6 July 2012 – Reaching the Base Camp for Leh

Friends,

Incessant rains had rendered a portion of the road close to the Rohtang Pass virtually unusable. To rectify the situation the BRO/GREF had closed the road in the night from 8 pm resulting in a huge pile up on either sides of the bad patch of about a km.Most of the vehicles held up were cargo trucks. Work was on the entire night with 4 JCBs to improve the road condition and facilitate unhindered movement. My early morning start – 2.45 am – helped me to join the ‘queue’ about 10 kms short of Rohtang Pass at 3.45 am. Estimates varied about the time of opening of the road. While waiting for the road opening I took a short nap and when I woke up I found people curiously going around the car. A couple of them even suggested that I should not attempt the crossing as the low hung suspension would not withstand the poor road condition. I was alarmed, to say the least. But I was not going to give up without a try.

By 7 am the barrier was lifted and there was a mad rush to get to the front of the queue. It was 8 am by the time I got to the bad stretch. What I saw there almost made me reverse the car and take flight. As I was waiting for my turn to attempt the bad stretch of about 50 metres I met Gopi Pillai, a resident of Kullu. Originally hailing from Kerala and with business interests in Mumbai and Kullu he was going on a holiday to Leh with his family. He told me that if I get stuck in the morass I would, in all probability, even lose my car. This interaction put more butterflies in the stomach but more faith in the heart and prayers on my lips. I put my car in first gear and raced to the slush filled trough and steep slope. I heard a grating sound as a huge stone hit the car underneath. The engine sputtered and died. There were about 50 laborers and many supervisors under GREF control working at the spot to ‘push’ the vehicles through. One of the supervisors asked me to disengage the gears and summoned a few workers to lift the car out of the spot. The supervisor then came to me and gave me elaborate directions to negotiate the tough spot. Most importantly, he reassured me that I could do it. He asked me to throttle up on first gear and drive in a zigzag manner up the slope. Two attempts and I was through it. Unfortunately I could not go back to thank the guardian angel for the next vehicle was already attempting to negotiate the slope and I had to move the car away. In a short while thereafter, by 9.30 am, I passed the Rohtang Pass. What needs to be appreciated here is that it took me nearly 7 hours to traverse 50 kms. I had another 170 kms for the night halt location at the Adventure Camp in Sarchu.

The most challenging road was behind me and hence, made good time to reach the Padma Lodge in Jispa by 12.30 pm. The road was good only in short stretches – some places it was outrageously bad. Vikram was the Manager of the Lodge and he was to certify the log sheet. The Lodge is almost always fully booked out during the season time between June and October. The winter months see nearly 20 feet of snow in Jispa and the surrounding areas. All life forms migrate out of the place by end October and return to get ready for the season by mid-May. Vikram moves to Goa during the off-season in search of employment. The well appointed rooms and tents of the Padma Lodge are set in a ‘bowl’ of huge mountains and nursed by the river. Vikram offered me lunch – I tucked into an omlette of 4 eggs, toast and a paratta. Vikram refused to take any payment for them.

After a few snaps I hit the road on the last stretch for the day to Sarchu. I stopped at many places en route to take in the scenic beauty and commit some to camera. Vikram had warned me that mobile phones would be useless after Darcha. Apparently there are no towers between Darcha and Upshi, due to absence of human habitation, which meant that I would be incommunicado for almost 24 hours. I informed friends, family and Harish of Muthoot Finance, Cochin.

I reached the Adventure Camp at Sarchu just after 4 pm. The 30 residential tents and other utility tents are located adjacent to the highway surrounded by mountains. The air is extremely rarified and breathing was difficult. At 4200 meters, even getting out of the car was onerous. Ajay, the Manger of the Camp certified the arrival at Sarchu and made me comfortable with hot tea and biscuits. A short while later Mr. Shyam Chand Azad, the PTI correspondent and editor of the Tribal Toady magazine arrived at the camp and we had a long chat about the trip.

