‘It helped me build my career’

I was always comfortable behind the wheel and learnt to drive when I was young. My family owned a car, but I always dreamt of purchasing my own.

That opportunity arrived in the third year of college. I used to write and direct plays and occasionally act in them in college and outside as well. It began as a hobby and started in the first year of Engineering. I enjoyed it a lot and this helped me fulfil my dream of getting my first set of wheels. It took two years for me to save up money, but it was totally worth the effort.

I bought a second-hand white Maruti 800 and was thrilled beyond words. I decided to surprise my parents, so took the car home and parked it in the garage. Later that night, my dad came home and began enquiring with the neighbours about it. I spilled the beans then. They were very happy. I remember going on a long drive with my parents, zipping through the relatively empty streets of Bengaluru. It was a small car, but for me, it was no less than an Audi or BMW. I strutted around in the car all over campus.

The car was special in many ways and held many firsts. It was the first durable thing I bought with the money earned from theatre, it was the car in which I went to the airport while leaving for my masters in America, and was the first car I used to drive to college. It always holds a special place in my heart, since it was bought from the money I earned by working on my passion project. I feel it helped me build my career.

I graduated to an iI0 in a few years, but the small Maruti 800 still holds a special place in my heart.

— As told to Nikhil Varma