Though we were 3 siblings- brother, sister and me, the youngest- we always considered ourself 4 in the family, the fourth being our dear Volkswagon Beetle Car. The Bug was such a part of my growing up that I cannot even imagine it is no longer in the family. 1/n

The car was lemon green in colour with a air cooled rear engine. It was a 1960 model - KLD 7525.

We bought it from Dr.Raghavan in Vadakara in 1972,when father got a promotion and was about to leave Vadakara.He paid Rs 17,000, his entire savings to buy the car 2/n

In the days of Ambassadors, Fiat and Standard Herald the VW was a traffic stopper.

It was our first car and for a 8 year old boy, it was the high point of his life.

I can still vividly remember the long journey from Vadakara to Palakkad & Envious looks when joined School 3/n

The VW remained only one of its type in Palakkad for more than a quarter of a century.

People of that period knew my father,who was the Exec. Engr in the EB,or me,but even if they dont, all we had to do even today is to mention our VW and their face will lit up. 4/n

Maybe I tasted the benefit of being different, from my VW. The car was instantly recognisable from a distance or even from the sound emitted by the more noisy air cooled engine. From 1972 to 1978, my job was limited to sitting on the right hand side seat (LHD car). 5/n

I had to shift the gear rod when father pressed the clutch.That was my initiation to driving.I longed to drive the car,envied my brother who was 8 years elder to me and who drove it around with ease.

Being an old car,ithad its share of breakdowns & spells in the Workshop 6/n

It was the summer of 1978. I had finished 9th standard and was travelling on the narrow road in Chittur with my father on the wheel. The road is sparesely travelled but ran through some of the most beautiful paddy fields you can see. 7/n

Suddenly father pulled over and asked me casually 'Is your leg long enough to press the clutch fully?'. He had watched me play around with the stationary car behind the steering wheel the past few days.

I said 'Yes, almost'.

"Good, come over and sit on the drivers seat" 8/n

So saying he opened the door and casually walked to the passenger side. I slipped behind the wheel. He got in, and said only this " Drive".

Remember, it was an open road, not even a ground and I had never tried driving in my life. I was a puny 38 kg lean boy of 14. 9/n

I didnt need a second invitation.This was what I have been waiting for the past 6 years.

I put the car in the neutral, started it, pushed the clutch, shifted to first and released the clutch as if I had done this all my life. 10/n

Car started with a jerk and then stabilized, with the wheel a little wobbly.

Since the Engine was in the rear, the steering of a VW Beetle was light, even lighter than a power steering.

I still dont know how I did it nor do I understand the confidence of my father. 11/n

It was as if I had been driving it for ages. The car felt so much an extention of me that first time, and since.

I drove without licence for 4 years, taking father around most of the days in his official duty after coming back from the school in the afternoon. 12/n

Everyone knew I was driving without a licence but no one cared those days as father was well known. And 'Swamy's son basked in his reputation. Since that day in mid april, I was the charioter to my father. 13/n

We must have driven more than one lakh kilometers together. He, always sitting on my side , with his hand loosely over my backrest. If I am slighly careless in driving, he will gently press my shoulder with his fingers. That was my signal to buck up. 14/n

We discussed everything under the sun on those drives -politics,sports,career,books ,family issues,abortion,gossips,advice.

The VW was a mute spectator to the unique bonding the father and son had. Without VW and all those kms on the road, we would never have become close.15/n

When I turned 18, I applied for a Driving Licence. Father had a word with MVI Chandrasekharan Nair. MVI called a AMVI and asked him to take the test of me. The AMVI, a short dark guy, was pissed off as he just didnt like the fact that I had come with a wasta. 16/n

He gruffly asked, 'Which is your car?". When I pointed to the VW, his eyes lit up.He jumped into the passenger seat and asked me to take off.He made me drive 25 kilometers all the while crooning about the car.

'Ha! I always wanted to travel in that car'. 17/n

Then with a flourish he signed my license papers.

I created an uproar in College when I took the car in my Pre Degree 2nd year (+2). Those days only 3 of us had a scooter or bike, forget car. And Clege had 2000 girl students! 18/n

The Car had many nicknames coined by onlookers. It was called 'mootapoochi' meaning 'Bug', the locals called it 'Aama Car' meaning the tortoise and to the next generation in our family it was just the 'Thatha Car' - 'Grand fathers car. 19/n

By 1984,I moved out of Palakkad Father retired,VW also started feeling its age. It broke down often. Getting spare parts was tough. It spent more days in the house car-shed than on the road. I bought a Maruti 800 and Sis Tata Estate was at home 20/n

Father reduced his driving after he had a heart attack. one of my cousins, wanted to buy.Since the boy was so eager to have it, father gave it to him as a gift. It was lifted on one of their trucks and was shipped to Mumbai over road. I never saw my beloved car again. 21/n

Since then I had the fortune of owning so many cars - Ambassadaor, Tata Estate, Maruti 800, Lancer, Mazda, Dodge, Grand Marquis and GMC Envoy, Crown Vic, Expedition.

But I never had a sentimental attachment to any one of them like I had for my dear Beetle. 22/n

Maybe father knew, for within a year of the Car leaving our house, he breathed his last - a double whammy.

It was as if a huge part of me was torn away from me, leaving fond memories that evoke a small pain in the corner of the heart once in a while. n/n