After settling into the tent I tried to take a short nap before dinner. Despite being tired I could not nap. I reported to the dining tent by 7 pm for an early dinner so that I could get some extra rest for an early morning start. Soup, pasta, rice and curry made for a nutritious meal. I turned in by 8 pm with the excitement of doing the left over 257 kms the next day to set a new timing for the North South Expedition. Though the bed was comfortable I found sleep in short supply due to the dry environment of the Camp

5 July 2012 - The ancient abode of Manu

Friends,

I was to have left Delhi at 5 am as per the original program. The previous evening I rescheduled it to an hour ahead. This meant that all the Muthoot teams that were to meet me in Panipat, Ambala and Chandigarh had to reschedule their programs too. It was particularly harsh on Panipat and Ambala. However, as I have come to experience, the MF teams surpassed my expectations and proved why they are what they are – the best in their lines of business.

I fuelled up at one of the stations on the Delhi border. The attendants were having tea and they offered me one to rev me up. Though there was heavy truck traffic up to Ambala the excellent road condition and the better roads sense among the users help me better the inter location timings. The MF teams ahd set up warm receptions en route – the meeting point in Ambala was the Puran Singh Ka Dhaba, which had earned wide recognition after it was featured in the TV program ‘Highway on the Plate’. Chandigarh was the last location for certification my MF. While I drove into Bilaspur I spotted the Neelam Hotel. I drove in and asked the proprietor of the Hotel if he would make the necessary entries in the log sheet. He was more than willing to do so and evinced a lot of interest in the trip that I was doing. He also commented on the speed at which I was travelling. I ordered a lunch of rotis and dal. Mr. Chandel, the proprietor refused payment for the meal. I told him that I would be back for certification on the return trip to Kanyakumari.

I could not believe the crowds in Manali – there was not an inch of space on the roads, restaurants and hotels were at a premium. The rather lean infrastructure of the town was bursting at its seams. I fuelled up and met up with Mohinder Singh, my contact for certification at Manali. While he was finding me some place to park my car near his business premise I was approached by three youngsters who were keen to know if I was a Malayali. As it turned out they were students from Calicut on a tour of the North. I spent some time with them after a brief chat with Mohinder and certification.

I checked into the railway holiday home, where the VIP room was made available to mem thanks to Mr. Manoj Srivatsava, CFTM Northern Railway. I told the young man in charge of the holiday home of my mission and he promised to revert to me with the latest situation prevailing on the Manali-Leh road. He advised me to leave by 3 am so that I could beat the early morning rush due to closure of a section of the road that night. I decided to take his advice and had an early dinner and turned in.

4 July 2012 – Reaching the Rajdhani

Friends,

The domestic help of the Sudhanshus had given the car a complete makeover overnight. Sudhanshu certified the departure details in the specified format and Karan piloted me to the highway saving me precious time. The road condition right up to Delhi was a mixture of the very good and okay. Jhansi-Gwalior was tough and quite some time was lost in the movement through the cities of Gwalior and Agra for the highways weave through the city. Jhansi was quiet for the electiosn to the local bodies were on. All shops and establishments were closed. En route the Muthoot teams certified the journey at Lalitpur, Jhansi, Gwalior, Agra, Mathura and on arrival in Delhi at the Heritage Inn Hotel near the ISBT. At Agra a local NGO gave me a certificate appreciating my journey. The youngsters drawn to the cause from various purely for altruistic reasons have taken up many local issues.

I have thus far travelled over NH7, 34, 26, 75, 3 and 2 while getting into Delhi from Kanyakumari. NH7, to me, is far superior to the other stretches, with NH1 a close second. During the day, near Agra, I suffered my second bird hit. The first was when I was racing the Express train near Dindigul. These incidents made me wonder whether I was going too fast or if the birds have gotten slower?

