Soumya discusses driving and political orientation with wit – exclusively for Different Truths.
When I was a teenager, I greatly admired the Marxist revolutionary movements that I read about, be it Vietnam, Cuba, Telangana or Naxalbari. Ideologically I went from Pink to Red to bright Crimson.
Then, following Shaw’s dictum with age, I was disillusioned, and the colour faded till it turned saffron.
My younger daughter is deep red in her sympathies today and firmly believes in Fannon, Foucault and Derrida. But she’s not yet 25, so Shaw’s hypothesis may still hold.
After sticking to public transportation for a long time for ideological reasons, she is recently learning to drive.
After sticking to public transportation for a long time for ideological reasons, she is recently learning to drive.
But her one driving quirk is that the car tends to veer to the left.
The other day, when I was driving, to avoid an apparently suicidal cyclist trying to overtake me from the left at a roundabout, ignoring my signal, I veered right, hitting the curb.
My elder daughter’s views are more rationally centrist and sometimes mediate in heated family political debates …
My elder daughter’s views are more rationally centrist and sometimes mediate in heated family political debates. She commented, “It looks like your ideological orientations have physically manifested in your driving styles.”
Picture design by Anumita Roy, Different Truths
Soumya Mukherjee is an alumnus of St Stephens College and Delhi School of Economics. He earns his daily bread by working for a PSU Insurance company, and lectures for peanuts. His other passions, family, friends, films, travel, food, trekking, wildlife, music, theater, and occasionally, writing. He has been published in many national newspapers of repute. He has published his first novel, Memories, a novella, hopefully, the first of his many books. He blogs as well.
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Interesting! I’m thinking of how the saffron leftists with their swadeshi baggage, and then the greenest vegans would drive; and if the left or right hand drive options can be provided in cars for those who change their political ideologies on the go!