This is my life's wonderful experience of learning to drive a Scooty at the age of thirty. I was just eight years old when I first learned to ride a bicycle. For three years continuously I and my cousins went to a cycle shop and brought cycles on rent of fifty paise per hour every Saturday and Sunday. These were the only days when we were allowed for cycling. We always enjoyed this because it gave us so much joy that we used to forget all our stress, sadness and other stuff. This really made our weekend.
My family is an orthodox family. One day my father said that now you are in class Eight and you should have the responsibility for your studies and also help your mother in the kitchen. For that, you will have to stop going for cycling on the weekends and learn some household work with the help of your mother. For me, it was really very difficult to agree that. But I couldn't deny my father's order and I had to leave cycling. This really made me feel so unhappy that I didn't perform well during my Eighth Exams. Anyhow, I passed my Tenth Board Exams with only sixty-two percentage. Later on, my father said that till Tenth you have studied and this is enough and no need to pursue further studies because in our family no girl child was allowed for higher education.
At the age of nineteen I got married and settled well but one of my pending dream was to ride a Scooty. I told my husband that I often see in my dreams that I am riding a Scooty. He said you should fulfill your dreams and he really helped in pursuing studies further and also he bought me a new Scooty. For me, it was really a dream come true. But at that time I thought that I had left cycling long back and how will I be able to balance the Scooty. Then my husband really supported me and he just taught me to drive within a week. It made me so happy. I am not dependent on anyone, now my aim is to learn a four wheeler. So learning can happen in any age.
Kavitha Devda
Educator at The Fabindia School
Educator at The Fabindia School
Email kda4fab@gmail.com