A road less travelled

Motoring is second nature and chartering new routes a passion. Meet Autocar India team which after traversing the length of the country — from Kargil to Kanyakumari — is set to undertake yet another motoring feat. Of travelling from Koteshwar in Kutch to Kivithoo in Arunachal Pradesh, covering approximately 5,400 km across the breadth of the country.
Led by auto circuit veteran Hormazd Sorabjee, who’s also the editor of Autocar India, the ‘K2K II’ team along with Rishad Mehta, Vivek Bhatt, Kartik Ganesh and Farad Bhatena will map the route from West to East, kilometre by kilometre.
Says Hormazd, “Earlier the car market was not as advanced and driving long distances was not attempted. Now, with the Expressway and the Golden Quadrilateral linking metros, there’s much more scope for motoring.� He adds, “But with the increasing number of roadways, there’s also a need to judge road conditions. That’s where we come in. And what better way to judge roads than to travel to the ends of the country!� The theme for this year’s expedition is the old and new ‘Indian hero’. Thus, the team will travel by Ambassador — the first Indian car to be made here and the Indica — which has given the Tatas’ auto division reason to smile.
The bonhomie is apparent with team members fooling around as they put stickers on their cars. But what do they do apart from motoring? Kartik says he takes care of the website but Vivek has an unusual answer: “I spoil all the cars!� In fact, he loves big engines and can adapt from one car to another in the wink of an eye.
The team will travel through the salt pans of Gujarat, the deserts of Rajasthan, along the Aravallis, on the Grand Trunk Road, the hills and plateaus of Bihar, Jharkhand, Siliguri in the Himalayan foothills, across the tea estates of Assam and by the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh. The expedition begins on February 1 and expects to finish by February 13.
Recalls Rishad, “During our last K2K trip, driving through Ladakh was an experience. The terrain was spectacular, as if we were driving on the crater of the moon. But altitude sickness hit a number of us.�
Any apprehensions? Says Rishad, “In the North East, we are not too familiar with the roads. But I’m sure we’ll manage.