Sanjeeb Halder has been a dear friend since the days of probation in the Indian Railways. I will never forget the day he ‘entertained’ my ‘father-in-law to be’ in a guest house in Chennai by serving him tea out of a beer bottle. When I got the invite to attend his son’s wedding reception in Delhi I recast my travel schedule a bit to accommodate the function at 8 pm in the Sardar Patel Marg Officer’s Club. I used a combination of the Metro and an Auto to get to the venue. There were many known faces who had come from the South and others based in Delhi. After a round of pleasantries and exchange of business information I got to meet the newlyweds and their parents. I could not spend more time at the venue for I had to get back to the hotel and rest before the drive tomorrow morning.

3 July 2012 – On track

Friends,

It was sheer mind over matter. The lack of sleep the previous night was no reason to let the spirits down. I was ready to leave by 3.30 am. The MF team leader had arrived to certify the start of the Kurnool-Hyderabad leg of the journey. The NH7 was very good up to Adilabad. Thereafter certain stretches on the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh borders were extremely bad. A lot of road work was on to 4 lane the NH7 all the way up to Sagar and hence the roads were good only in patches.

After I had made out the detailed route map and charted the approximate timings it emerged that Sagar would have to be a location for overnight stay. I sought the advice of Jethi, my batchmate, about the possibility of tapping some railway resource to locate a decent overnight dwelling. He came back promptly with the information that one of his former classmates is based in Sagar and that he would help. He further added that Sudhanshu, his friend, had offered to put me up instead of spending a night in a hotel. When I spoke to Sudhanshu he was of the view that I would feel more comfortable at his place. I accepted the invitation. I was in constant touch with him and the Muthoot team as I neared Sagar. When I was piloted in to Sudhanshu’s residential compound by 8 pm I was not prepared for the absolutely overwhelming reception. The entire Muthoot team of two branches, the Rotary officials and the Press, besides the family members made up for a formidable reception committee. Time went by quickly with interaction with those present, garlanding and presentation of bouquets. A photo session also took up some time. It was just a half hour to midnight when I sat down with the family for a gorgeous dinner. Mrs Sudhanshu runs the most sought after and successful school in Sagar – Vatsalya – which had been founded by Sudhanshu’s mother, who had retired as Principal of the Kendriya Vidyalaya. Topic after topic were dissected and debated with Mrs and Mr Sudhanshu and their two daughters and son. It was also of interest to me that Karan had recently biked the Manali-Leh stretch and got valuable tips from him. Just as the clock struck midnight a beautiful homemade cake emerged to celebrate Sudhanshu’s birthday. After the short celebrations I retired for a power nap in the confines of the huge 140 year old house that had once been residence to a British Army officer. The house was typically the type that the British built in India – huge ceilings, large teak windows and doors and humongous verandahs.

2 July 2012 – A fine start

Well rested after a good sleep I was fresh and ready for the 4 am start. The car was to be flagged off from front of the Muthoot branch a short distance away from the hotel where I was staying. The Branch team and Cochin team enthusiastically organized the send off from Kanyakumari. The certification as necessitated by the Limca Book of Records was done by the District Medical Officer. The lady and her assistant were at site well in advance of the start.

I had made a detailed chart of the time I was expected to take to cover the distance between two certification locations. Having had little experience of most of the roads on the planned trip the timings were tentative. However, this was crucial since the authorities for certification had to be in position well before I reached the intended location. The meeting points were well rehearsed with the Muthoot teams across the country over phone and Video Conference. Harish Thampy, the Manager Marketing, was the central point of contact. We were to stay in constant touch over mobile; he in turn would do the needful to ensure personnel at the intended locations. This day was a test of all the background work that had been done. I can say with utmost pride that the support of the Muthoot teams across the entire run during the day was exemplary and I lost no time at all in ensuring the documentation as per the guidelines issued by LBR.

The excellent condition of the road (NH7) right from Kanyakumari to Kurnool ensured that I was ahead of the scheduled time. In fact, when I left Dharmapuri I was almost 2 hours ahead of the intended time. However, the mess of getting in to and out of Bangalore, with heavy traffic to boot, ate away all the gains. The excellent road condition did not come free. Regular tolling booths saw a steady erosion of Rs. 100 notes. By the time I drove into the hotel in Kurnool more than Rs. 800 was spent on tolls. I did not mind that for the nearly 1050 kms drive was hassle free and done in good time. Though there were rains in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli it did not hamper my progress. It gave me immense pleasure to overtake an Express train near Vadipatti, near Dindigul. But the most important factor on the day was the enthusiastic participation of MF teams from Kanyakumari to Kurnool.

