| In this second book, whose title derives from Robin Sharma's The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Subramanian offers us a self-help guide where the path to success is laid out by "Ten Commandments". |
| The inspiration? A speeding red Ferrari, seen from the window of an aeroplane on the protagonist's first flight, which gives him the goal he aspires to: a Ferrari of his own, possession of which is the acme of success. Certainly some allegory is being applied here. |
| In this extract, the protagonist has his third encounter with the car of his dreams. |
| Why on earth would I need to meet an old friend of Nitin, I wondered, but out of courtesy, did not ask him. The lift stopped on the ground floor. It was half an hour past midnight. |
| Standing there in the lift lobby was a man in his early thirties. Hair cut extremely short and clothes which gave him away, he stretched his hand out towards me and said, 'Hi! I'm Sandy.' The looks were typically Andhra, but the accent was distinctly American. |
| So, this was the person Nikhil wanted me to meet. 'Oh, Hi! Good to see you.' I hated the fact that I had to be nice to some unknown man in the middle of the night. I wanted to get back to Touch quickly, back to the music and my vodka. I looked at Nitin, wondering and at the same time, imploring him to tell me why he wanted me here at this hour. |
| 'Come,' said Nitin and started walking towards the main gate. I had no choice but to follow. He stopped and turned back when he reached the gate. I had a 'clueless' look on my face when I had begun to follow him. Now, as he turned back and looked at me, my expression had turned to 'clueless and irritated'. |
| 'Wanna go for a drive?' He said with a sly grin on his face. I could have killed him for that. |
| 'Why on earth would I want to go for a drive at this hour, Nitin?' |
| Nitin sensed my frustration, so did Sandy. I turned towards Sandy, wondering what kind of joke it was. That was when I noticed Sandy lifting his hand pointing down the road. 'What do you say now?' |
| 'Woooooow!' I immediately followed it up with a college Romeo kind whistle [sic]. |
| A few yards ahead, shining in the streetlights was a brand new, spotlessly clean Ferrari. Sandy had just invited me to ride a Ferrari ... was I dreaming! I pinched myself, I was awake after all. It would be my first chance to sit in a Ferrari. |
| Now, I knew why Nitin had dragged me away from the party. A ride in a Ferrari had been my desire for long. For nothing in the world I could [sic]have refused this offer. |
| I immediately walked towards the waiting car and got in. Sandy got into the driver's seat and said, 'Don't get nervous. I drive quite well.' |
| 'I'm sure, you do ...' my sentence fading away midway as he turned on the ignition and revved up the engine. The sound was awesome. The feel was great. The experience was pulsating. He pressed the accelerator and the rubber hit the road. As it cruised along the near empty road, the acceleration and the speed set my adrenaline racing. I was finally sitting in a Ferrari ... first time in my life. |
| We took a round and returned. |
| 'Sandy, may I drive?' I could not resist asking him as we got out. He looked at me, then at Nitin, paused for a second and tossed me the key. 'Here. Drive carefully. It's not been insured yet.' |
| 'Thanks, Sandy,' I muttered and got into the driver's seat. Nitin got in from the other side. Sandy could not, for it was a two-seater. |
| The engine purred as I turned on the ignition. The rest was pure ecstasy. Ten minutes of unadulterated driving pleasure and energy as I whizzed past the sleeping areas of Hyderabad. When I finally returned, I was in the least willing [sic] to return the keys, but I had to. The car was not mine, after all. It was someone else's Ferrari that I had driven. Nevertheless, I HAD driven a Ferrari! |
| For days to come, every morning while driving my car, I remembered this drive. It was the high point of my visit to Hyderabad. |
| I BOUGHT THE MONK'S FERRARI |
| Author Ravi Subramanian Publisher Rupa PAGES x + 164 Price Rs 195 |
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