Driving...how hard can it be?

Place left foot on clutch and right foot on accelerator.

Shift gear from neutral to first with an upward, left push.

Slowly, ease off clutch and put pressure on accelerator.

Oh and did I forget? Keep hands on steering wheel in a 10:10 position. No, not 11:05 and certainly not 9:15.

And while you are driving, keep eyes on the road but maintain visual through the rear and side-view mirrors, use the clutch with the brake or else the car will jerk, slow down over speed breakers or turns or bridges and whenever the car starts making a whirrrrrrr noise it means you have to change the gear so press the clutch while changing the gear and increasing the speed.

Easy enough, don’t you think so?

Sameer does. Tired of driving his sisters, mother and even cousins around, he finally put his foot down (no not on the brakes, figuratively) and complained to his father that his sisters should learn to drive on their own. Sameer was so sick of being everyone’s personal chauffer that he volunteered to teach Sadia (elder of his two sisters) himself.

It was a huge mistake. If there’s anything more frustrating than having to drive people around, it’s teaching them how to drive themselves around.

The lessons began with Sameer showing Sadia the pedals, the gears and how the car runs. The first stage went well but the problems started when he asked her to drive in a straight line in an empty playground. Sadia simply could not muster up the confidence needed and kept stalling the car. Sameer lost his patience with her more than once, which made matters worse. But Sameer knew the real issue was that Sadia thought she would never be given the car on her own to drive. He wasn’t sure how he’d convince abba to let Sadia out on her own with the car but he continued the lessons.

It’s been two months since the practice started and today, Sadia can drive well, as long as she stays below 50 kmph. But the real challenge is reversing and parking the car and Sameer knows this is where most women fail and need to enlist help. He dreads even beginning the lesson because he wonders who will give up first: he or Sadia?