Thursday, February 19, 2009

Driving lessons for Aubergine

We have ridden in a variety of Rickshaws over the past 3 weeks. Some are bigger, there is room for 4 on the back seat plus luggage, some are smaller and one of us gets to share the driver’s seat. Today we were in one of the smaller ones which had been blinged to the max by the young driver. There were bits of cable conduit used to decorate the seat supports. The entire interior was upholstered in red and black vinyl complete with trim and Ferrari stickers. The rear window was a transfer of a Moderna and it had a triangular exhaust. On the return journey from Jew Town, Leonie was seated next to the driver and this is where the story begins. Mr Schummacher (let's call him this) passed the controls to a very excited 10 year old and let her steer and control the throttle. Once she had got the idea, the rest of the journey was spent to a chorus of "Slow Downs!" from the rear and shrieks of laughter from the front. We sped through the traffic, zipping round a roundabout in total disregard for other users of the road (read earlier post on how to drive in India) into a side street where Mr S started to apply the breaks. 3 speed bumps latter we disembarked from a still vibrating machine onto the mercifully stable pavement. I think we have found an opening in India for little Leonie should she ever need a job in India. My only worry is that she will put the cause of road safety back 10 years.

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