GOOD MOTORING
STAY COOL
H. Kishie Singh

The new breed of cars on the road today hardly break down. Breakdowns disappeared when the Ambassadors and Padminis became extinct. The Ambassador is still around in a new avtaar, with Isazu engines, so breakdowns are not as common.

Today the most common cause of roadside breakdown is the failure of the cooling system.

The last couple of weeks have been abominably hot. The temperatures inside your engine are well above 100⁰ Celsius. The only thing that promises the wellbeing of your engine is a good quality coolant used in the proper ratio. Coolant keeps the engine cool, otherwise the boiling point of the water in the radiator to 140⁰C.

the use of coolant will make sure you don’t look foolish standing on the side of the road with the bonnet of your expensive car open, waiting for the engine to cool off.

The fan belt is another important item in your cooling system. Again, the new breed of fan belts hardly ever breaks, frays or wears out. Even then, it won’t hurt to change it every couple of years. Don’t go according to the mileage your car has done. The fan belt too is subjected to amazing changes in temperature. From near freezing in winter to 100⁰C in summer. The rubber compound is perishable so change it while it is still in running condition.

There is another item, perhaps the most important link in the cooling system, that needs to be kept cool. You! The driver.

I was in a music store the other day where I know the owner. He saw me browsing and came over to say hello. Invariably, the conversation turned to the weather and the 40⁰C heat we were being treated to. "Don’t worry," he said, "there are ways to keep you cool!" He showed me some new releases of music by famous names like Pandit Jasraj, Anoop Jalota, and the like. "Like the coolant for your car engine, this music is coolant for your soul. It puts you in a positive frame of mind. You can face life with confidence when you are cool, calm and collected." Other than being excellent advice, this philosophy needs thinking about.

The music being produced these days has more of boom, bang, bong. It is loved and, no doubt, has rhythm. But it is disquieting. It speeds up the pulse rate, gets the adrenalin flowing and will enthuse you to drive fast. It could possibly put you in an aggressive mood. If this be the case, road rage can’t be far away. It should be avoided. Instead, listening to some soothing music can bring a calming effect even when you are stuck in a traffic snarl.

Indian classical music offers a variety for every season, for every hour of the day and for every mood. Take your pick. And then there is the smile factor. It takes 42 muscles in your face to frown. It takes only 24 to smile. Tests show that smiling releases chemicals into your body that give you a "feel good" feeling.

Try and adopt the pehle aap attitude. It really will make driving a pleasure.

Happy motoring.