This driver is out of his mind. That's the thought that anyone would get, watching PJ Biju drive a white Innova into what looks like a ditch. But seconds later, you'll be left gaping as the skilled driver performs a near impossible task.
Parallel parking in a narrow space can be a nightmare for a newbie. But not for Biju, a Wayanad native, who has wowed the internet with his 'adipoli' talent for it.
In the now viral video, a white Innova can be seen reversing into what looks like a ditch on the side of the road. The car is seen veering fast towards the drop. Even as we wonder what the driver is thinking, the SUV neatly rolls into a narrow cement slab over it. The driver then stops the engine after making sure the car is sitting over the slab, covering it entirely.
That’s Malayalee confidence for you. #Parking pic.twitter.com/3NF4aah83m
— Nandagopal Rajan (@nandu79) September 6, 2020
This viral video has sent social media users into a tizzy. The video posted on Twitter has garnered a few thousand shares since Sunday night. On Tuesday, the skilled man behind the wheel was identified as PJ Biju, a Wayanad native who has been driving for over 15 years.
“This is my friend’s car and he had some paint work to be done on it. So on Sunday I had taken the car to a place for the workshop people to come and fix it. This was when my wife shot the video of me parallel parking near our house. I didn’t know she had done that. Only when it went viral I came to know about it,” Biju told a local channel.
Biju's wife can be heard applauding his parking skills and saying that he makes it look like a “cakewalk”.
Biju says that by 6:30 pm on Sunday, the video started getting a lot of traction.
“I am just awestruck by this. I had no clue this would happen,” he adds.
Image courtesy: Manorama News (screenshot)
The clip, which has Biju parking the car and later taking it out from the narrow spot, shows him effortlessly manoeuvring the SUV. On a closer look, it's evident that the back tyres are inches away from rolling out of the slab, while the car is being taken out, but Biju somehow pulls it off.
That’s Malayalee Driver for you , salute his skill and confidence!
— Vijay Thottathil (@vijaythottathil) September 7, 2020
Few saw how he took out the car earlier this has both how he parked and how took it out from parking !
Kudos to the guy pic.twitter.com/JwJrCIjTyn
“I have been driving buses, especially on the Ernakulam - Kannur route for many years. And those vehicles are 12 and a half metres long. So the Innova’s length has never been much of a problem for me. Be it any car, you have a mental picture of the size of the vehicle. It’s all about that understanding and confidence,” he adds.
The video also led to a discussion on where the best drivers can be found in India.
Some users applauded drivers from Kerala, attributing their skills to driving in hilly areas and rough terrain. Others also captioned the video - “that’s Malayalee confidence for you”,
But several others countered this claim, stating that such skills can be found in other parts of India too.
“No offense but we Himachalis are the best when it comes to Driving skills with hardly few meters wide road coupled with steep valleys...watch this...just another day in our lives (sic),” one user wrote.
No offense but we Himachalis are the best when it comes to Driving skills with hardly few meters wide road coupled with steep valleys...watch this...just another day in our lives https://t.co/rBUSVYMKnHhttps://t.co/Gc5ukLySRr
— Sk (@pahadanladki) September 6, 2020
From what I see in this comments it does look like every state/region have people with fair share of driving skills and not some "Malayalee" confidence thing
— sharath (@speedster1857) September 7, 2020
Unnecessary chest thumping in my opinion