‘You’re a road test editor?! What on earth is that??’

That's me, 'testing' the 2003 Honda City. BSM lensman Param clicked this photo

I got married 21 years ago and one funny incident from back then has remained in memory. During one of the pre-wedding ceremonies in my wife’s hometown, Jabalpur, someone from her side of the family asked me – as is inevitably asked during such times – what I did for a living. Having asked this all-important question, this gentleman, who had a triumphant smile on his face (for having coming up with the most original of all questions, no doubt) and other relatives from my wife’s side of the family eagerly awaited my reply. Doctor? Engineer? An MBA who’s in sales or marketing? Lawyer? Architect? Any one of those replies would have, I’m sure, elicited nods of approval all around. So, when I said I’m a journalist – more specifically, a road test editor with Business Standard Motoring magazine – it’s hardly surprising that my response was met with blank stares and uncomprehending faces.

What’s a ‘road test editor,’ people wanted to know. Did I test roads, someone ventured with a nervous chuckle. Clearly, some mistake had been made. How could the bride’s father have deigned to give away his youngest daughter’s hand in marriage to someone who tested roads? What future could such a man have? And how much could he possibly earn? On my part, I did not have the courage to say I tested and reviewed cars, not roads, for then that might have triggered suspicions of me being a mechanic in a car workshop. And, of course, there was no question of mentioning the fact that a lot of my work was driving the aforementioned cars, for then I would have been someone’s chauffeur in people’s minds.

In any case, the wife-to-be soon arrived on the scene and in her usual gentle and graceful manner, steered me away from the conversation, averting the social disaster that was almost certainly in the making. Little did I know back then that this was only one of the many occasions when she’d end up rescuing me from socially difficult situations. In the meanwhile, on that fateful day, the group of people interrogating me ultimately went back to their drinks and paneer tikka, and all was well.

Back then, automotive journalism was a somewhat unusual profession. Today, it has been cheapened and commoditised. But that's a different story, which I'll save for another day.