keys anymore, I now have to gear up, A jacket (to keep the grime and pollution from getting on my clothes, I NEVER said anything about suntan!! ), a headscarf (most helmet users swear by it) and the Helmet(which leaves my hair looking like an elephant sat on my had and flattened it out) .
I feel the wind on my face, I start to hum a song ... And then the troubles start ...
The first thing is, loss of personal space, a car gives you a sense of protection against the road and the people on it, I can roll up the windows and cut out the outer world completely. I have other bikers zipping so close by me almost touching me but cutting out in the last minute and it is at the worst in bumper-to-bumper traffic(and my bike doesn't even have a bumper!! )
The next thing is fear, I know now that even a little jolt will cause immediate bodily harm.The other day, some car dude kept inching forward from a side road onto the main road where traffic was stationary and so was yours truly, there I was minding my own business, waiting for the traffic to move and suddenly my world faces an earthquake, I am thrown half out of the bike - the car guy just decided to move forward to where God alone knows - A nudge of the car and the bike got a jolt. And he just looked away like nothing happened !!
Now, if mine was a car, all I would have to worry about would be repainting, if that.Thankfully it wasn't moving traffic and I didn't fall into any oncoming vehicle's path, but just imagine how vulnerable a two-wheeler actually is.
And the other pain is getting stuck behind an auto which spews out chemicals enough to kill a city and its all directed into your face, no windows to roll up or turn the ac on here. Talking of a/c , when its hot, its HOT, I get to office nowadays reeking of extra perfume just to cover the side effects of sweating !!
And the final straw is ID verification at the office, the same security guys who used to smile and welcome me in now gruffly say "Helmet utharo madam" after looking at my ID and then peer into the id and then my face, nod and only then can I go.
Oh, I am famous among the security guys in my office coz I am one of the few lady drivers and the only one who needed an office cabbie to park the car for her :) As soon as I used to enter the gates, at least one guy used to stay with my car till I parked it right for almost 3 months :)
I guess I miss my car, but I don't miss searching like crazy for parking spots, I don't miss having to go at the speed of the big fat bus covering the whole road in front of me, I miss listening to the music and the comfort of the car ...
I am confused now, I am not sure if I want to drive the car or the Dio ... I guess, I like a bit of both and can go to the garage and decide what I feel like using today and take offfffffffffffffffffffffff ....