Around India in 129 hours

AHMEDABAD: 42-year-old Amdavadi Harish Kumar is visibly tired, which is natural for anyone who has feverishly driven for more than 18 hours a day for five consecutive days to cover the distance of 5,846 km. Kumar's achievement is close to getting registered as a new national record for a disabled driver. No wonder, happiness is equally palpable on his face as when Limca Book of Records officials recognize his efforts, it would be his second national record.
Kumar returned to Ahmedabad on Monday evening. A telecom professional, Kumar created his first national record in 2012, when he completed his 15,963 km pan-India journey in 29 days, six hours and 20 minutes. It was for the first time that a disabled person had taken up such a journey.
Kumar's right hand was amputated below elbow at his birth. This year, he set his eyes on Golden Quadrilateral record, the highway connecting four metros of India. The national record at the moment is 96 hours, 10 minutes.
"I was eyeing 100-hour target but due to bad weather, some traffic jams and rough patches on highway, it took me five days and nine hours. At times, I drove nearly 1,100 km a day covering distances like Chennai to Pune. I had an assistant with me to take care of the vehicle, completing the formalities and get help in case of emergency. I slept almost every night inside the SUV for less than five hours," recounts Kumar. He had started from Gujarat high court at 8 am on May 22.
One of the major challenges was weather as most of the northern India was scorching at more than 40 degrees Celsius.
during his journey. "I had no option but to drive only at nights or take very frequent breaks because the vehicle's interior used to get really hot," he says.
He said that the logbook attested at the predetermined cities and towns by the record book authorities along with the GPS record of the car journey will be submitted to the Limca Book of Records authorities for his claim of national record.