From Chennai to Everywhere else !!!!

My mom’s penchant for temples knows no bounds and it can be easily understood by the number of kilometers our cars have clocked so far; 32000 kms in the past one and a half year!!!! Coming the month of April, 2011 between the dates of 11th and 23rd we did a road trip from Chennai to the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. I have done quite a few drives so far but this has been my longest and most demanding one, mainly because I had to cover almost 7000 kms within 2 weeks time in largely unknown territories, bear the summer heat, visit all the places and more importantly manage with my limited knowledge of Hindi..!!!! This trip was even more adventurous because, till one week before our start, we did not know clearly where we were heading and which places to be visited. Usually, before any of our drives, me and my parents would sit around and discuss about the distance and places to be covered each day, plan for the night halt and would arrive at a fairly decent outline which we would try to follow. But it was not the case this time. I was in my hostel in Coimbatore till the last day and the day I arrived at Chennai, we had started for the drive and we were not even sure where we going to halt !!!! Most importantly, it was the help and guidance from H.V.Kumar sir, “Sachin Tendulkar of Indian Highways” which made the trip successful without any hiccups. I can never imagine the drive without his route plan, meticulously prepared and accurate to every km…!!!!!  Thanks a lot Sir..!!!

Day 0 ( April 10th):

For a trip that spanned 7000 kms and for 2 weeks, it did not start very well. I had taken my car to Coimbatore to vacate my hostel and bring all the stuffs back home as my MBA life at Amrita School of Business had got over. I had to drive all night to reach Chennai early morning on April 10th. As a result I did not get some good sleep. Then, my mom packed the luggage for the three of us for two weeks without keeping in mind that the vehicle in which she would be spending the time is not a generously spacious one like a Scorpio or an Innova, but a hatchback Ritz..!!! According to the original plan we had decided to start around evening by 4.30 from Chennai and reach Hosur to halt for the night. So, once we got ready and started loading our loyal Ritz with the really big size VIP hard bound suitcases which can be deemed fit only for an air travel, we found the Ritz falling ridiculously short in space. You cant blame the car, the blame was on us.

So I suggested we should change the suitcases to a more practical cloth bags which would fit fine inside the Ritz’s boot. By the time, we finished re-packing and loaded the Ritz, it was around 5.30 pm.

  

And hence we started by around 5.45 pm towards Sriperumbudur through Pallavaram to catch the NH to Bangalore. It was election time in TN and we found that Jayalalitha would be addressing a massive gathering in Pallavaram and there was a fairly decent traffic jam heading towards it. We managed to put it behind us and started cruising in the SH only to realise in horror that I had left my laptop back in the house. All the details about the route, places prepared by HVK Sir was inside it and the tour would never be possible without it. Cursing our luck, we decided to head back to pick it up and crucial time was lost. This time, when we started again at around 6.45 pm, we were caught in the thickest of traffic possible as Jayalalitha had started addressing the public. The clock was ticking but our wheels were not and we were stuck more than half an hour. I certainly did lose my cool and the mood to drive after all the obstacles from the start.  I suggested we should return home, retire for the night and start afresh the next day as going ahead with the drive seemed no more logical as it would be very late by the time we reach Hosur. My father was visibly agitated by the idea and the held ups and delays in everything we did today did not make him feel good. So we returned back to our home, visited the nearby Lord Ganesh temple, prayed for a trouble free journey, had our dinner in a nearby restaurant and retired for the night with the idea that we should start very early the next day, by 1 am !!!!!

Day 1 (April 11th, 2011):

We were already behind schedule even before we had even started and had to make some serious distance before catching up. After a decent amount of sleep, we started the drive really early morning by 1 am on Monday. I never thought about where should I stop for the day but just wanted to cover as much distance as possible. Took the NH 4 towards Bangalore and I was able to maintain some seriously good speeds as the traffic in the NH was sparse. But, as always, the odd pedestrian or an auto can take you by surprise and hence nothing can be taken for granted. By 2.30 am, my dad started grumbling about having a coffee and lucky was he, as we spotted a tea shop open along the highway near Vellore. Thats Tamil Nadu for you..!!!! After energising ourselves with double coffees, we continued the drive. The drive was mostly uneventful, except for the large amount of Omni Bus traffic early morning towards Bangalore and that stole my speed a bit, but by 6 am I was cruising on the NH towards Tumkur after taking the exceptionally expensive but well laid NICE Road. Reached Chitradurga by 9, filled the tank with diesel , filled our stomach with breakfast from Hotel Naveen Residency and started moving again.

The NH after Chitradurga was incomplete in very short stretches and I still cant figure out what speedbreakers were doing in a NH as I found myself taking one at more than 120 kmph !!!! Kudos to Ritz’s suspension for making it clean!!! The stretch between Hubli and Belgaum was a normal 2-laned one and after that it was 4-laned again. Watch out for KSRTC buses especially in that stretch as they may exhibit road behaviour which doesnt acknowledge your presence on the road. Stopped at Hotel Sangam @ Belgaum for lunch as per HVK Sir’s plan. Called him to update our location and he suggested I should stop at Mumbai for the night. I had already done 800 kms for the day and I still had 600 kms more !!!!

Undeterred, we moved on again, and once we entered Maharashtra, the traffic and its indiscipline increased. The good roads helped me maintain my speed and I was able to reach Pune by 6.30 pm. It started raining in Pune and the road towards the Mumbai Expressway was tottering with traffic. Finally I was able to catch the Expressway and it was almost a nightmare. I had already done the expressway during my drive to Mumbai last year but this time it was even worse. Nobody cared for the rules. It is not that vehicles follow rules in rest of the NHs in India but with the level of speeds that this expressway lets you to take, it can get quite dangerous. The Audis , the BMWs race against each other and are forced to zig zag through the slow moving lorries and trucks which never stick to their lanes and seem to be in a world of their own.

Finally reached the other end of the Expressway around 8.30 pm to enter Navi Mumbai and my cousin's house was still some 30 kms and 2 hours of drive through Mumbai traffic away, in Guregaon !!!! I stopped at each signal and each landmark to stop the car and get directions from my cousin and it was a tortorous one and a half drive in Mumbai traffic which was aggregated by my near exhaustion. Finally, we reached his place only to find that the lift did not work and that we have to climb six stories !!!!

It was very welcoming to see him and his family waiting for us. Atlast, we could rest our bodies to get some really deserving sleep. I was very satisfied by the drive and I simply could not believe I had done a non-stop Chennai-Mumbai in 21 hours..!!!!! As I closed my eyes, I was yet to realise that this was only a starter and full meals was waiting in the days to come !!!!

(to be continued….)