God's hand while driving.

The person who taught me driving was George Thomas, a friend of mine in Bangalore. When I took my car for the first time with him, I had to take it to the reverse direction. He was not happy with that and told me, if it is in the reverse gear that you need to go while starting the car, then you first move the gear to the first and take the vehicle a little to the front and then take it to the reverse gear. I kept it a practice to do the same as part of the prayer. I also say "God save me", when I start the car. I have also seen most of the people in India doing this.

But some times I wonder then why would there be an accidents on the roads if they had started there vehicles after prayers. And this was disturbing me for a while.

It was Diwali and my in laws were invited to Bangalore to celebrate it with us. We booked a bus for him to Trichy on the Sunday after the Diwali. It was from Bommanahalli by 1:00 pm. we mistook it as 1:45 and reached there by 1:30 just to find that the bus has already left. One of the staff told us to try to get it from Hosur as the bus started 10 minutes ago. Since it was a multi axial Volvo it speeds very fast and was almost impossible to get the bus. I tryed to take a chance and speed to Hosur. It was raining heavily. Visibility was almost 30% the fastest wipe of the wiper couldn't wipe away all the water from the glass of my car. The cyclone was entering the land in between Chennai and Nellore.
I had taken my car today also after the prayer. While speeding the car a call from my inside is telling me that it is not safe to drive fast. While crossing one of the flyovers I could see an LED electronic hanging board displaying "Wet Road, Drive Slow". I knew what it meant and completely agreed to it, but I had to catch the bus in Hosur. I was driving in a speed of 120 KM/H. While crossing Naarayana Hrudayalaya Hospital, I could see a luggage Autoriksha crossing the road from the other side. I could see the blue colour of the vehicle partially through the water.  I pressed the break with all the force and held the steering with all my strength so that my car will not skid. I could see my child and my wife sitting next to me. The car was moving in the same speed by the tyres were not rotating. It skid for the next 50 meters. I could see that the auto moving to the other half of my car where my wife and my child were sitting. there was no escape but to hit it. I was sure that it was going to hit. I could not change the direction of the car while the car is under applied break, as there is no ABS in the car. But my inner will and cautiousness was not at all worried. I was holding complete confidence from inside. and was not at all disturbed. One meter from the Autoriksha, Streering automatically turned to the left and changed the direction of the car. It hurt my hand, as I was holding it so tight, at the angle of my hand. All of a sudden we made a narrow escape. My wife thought that I did a master technique to escape. My father in law who is an expert driver with out knowing anything told me that I should avoid these kind of people, who does not respect traffic rules. He thought that I was teasing the autoriksha driver and showing that I was going to hit him. When I said that "No, I was standing on the break, and trying to stop it", he got scared. there was no streaking sound from the road as the road was completely  wet. My wife she noticed that I was applying the break and with and expert twist I saved the life and appreciated me. And to her I said, "Yes, I had applied the break, which did not work, and was holding the steering tight so the car would not skid, but I did not change the direction. It was the God.".  It was the hand of the God to who I pray who changed the direction of the car, I told myself."