It is well known that I love speed. When I am at the wheel I love to not let anyone get ahead of me. I mean, I am not a road hog, it’s just that I hate being overtaken by anyone. And try my best not to.

The thrill of speed is a great turn-on. But I am not a reckless driver. I drive fast, but with care. And I never DUI. If I think I am in my cups I abandon the car. Better still, I don’t take the car out when I know the evening involves drinking. Simple.

And for someone like me to endure the lack of pace of Mumbai’s taxis is a punishment. I have gritted my teeth as the driver has allowed autorickshaws and other tiny vehicles to go ahead on a clear road. I had sworn silently as the driver stuck behind a truck, unmindful of the empty lane to the right. I have banged my head in frustration as the taxi clips at a breakneck speed of 40km on the fast lane, as a litany of honks from behind sound driver exasperation.

Thanks to my experience I have more than a fair idea of how it feels being a speed bug stuck in a slow-moving vehicle. Recently I also got to know what it feels like to have the shoe on the other foot.

As I got into the cab I had no clue what the drive would be like. The vehicle itself was ordinary, and the driver was a miya like me. For whatever it was worth. Initially the road was crowded, but I got a whiff of what was to follow as he whizzed in and out of lanes to park the taxi at the head of the line at the redlight.

Then, as the road opened up, he just flew. Long ago I was overtaken by a taxi when I was doing a not-bad 70kmph, that being the only time I have encountered a speed demon in the yellow and black. This time I was in the backseat of one!

As he squeezed past two vehicles I thought I would die. As he hurtled down a flyover I was praying his brakes were fine. And when he took on a Honda City, and actually beat it, I knew this was Schumi in the making.

But my legs, they were pressed hard into the floor. My palms were gripping the side of the seat, and I was anxious as hell he doesn’t crash or more importantly, someone else doesn’t swing the car and plough into him. I was experiencing speed from the backseat and I didn’t like it one bit…