[arunramaswamy]

It was around 10 PM yesterday I heard a message tone in my phone. I thought it must have been the usual junk emails that I receive. I have absolutely no idea how they got hold of my email id. But to my surprise, the message read "Team-BHP membership APPROVED!”. I really did not know how to react that I just did a weird Gangnam dance with everybody sleeping and nobody around . I still have not come to terms that I am part of this esteemed forum. It was my second attempt at getting my membership approved. All it took was a passionate, From-the-bottom-of-my-heart answers to gain membership. VANAKKANGA NA (Namaste Ji). This is Arun Ramaswamy from Chennai and I am thrilled and delighted to begin a new chapter in my life with Team-BHP.

Before I start with my introduction, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the esteemed moderators of this wonderful forum for accepting my application and approving my membership request. I will ensure I follow all the rules and regulations laid out in this forum at all times while posting here to maintain the decorum of this forum.

My sincere and humble apologies for making this post a Soap Drama and a long one at that. But I wanted to make this post, not just about me, but also about the friendship I shared with my car Krishna. So this lengthy post is a tribute to that relationship.

Coming to me, I am 30 yrs old and a happily married man. I have a 2 year old son and soon expecting our second. Professionally I am a software engineer and passionately, I am a cook and love driving. I owned my first car Krishna in 2011. It was Black Toyota Etios Liva G petrol, which was just launched at that time. However my first driving experience dates back to when I was in Kinder Garden. It was a Lamby brown colour belonging to some stranger. I still do not know how I managed to slot the vehicle, that was just parked and was kept in ignition, into first gear. The Lamby just leapt forward from its stand and needless to say, I lost my balance and the vehicle fell on me. That incident literally left a mark on my left leg, which is present till date. I guess it will stay with me for my entire life as a mark of my driving prowess.

Coming to me, I actually belonged to a lower middle class. Hence we did not have a history as such of owning multiple vehicles. My father owned a humble Bajaj Chethak Super and a TVS excel. Both of them were excellent workhorses and I have so many experiences with them, especially with the Chethak, which includes getting down from the vehicle in the middle of a major Junction. However, it was Krishna who unearthed my hidden passion for driving. He was my best friend and was part and parcel of me ever since he came into my life. He has seen my happiness and my sorrow; My highs and lows. He was a lucky charm for me that I got my first onsite opportunity as soon as I bought him. We even had a small procession in Krishna during my marriage reception. I even had a drive to Krishnagiri just like that on a boring Saturday afternoon and had mirchi and aaloo Bajji in Krishnagiri and started my journey back to my home. So in the end, I made all the way to Krishnagiri just to have Bajji. So with Krishna and me, it was never about the destination but was more about the journey/drive itself.

All these time, Krishna never gave me any troubles whatsoever. He will crank in the first attempt every single time. Never broke down or even had a single niggle. Not even a single rattle. However it all had come to an end when I was asked to go to Sydney on a long term assignment. Just before we parted, I wanted to give him a really good massage as a way of saying 'Thank you' for all the wonderful memories. I soon handed over Krishna and his keys to Toyota Used car sales person and that is when I felt Krishna's loss and I literally cried for the entire day.

While Krishna was with me, I felt as if he was communicating with me and we were in sync during all our drives. I learnt so many things about Krishna, and cars in general. I have done small small DIYs like installing after-market carpets in my car, doing fluid top-ups, changing tires etc. So basically Krishna helped me become what I am today with respect to cars and automotives. That is when I bumped on to Team-BHP and there was no looking back after that. Since then I have made earnest efforts to increase my knowledge about cars by reading several articles about cars. I feel now I am better equipped to speak about cars and share with fellow car owners whatever knowledge I have gained and what better place to discuss than Team-BHP. Hence here I am on Team-BHP to share my experience and subsequent journeys in the automotive world.

Drive Sane. Arrive Safe.

Regards,
Arun Ramaswamy

[Rajeevraj]

Hi Arun. Welcome to the forum and thank you for the detailed introduction. I think there is a large group out there ( including me) who are first generation car owners and as you said, realized how much we love cars and driving after that first purchase.

Do review the rules and recommendations of the various sub forums. Happy posting.

Do you have a ride in Sydney now or plan for one?

[arunramaswamy]

Dear Rajeev,

Really grateful for your warm welcome. Have already started investing my time to understand the forum rules. Will ensure I follow the same all the time.

Actually my work place is close to my home. Hence did not require a new drive. However have driven cars that I have wanted to. Thanks to my friends as well as the rental scene here. The most I liked was the Tiguan 2.0 TSI. It was an absolute pleasure to drive that beauty. After driving it, I can now relate to how Octy owners feel about their TSI. An engineering master piece. Really feel pity for VAG that they are struggling in India. No thanks largely to their dealers who lets them down.

[vigsom]

Welcome , Arun.

I can understand how one feels letting a prized possession go away , but that is how life is.

Enjoy your journey with tbhp.

While I am sure you will read through all rules , there are two that I would call out - no SMS style lingo , and when you quote posts , please quote only the relevant portion and not the whole post.

[v1kram]

Welcome to the forum Arun and wish you a wonderful TeamBHP journey!!

[bhaskar.guru]

Welcome to the group Arun jee... Great to read your experience with your car Krishna and I share a similar sentiment with my car being our family's first car.

Wishing you a wonderful journey here.

[arunramaswamy]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Welcome , Arun.


While I am sure you will read through all rules , there are two that I would call out - no SMS style lingo , and when you quote posts , please quote only the relevant portion and not the whole post.

Thank you very much for the warm welcome. will ensure I am quoting only relevant portion of the post. And definitely no SMS language will be used by me.

Originally Posted by v1kram

Welcome to the forum Arun and wish you a wonderful TeamBHP journey!!

Vikram bhai, really grateful for your warm welcome. I had an excellent time in team BHP as a visitor. Now will have a better time as a member. Will put in best efforts to contribute positively to team BHP.

Originally Posted by bhaskar.guru

Welcome to the group Arun jee... Great to read your experience with your car Krishna and I share a similar sentiment with my car being our family's first car.

Wishing you a wonderful journey here.

Thank you bhaskar Ji for welcoming me into team BHP. Krishna will always be closer to my heart. No matter how many cars I buy in my lifetime.

Really grateful to have welcomed warmly into team BHP fold. I am sure I will have a great experience and will try to contribute as much as possible fro my end as well.