Learning the alphabets. All of you knew the alphabets before you got into school. This however did not help Subash as he had to start off with Malay as the medium of instruction. However he was a fast learner and there were kind teachers like Chegu Ghaffar who helped him from the beginning. Of course he used to brag about the elder bother Ramesh whose name was etched in the best student board displayed in the hall. During my younger days it was a different experience. We used to identify alphabets thru car number plates. There were few cars then; we had A for Pk, W for Pg and Province Wellesley and S for Selangor. While I and Naina were engaged in this game a careless driver knocked into me paid RM10/- to Naina and bolted from the scene. That put me in Hospital for 40
days. I still have a scar of 3” in my right calf to remind me of the incident. When an inquiry was held both of us did not recognize the make of the car or the number plate. Our statements confirmed we were at fault. That was how innocent we were. But Ava told me I recited the alphabets while at the Hospital and I earned praises from the nurses and fellow patients.
After my Higher School Certificate examination, I was appointed as a labour officer. This job paid well enough that I could finally afford a car for work. It involved a fair amount of travelling, the allowances for which could well cover my petrol bills. This first car was a second hand Volkswagen 1200, reg. AF 1085 in white. However I had just learnt driving and was not confident in taking out the car for my duties. So for the first few weeks, a friend of mine agreed to be a co-driver while I learnt to drive in my neighbourhood. Once I gained confidence, I told my friend that I was confident and he need not assist me while I drove around. The first day of independent driving, I reversed into a child’s tricycle. Fortunately the child had abandoned the bike in my driveway and went away to look for other pursuits that drew her attention. There was a dent to the rear of my vehicle that would require some money to have it fixed back into its original shape. ...
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