Let this be a lesson to you.

Ever since I wrote about my love for Hyderabadi traffic, I have not been feeling like myself on the roads.

I am quite edgy, have been making more mistakes than usual...basically not driving well. And that pisses me off. I am angry with myself. And it all came to a head on a wonderful long drive on a beautifully overcast afternoon Saturday last.

I had my first accident with Michelle.

While this is criminal in itself, she took it very well, I must say. And it was all the fault of dogs and mangoes. There was an ugly dog putting its head out of the window of the car in front of us. Unfortunately, to me, dogs are dogs - ALWAYS awww material. So as I accelerated to get abreast of the car, so I could gawk, a mango-seller somewhere decided he would push his cart from the side of the road onto the middle of the road. When one is at the receiving end of such amazing fortune, one is too flabbergasted to ask for logic. You can almost see this unfolding in split-screen Guy Ritchie style.

All those people salivating at the prospect of watching Tamil film style bike hitting, man flying, mangoes everywhere, and chubby heroines rushing immediately to roll about in aforementioned mangoes may now proceed to eat crow. Cos that ain't what happened.

The guy on the scooter in front slowed down because of the vendor, I was accelerating, looking at the damn dog (damn my love for dogs! dammit!), and I rear-ended him. There was huge noise, pieces of plastic everywhere, and a numbness enveloped me. It is true - everything seems to slow down at such moments. Maybe it's a sub-conscious defence mechanism. I must've been going at about 50 or 60, but the best part was the brakes. They worked superbly. I didn't even fall. Of course, a small crowd gathered while I was checking my bike for damage. The other guy didn't get hurt or anything either, his scooter just lost its rear light, and had a few dents and scratches.

When he came up to me, I said he slowed down, what was I to do? He said he didn't and left me without a response. Then, luckily, he mentioned the mango seller, and I pounced. So obviously, it's not my fault is it? You DID slow down, and I'm sorry and all that but it isn't my fault. He accepted, and it was all, amazingly, settled quite amicably. M says my new look looks quite aggressive (heh heh), so maybe that helped. And confidence. It's all about confidence. In an accident situation, never be the first to get flustered or angry. Of course, I was partly in the wrong here, but not entirely. If I was, I would have offered to pay for damages. If it was entirely the other person's fault, he woulda HAD it from me. Both parties, including bystanders, agreed it was nobody's 'fault'.

What was most surprising to me was the apparent lack of damage to Michelle. I just suspect some internal damage to the fork, and later I found the crashguard bent. But that was about it. Honda rocks, baby. I love it!

Michelle, darling, it's been a wonderful 6 months. I'm sorry and I will make it up to you. :-)