“A lot can happen over a cup of coffee”. Yes, you are right. Its the tagline of a famous coffee joint. But I was amazed to see how this line will prove to be true for my life. Well not exactly, but little modified. A lot can happen in a tea break.
It was just an ordinary day, same work, same colleagues, same workstation & most importantly the same office. Me, Biswal & Ojha went down to have a cup of tea (the only refreshment in the monotonous software ordeal). The only time we could rest our straining fingers (due to excessive social networking & chats) & see the beauty of this nature (mostly from the office opposite to ours).
Suddenly Biswal told that “Me & Ojha are planning to learn driving & get a license before we leave Kolkata”. They were about to leave Kolkata soon. “We have called a person from the driving school & he will be arriving in any minute” he told. I had always nurtured the dream of driving a Merc or BMW. The main obstacle to it was my lack of driving knowledge (ignoring the fact that neither I own a Merc or BMW nor have the money to own it in future).
“I will learn too.” I told.
He came in a green old maruti 800 , the one model which is obsolete now a days. Since Ojha & Biswal were in a hurry to get the license he told them to get the required docs & photo on that day only. So my dear friends deserted me infront of the office gate & went inside to get the docs.
“We will start with you.” he told. “In the mean time they can get those docs”. “But I was here for a cup of tea only” I mumbled but my words seemed to be unheard by him. “we will start with the theory first & then we’ll start driving”. Have I heard theory? The word theory never sounded so beautiful. “ok” I replied. He asked me to get in the drivers seat & showed me the ABC of the car, the gear box & then the order came. “ok, now you start the car”. “Me? Are you kidding me? Why don’t we do a little more theory, I am good at that. What will happen to me now?” all those questions were pouncing on my head as I started the engine, pressed clutch, shifted to 1st gear, released the gear & finally closed my eyes. “Oh God , Please save me. why on earth did I told those devils that I want to learn driving?” But to my surprise the car kept on moving. My hands were folded in prayer, eyes shut closed in order to avoid the view of the car crashing into something or someone. “What should I do now? should I jump out of that small window or should I yell out for help? ” When I opened my eyes I saw the instructor operating the car. “Thank god they have an extra pair of clutch & brake in that car. Now I feel safe.” The next danger was just over the next turn. The main road. “Shouldn’t we practice in open field first & later hit the road?” I asked but my trainer denounced my suggestion. I could see buses, cars & even cycles & pedestrians overtaking my car as we were driving at a 5km/hr speed on the main road.
In a few classes confidence grew & 5 was changed to 15 to 25 to 30km/hr. Now I was able to overtake the cycles. Meanwhile Biswal & Ojha were taking the lesson too & as expected doing better than me. Every time they will tell me how the drove or what speed they took making me more miserable. “Guys, why me? why you are not picking someone of your own size? If you devils were not there in my life I wouldn’t have been struck here in the first place. Well classes went by, my number of mistakes kept on increasing. Car stopping in the traffic, continuous honking by others made me more & more nervous but still somehow I fought my way out of in those 15 days & got the most important lesson in driving. Its just “how to loose your clutch in five seconds”.
PS: Now I have passed the driving test & on the verge of getting the license. So now you can see how a tea break have changed my life. I just went for a cup of tea & returned with the knowledge of ABC extending to the addition of another photo id to my kitty.
It was just an ordinary day, same work, same colleagues, same workstation & most importantly the same office. Me, Biswal & Ojha went down to have a cup of tea (the only refreshment in the monotonous software ordeal). The only time we could rest our straining fingers (due to excessive social networking & chats) & see the beauty of this nature (mostly from the office opposite to ours).
Suddenly Biswal told that “Me & Ojha are planning to learn driving & get a license before we leave Kolkata”. They were about to leave Kolkata soon. “We have called a person from the driving school & he will be arriving in any minute” he told. I had always nurtured the dream of driving a Merc or BMW. The main obstacle to it was my lack of driving knowledge (ignoring the fact that neither I own a Merc or BMW nor have the money to own it in future).
“I will learn too.” I told.
He came in a green old maruti 800 , the one model which is obsolete now a days. Since Ojha & Biswal were in a hurry to get the license he told them to get the required docs & photo on that day only. So my dear friends deserted me infront of the office gate & went inside to get the docs.
“We will start with you.” he told. “In the mean time they can get those docs”. “But I was here for a cup of tea only” I mumbled but my words seemed to be unheard by him. “we will start with the theory first & then we’ll start driving”. Have I heard theory? The word theory never sounded so beautiful. “ok” I replied. He asked me to get in the drivers seat & showed me the ABC of the car, the gear box & then the order came. “ok, now you start the car”. “Me? Are you kidding me? Why don’t we do a little more theory, I am good at that. What will happen to me now?” all those questions were pouncing on my head as I started the engine, pressed clutch, shifted to 1st gear, released the gear & finally closed my eyes. “Oh God , Please save me. why on earth did I told those devils that I want to learn driving?” But to my surprise the car kept on moving. My hands were folded in prayer, eyes shut closed in order to avoid the view of the car crashing into something or someone. “What should I do now? should I jump out of that small window or should I yell out for help? ” When I opened my eyes I saw the instructor operating the car. “Thank god they have an extra pair of clutch & brake in that car. Now I feel safe.” The next danger was just over the next turn. The main road. “Shouldn’t we practice in open field first & later hit the road?” I asked but my trainer denounced my suggestion. I could see buses, cars & even cycles & pedestrians overtaking my car as we were driving at a 5km/hr speed on the main road.
In a few classes confidence grew & 5 was changed to 15 to 25 to 30km/hr. Now I was able to overtake the cycles. Meanwhile Biswal & Ojha were taking the lesson too & as expected doing better than me. Every time they will tell me how the drove or what speed they took making me more miserable. “Guys, why me? why you are not picking someone of your own size? If you devils were not there in my life I wouldn’t have been struck here in the first place. Well classes went by, my number of mistakes kept on increasing. Car stopping in the traffic, continuous honking by others made me more & more nervous but still somehow I fought my way out of in those 15 days & got the most important lesson in driving. Its just “how to loose your clutch in five seconds”.
PS: Now I have passed the driving test & on the verge of getting the license. So now you can see how a tea break have changed my life. I just went for a cup of tea & returned with the knowledge of ABC extending to the addition of another photo id to my kitty.
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