I was booked to stay in Kurnool at Hotel Rajavihar, a short diversion from the NH. A large turnout of MF personnel and press interaction kept me up till what I thought should have been bed time. Once I walked into the allotted room I was appalled by its upkeep. I changed three rooms before I decided enough is enough. I had made a poor selection to rest a weary body. Despite placing an order I was not served dinner till 10.30 pm, when I decided that a couple of apples should suffice. When I hit the bed I was in for a greater shock; the bed vibrated. Apparently there was some heavy machinery beneath the room I was in. I tossed and turned around till I no longer could. If it were not for the certification process I would have checked out immediately and left for Hyderabad.

1 July 2012 – On the roads again

Friends,

After attending the early morning Sunday service at the St Joseph’s Church a small gathering at home feasted on the appams, puttu and egg roast that Satheesh, my brother, had organized. Apart from the usual suspects of Satheesh and his wife, Niba, Ummachan and Mathew, the farewell party included Beena, Ajay and my Uncle, MK George, who had played a critical role in the sponsorship of the Muthoot Group. The branded car looked magnificent and was an eye catcher. A few photographs and goodbyes later I rolled the car out of Alfa Serene on to the road for Kanyakumari. I had hit the roads once again on a longish trip by car after the All-India trip last year. However, there are two differences on this occasion, namely that the car is owned by me and that I am sponsored by the Muthoor Group.

Even on a Sunday the two laned NH47 was quite busy. I wondered if the narrow, pot holed roads on the Ernakulam-Trivandrum highway mirrored the Keralite mindset. Instead of the police concentrating on checking speed on the NH I feel that they should concentrate on educating those behind the wheels and checking rash and negligent driving. Besides, it should be the prime responsibility of the authorities to maintain the roads in good condition. Two vehicles in front of me were involved in an accident near Kayamkulam that could only be attributed to poor road condition. It is also ironic that politicians and high officials dart in and out of city traffic and on the highway at speeds higher than that prescribed while the ‘aam admi’ is subjected to laser guns and fined. These higher worthies should reflect on the fact that they would get nowhere on the roads in Kerala if they were to be without escorts and pilots and screeching sirens.

I got on to the Kanyakumari highway using the byepass road to Kovalam and Poovar. This saved me time by avoiding the busy stretches of Neyyatinkara and Balaramapuram. I had made arrangements to stay in Hotel Shingaar in Kanyakumari. After checking in to the Hotel I met up with the Muthoot team that had come for the send off. Shaibu and his young team members had come in advance to identify a gazette officer to certify the start and to organize the flag off. In the evening we went to the sunset point only to be disappointed by the shy sun that refused to come out from behind a thick veil of clouds. Later we did a reconnaissance of the exit road that would put me on the highway to Tirunelveli. The hour was approaching and the adrenaline was in full flow.

Record Drive

30 June 2012 – North-South Expedition

Planning a trip is complex. When the trip is unique in some way or it is to set a record of some sort the complexity increases many times. So it is with the trip I planned to set a new record for a solo drive between Kanyakumari and Leh (Ladakh).

