“He travels the fastest who travels alone.” Rudyard Kipling
I had chalked out a plan to undertake
two solo trips between May and June this year - the Trans Himalayan (TH) and
Golden Quadrilateral (TH) Expeditions.
The routes prescribed by Limca Book of Records (LBR) were obtained and
so were the existing records. The TH
expedition is exotic for it keeps the Himalayas in the background during the
entire duration of the drive – J&K, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Uttar Pradesh, Nepal, Assam, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh are the
States/Countries covered on the stretch from Jammu to Tezu. The distance to be
covered is 5500 kms. In contrast, the GQ
expedition is plain vanilla – covers 5850 kilometers on the National Highways
linking the four metro cities of India.
While the TH expedition had not been attempted solo, the existing record
for the GQ expedition stood at 96 hours and 10 minutes for 5846
kilometres. Despite many attempts to
rework strategies to better the GQ timing I was not able to gain sufficient
confidence to undertake the expedition.
Not only were the timings tight, the impending monsoons presented
additional challenges. Therefore, I kept
the GQ expedition on the backburner and started work on scheduling the TH
expedition. Timing is everything in the
TH expedition. Ladakh part of the
expedition can be undertaken only in a small window between mid-June and early-October,
since Rohtang Pass and the route between Leh and Manali remain snowed down for
the rest of the year. However, that
window is when the monsoon is most active in the North East, Bhutan and Nepal. I had make a detailed plan for the expedition
and approached a couple of potential sponsors.
Repeated 'no' certainly was a dampener, but not a show stopper. I approached Mr. Navaz Meeran of the Eastern
Group with a request to sponsor the TH expedition. The responses from Mr. Meeran and Premkumar,
the CEO, were encouraging. I forwarded a
proposal for their consideration. The
sponsorship appeal was approved, but for an amount lesser than what was
necessary to undertake the four week trip.
Hence, I requested the Company to make available the amount sanctioned
to undertake the GQ expedition. It was
readily accepted. I remain grateful to
Mr. Meeran and his team, particularly Premkumar and Biju Job, for the
co-operation and giving me the opportunity to set my sights on a new Limca
record for the GQ. In the meanwhile, I
was informed from Tezu that unseasonal pre-monsoon showers in the region were
leading to landslips and road closures for days on end. Even the Rohtang Pass had not opened up by
early June. Thus, the absence of
adequate sponsorship for the TH turned out to be a blessing in the final
analysis.
Despite
the sponsorship I had plenty of misgivings about the successful completion of
the GQ expedition. Will the Swift be swift enough to meet the tight schedule? Will I get adequate rest en route to ensure a
safe and speedy transit? Will the
weather play truant and derail my efforts?
Will traffic blockages on the highways be an impediment? What if I had a tyre blow out or any other
mechanical problems en route? How do I
provide for food and biological requirements?
These and many more doubts assailed my thoughts and made mince meat of
my confidence. However, I was determined
to give it my best shot. I had to drive
long hours and cut my bio stoppages to the bare minimum. To complete the drive in less than 96 hours I
had to be on the road for the major part of it.
Documentation
is a primary requirement for LBR to approve a new record. Proper submission of log sheets in the
prescribed format is one of them. In the
previous I had relied on physical attestation of the log sheets at the
prescribed locations. A combination of
physical attestation and GPS data was also acceptable to LBR. To make the process faster and scientific I
decided to completely rely on electronic tracking and recording this time. I used the Google App “My Tracks”
experimentally for a couple of weeks in Kerala, prior to my departure for the
expedition, and found it exceptionally capable.
I also had the support of my friend Diwia Thomas, who agreed to upload
the recorded data almost in real time on my Facebook page, entitled Record
Drive. This arrangement met the twin
objectives of keeping my family and friends constantly updated and providing
documentary support for the record claim.
To
“preserve time” I decided to avoid any stoppage during the expedition for food
or re-hydration. To meet this I decided
to limit the 'scope of food' to sliced apples, peeled oranges, dry fruits,
nuts, digestive biscuits, crackers and chocolates. I arranged them on the front passenger seat
in such a way as to be able to extend the left hand and dip into a container
for nourishment. For re-hydration I
picked up 24 bottles of water and a few tetra packs of juices. They were also strategically placed for easy
access.
The
next area of attention was the Swift. I
took her to Global Tyres and got the tyres checked out. Fortunately, a puncture-in-the-making was
detected and attended to. They assured
me that the tyres, despite having logged 45,000 kilometers were in fine fettle
for the tough drive. I decided to get
the headlights enhanced, for I did not have fog lamps to assist in the event of
heavy rain or mist/fog. The enhanced
lamps were a great help. I rounded up
the attention to the Swift with her service in Indus Motors, Thevara. They have always been of tremendous help
before and after my expeditions. As
usual, they did a very competent job and I was ready for the expedition.
I
did not require any assistance for accommodation en route and that reduced the
planning process. However, I had to
decide on the right place to stay in Bangalore, from where I had decided to
start the expedition. The idea was not
to waste much time to get to the highway, but at the same time had to be within
the limits of Bangalore. A hotel was
sourced in Yeshwanthpur that was just a few minutes from the Tumkur Road.
Once
the servicing was over it was ready for branding. Biju Job of Eastern Curry Powder undertook
that responsibility. A very competent
job was done in less than 24 hours and the car was ready in front of the
Eastern Corporate Office a couple of days before my departure for Bangalore on
the 6th of June. Mr. Navaz
Meeran requested me to leave Kerala as soon as possible with the car, for he
was been badgered for sponsorships ever since the branding became public! I received the keys of the car from him and
was flagged off informally from the Eastern Corporate Office by the Director
Finance of the Group in the presence of a large number of enthusiastic staff
and officers. With that, all was set and
all that remained was for me to leave for the expedition! The doubts still persisted – what kept me
going was the belief that HE will guide me to success.
The
date for travel to Bangalore was set for 6th of June. I wanted to rest a day in Bangalore before
attempting the near impossible on the 8th. Whoever I discussed the expedition with,
without exception, considered it an attempt to do the impossible. Such discussions inevitably gave the
expedition a 'Mission Impossible' tag. I
was clear about one thing – I should not loose my way in the maze of entry and
exit of the metros and thereby jeopardize the mission. In Mumbai I requested my cousin, George
Kuriakose, to pilot me so that I could navigate from Panvel to Manor through
Mumbai in the shortest possible time. I
expected the Navfree Application to navigate me through the metros of Delhi and
Chennai. During an earlier visit to
Kolkata I had mapped its entry and exit.
Besides, I knew that I could rely on the Navfree Application to untangle
any en route knots.
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