Cars, drivers and driving

   We managed to purchase a car from a family who will be leaving India in May.  We had wanted one far before this time but we looked high and low for a car that would fit our budget and requirements making a used car the only realistic option.  We had wanted to use the funds from our car sale in the US to purchase one here in India but with the bad winter in the states our car there did not sell until March, three months after we left.  We found a car to rent for a temporary ride but the size alone made it a joke to think about long term. 

    We called it a clown car, because when all five of us (yes the family rode in this plus the driver) piled out of our seats at our destination we looked like clowns unfolding from the corners of a small box.  One nice thing about the clown car was that the many street vendors who bang on your window to sell their wares would not persist at the windows of the clown car for long.  We physically looked like good targets with our clothes that look like a foreigner and out of place coloring but often they surveyed the car and bobbled their head from side to side then strolled onto their next best target.     
    The new car screams “sell to me”.  Clearly a foreigner’s car, the mini-van with window decals makes it an easy target for all street vendors at any stop light.  We have yet to purchase anything from a street seller except for a map early after our arrival here.  We keep the windows up at all times for safety, or that is what I say.  I don’t want the junk that is being sold and I have a sensitive sense of smell that often detects the scent of oil or tar or toxic from dollar store items and I would prefer not close these items inside my ‘windows up tight’ car.
     Hiring a driver has proven to be a challenge for me.  Our first driver came with the car we were renting and although he did not attend meetings for the directionally challenged, clearly he could have been accepted into that club.  He was the cause of my one weak moment when I purchased from a street vendor.  One day after making a few U-turns in an attempt to get to my husband’s office we were stuck at a traffic light and a man selling maps came to my window.  I believe in God and I felt he was a sign.  We were in the clown car and it was child proofed in the back seat so I could not put my window down.  I asked the driver to get a map.  The good thing there was he negotiated the price.  I bought a map for 50 rupees (equal to approximately one US dollar) and tried to make heads or tails of where we were.  I also get nauseous when I read in the car so I quickly gave up.  After we were safely home I offered the map to the directionally challenged driver but he was oddly not interested in knowing where we came from.  Possibly he did not have his reading glasses so looking at a map could have been a challenge.  We happened to negotiate our way out of accepting a driver with the rental car and tried to hire a driver for ourselves.  American Welcome Association

http://awadelhi.com/about.html  had a staff registry service that a person could use when we first arrived.  It is currently being combined with another service here in Delhi called Domstique  http://www.domesteq.com/  both services charge a fee, either one time or membership of sorts.

     Our first attempt at hiring a driver brought us a man who had some listening problems.  Not hearing problems that I am accustomed to dealing with in the deaf population but listening problems, slightly different.  Those with hearing problems can sometimes use an alternative communication such as sign language and still communicate with others.  Those with listening problems don’t listen, no matter the language spoke or written and for these individuals sign language is very limited.  He stayed with us for three months.  Our second attempt at hiring for ourselves we interviewed and did some test driving and even showed him a clear idea of what we expect, in writing.  Unfortunately what he told us during the interview and what his most recent previous employers stated were two different stories and it is really his past that is haunting him.  With the muddy references we have heeded their advice and we do not have this driver drive at night which is a strain on our lifestyle, especially the teenager who is constantly in need of asking for a ride from another friend.  We will keep this guy until June and then interview some of the many drivers who will be left behind as the mass exodus begins from the private schools in the Delhi area for the move to another country where their driver is not welcome to join the family.   From this new glut of drivers we are hoping that one family will gush about the driver and his skills and attitude and respect and everything that is nice to have in a driver and we will find a match for us and our new car.  Although it is hot and sometimes very dusty here in Delhi we are not holding our breath.

     Our new car has automatic transition and the mister and I went through the long and painful process of getting a driver’s license here in India.    If need be we could (by we I mean the mister) drive ourselves but driving is much different here in India.  Lines in general mean nothing to anyone, anywhere except to possibly guess someone’s age.  Unless one is making a 90 degree turn left or right blinkers are not necessary and even when turning left or right they are only an option.  If there is a gap and your car might fit in it that is where you belong.  The lines on the road mean nothing.  The line of cars at a light or congestion means nothing, but if your car might fit in the gap, that is where you belong.  On Sundays because of the limited number of cars on the road we have ventured out for a bit of family exploring, but only to locations we are familiar with.  Many stores are closed on Sundays and it is generally just a slower day all around, so it is a nice day to try our sea legs at driving (by our I mean the mister).  I might just try driving for a short bit, just to see if I still remember how to do it.  Although for me it is all backwards.  India cars have right side drive and traffic flows on the left side of the road, again this is optional.  It is all opposite from what I am familiar with.  But I am obviously not familiar with hiring a good driver either so what do I have to loose except for my perfect driving record (perfect by India standards that is).