The Limca Book of Records (LBR) recognized my All-India trip with the mention of it in the 2012 edition. The paperback had mention of many unique feats performed by people who had decided to get out of their comfort zones and challenge existing records or beat a new path. My attention got focused on expeditions undertaken to cover the East-West and the North-South routes. Since Kanyakumari is closer to Cochin I decided to make an attempt on the existing record of 149 hours and 25 minutes for the solo drive between Kanyakumari and Leh. The LBR has a set of stringent rules to attempt any record and they have to be fully covered. The route one has to travel of nearly 4000 kms one way is also set by them; Kanyakumari-Tirunelveli-Madurai-Dindigul-Salem-Dharmapuri-Bangalore-Anantapur-Kurnool-Hyderabad-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Nagpur-Seoni-Narasimhapur-Sagar-Lalitpur-Jhansi-Gwalior-Agra-Mathura-Delhi-Panipat-Ambala-Chandigarh-Bilaspur-Manali-Jispa-Sarchu-Pang-Upshi-Leh. This record drive is one that pitches distance against time with the two end points as Kanyakumari and Leh; the record attempt could be from either of the two ends. While the distance and the time are by themselves forbidding the requirement of LBR that the attempt has to be certified at 32 locations is the most critical and the toughest task in the attempt.

After having decided to attempt the record I spent considerable time trying to identify a sponsor with two distinct characteristics, namely, a Pan-India footprint and a strong brand. I had bought a new Maruti Swift in April this year and naturally my first attempt was to get Maruti interested. Days went by without any response from them and the attention turned to Tata Motors. By the time I got a thumbs down from them I was perilously close to ‘announcing’ the drive. When I shared my failure stories in getting a car company interested in the record attempt with my cousin in Cochin she lost no time in suggesting Muthoot Finance (MF). I kicked myself for having ‘overlooked’ a strong brand from Kerala that had gone right across the country.

I got an opportunity to explain my requirement to the Executive Director of MF, Mr. KP Padmakumar. The patience and interest with which he heard me out gave me fresh hope. What I was not ready for was the speed with which he acted on a short proposal I sent to him. Within 72 hours I was intimated of the approval of MF management. Soon thereafter I had my first meeting with the Marketing team to identify issues and chart the way forward. The meeting with Cherian Peter, Chief Marketing Officer, Shaibu Cherian, AGM Marketing and Harish Thampy Manager Marketing in early June set the tone for the meticulous and tireless work of the team. The alacrity with which they addressed issues and the systematic progress in the direction that we had held course for showed the professionalism of the Company. It also instilled a lot of confidence in me for the team identified the locations were the trip would be certified and the personnel that would assist in the effort. All the branches and regions of MF along the route were energized by the team and many have become enthusiastic followers of the attempt. During the course of the many hours of discussion and video conferencing we discovered a strong synergy between the Company and the attempt. MF has set a record for the maximum number of branches across the country – 4000 – and here I was attempting a record drive over 4000 kms.

MF undertook the branding exercise with gusto. It was decided that the car and the T-shirt worn by me would provide the ‘space’ to brand – I mentioned to the MF team that apart from the windshield of the car and my face the rest were available for branding. The design of the logo and the theme of the branding – flames signifying passion – sits very well on the car. A separate page was designed on Facebook to improve visibility of the record attempt. The branded car was unveiled in an impressive ceremony on the 28^th of June by the Executive Director in front of the MF office in the presence of the management team and staff.

A list of items to be taken for the trip was made and each was ticked off as and when it found its place in the bags. A sound knowledge of the climate is essential to plan for the clothing. A visit to the Doctor determined the medical kit, including the palliative to avoid high altitude sickness. A special food hamper had to be thought of for the time-distance race would not permit prolonged stoppages for ‘meals’. The car was specially serviced and spares procured. Thus, both the man and machine were tuned for the ‘Race’.

Locations for overnight stay were decided depending on the possible road coverage in a day. Thus, Kurnool, Sagar, Delhi, Manali and Sarchu were zeroed in on. I am slated to stay in Sagar with a friend’s friend and in Manali in the railway rest house. Hotel bookings have been made in the other locations. While the drive from Kanyakumari to Leh is essentially a reconnaissance drive to finalise the route, locatiosn for certification anf familiarization of personnel I have targeted to cover the distance in 130 hours, which is lower than the present record. In the return direction from Leh to Kanyakumari, the actual record drive, is slated to be covered in 110 hours.

The thrill of the attempt begins when you load up the car. I did that last evening and the adrenaline has started its course. I will be driving tomorrow morning to Kanyakumari from Cochin.