Gul Panag just hates hearing that women can't drive
WHO: Gul Panag
WHAT: Talking about her drive
WHERE: Driving around her locality in Versova
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High four
When I was just 12, my dad would ask me to check his car's battery, oil and reverse it from our garage daily. This was the high point in my life. And reversing a car from an army garage is no small deal. At 17, I got my learner's license in Chandigarh. Frankly, what first drew my attention to Miss India was the lure of winning a car! When I won the crown, I also got an Indica and was thrilled to bits. I even had it with me as late as three years back. I bought the BMW because I wanted a car which I'd enjoy driving. So most of the time, my driver gets chauffeured around town. I only sit in the back if I have calls to make, mails to answer or if too much is on my mind. I even have a Scorpio that I take out on weekends.
Kickstarting the ride
My cousin who had an Enfield taught me how to ride a bike when I was in college. At first, he refused to teach me, since The Enfield is a heavy bike, but later relented to my pestering. Being in the army, he was frequently posted, so he left the Enfield behind for me. When I would ride it through the campus, people would salute me for months on end thinking I'm an officer passing by!
My mean machines
I have a BMW F 650 Funduro parked in my parent's garage in Delhi. It is not a racing bike as I'm not a speed junkie. I also own this Royal Enfield, Thumper. You can ride on an Enfield for eight-nine hours without experiencing any backache. I went to Uttarkhand's Kumaon Hills from Delhi on my Enfield with a few friends; it was one of the most beautiful biking experiences. Four years back, I rode on my BMW F 650 all the way to Ladakh. But the spoiler was when I lost control and fell while trying to park it, just after reaching our destination.
In the driver's seat
If there's a car driving slowly ahead of you, people will say 'ladki chala rahi hogi'! I so don't like it. It's just conditioning! It is actually the men in the house who destroy a woman's confidence. And considering that 90 per cent of the time the vehicle is owned by the men in our families, the women tend to lose confidence easily.
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