What would be the collective noun for a group of automotive journalists? Not that there is one, but I would go with a ‘clutch’, even when the clutch pedal, itself, is going out of fashion. When several of us were requested to participate in a project for the Automotive Journalists Association of India (AJAI), we all readily agreed.
The ‘Bharat Drive’ concept which Mahindra Automotive would support was to take six Mahindra Scorpio-N vehicles from the company offices in Kandivali, off the Western Express Highway to different corners of the nation.
Multiple journalists and multiple publications, most of us associated with the Indian Car Of The Year (ICOTY) jury were participating. As a past jury member of ICOTY, I was representing ThePrint. Blame it on the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections that the plan was made in much haste. The big challenge that was posed in front of us was to bring the people together. With the Indian automotive industry having grown dramatically over the past few years, a large chunk of the participants were busy driving on new roads coming up in India, this drive being a part of the same.
But first, what is AJAI?
This association of journalists is the current custodian of the ICOTY and the Indian Motorcycle Of The Year (IMOTY) awards which remain the two most coveted awards for the industry. But beyond that, it was also formed to raise the most pressing issues that many of the automotive journalists face. With the changing landscape of automotive journalism, like most other media, AJAI is also set to mentor and promote entrants into the sphere.
And this is not only for writers and reviewers but also those behind the scenes – photographers, videographers, copy-editors and video editors. What remains a focal point here is the funds raised from the Bharat Drive and other projects will be utilised to set up a welfare fund which which help old, retired automotive journalists as well as those who suffer unforeseen accidents. This initiative was supported by Mahindra Automotive and JK Tyre, the founder-sponsor of ICOTY and IMOTY whose Ranger H/T tyres were equipped on all the vehicles.
Three groups started from Kandivali, one headed north to Ladakh, one southern leg to Kanyakumari and the third headed eastward through the new Sela Tunnel and on to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. Along the way, we crossed areas that were yet to cast their votes in the now-concluded General Elections. We used this opportunity to promote voting among citizens. But the main objective of the drive was to showcase some of the brand-new Highways, Expressways and road infrastructure that have been built in India over the past two decades. This would be older roads such as sections of the Golden Quadrilateral and new pieces of infrastructure like the aforementioned Sela Tunnel. Driving duties were apportioned like a relay, and after much back and forth on logistics, it was time for the flag-off.
After the flag-off, I returned to Delhi but soon found myself on another aircraft headed to Bengaluru. I was scheduled to drive the Bengaluru-Coimbatore section of the southern leg of the journey, which involved travelling on the newly inaugurated Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway. This expressway, part of National Highway 275, connects Bengaluru to the coastal city of Mangaluru. Stretching 119 kilometres, the ten-lane, access-controlled expressway saw work begin in March 2018 and was completed five years later at a cost of 8,000 crores. It significantly reduces journey times between the three major cities in Dakshina Kannada.
Navigating through Bengaluru’s notorious traffic was my first challenge. Despite it being a Sunday, the Southern metropolis lived up to its reputation, and we got stuck at the Hebbal junction. Once we reached the expressway, it was time to hit the gas. Notably, this expressway is claimed to be India’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) equipped expressway, fitting for a route starting in India’s technology capital. AI systems monitor traffic via cameras on top of gantries, calculating average speeds and issuing speeding fines even if drivers slow down before the cameras. These systems are likely to be implemented on more expressways across the country.
Driving on Indian expressways has become remarkably mundane, thanks to these new road projects. Journeys that once took half a day now barely take 2-3 hours. You can have breakfast in Delhi and lunch in Lucknow, and this efficiency is mirrored across the country. At the end of the expressway, I visited the newly opened Payana Car Museum, established by Veerendra Heggade, the hereditary administrator of the famous Dharamsthala Temple near Mysuru. There were many day-trippers from Bengaluru admiring the collection of vintage and modern classic vehicles. The large Poojari’s Fishland restaurant where we stopped for lunch was also bustling with people who could now easily make the trip to Mysuru and return to Bengaluru before nightfall, ready for the workweek ahead.
There are two routes from Mysuru to Coimbatore in northern Tamil Nadu. The first route, which passes through the National Parks of Bandipur and Mudumalai, is closed to traffic at night. We took the second route, which skirts the national parks but still goes through places like the Sathyamangala Tiger Reserve. This made shooting video challenging, so we travelled through the night. Once outside the reserve, the daytime bustle had faded, and our two Scorpio-Ns were often the only vehicles on the roads leading to Coimbatore.
After a near-incident where I drove over a large boulder—thankfully without any cosmetic or mechanical damage to the vehicle—we finally made it to our hotel just before midnight. Having started from home in Delhi at five in the morning to catch a flight, I was exhausted as I lay on a bed at the other end of the country. But what a fantastic day of driving it had been. The main point of the trip was to showcase how one can now get up and go almost anywhere in the country.
The Bharat Drive is a fantastic initiative, and I hope more such events are organized by AJAI in the coming years.
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