Of Dust Trails And Gravel Traps

If you have an SUV, you should really take time to explore what it was actually built for. I spent a weekend in Chandigarh doing just that  

- Debabrata Sarkar

It’s a quiet little town this, Chandigarh, with its squared off blocks and equidistant roundabouts. It has its unique system of numbering which means every local knows exactly which way to head to find an address and every tourist is simply lost in a maze of similar looking blocks of houses and shops. If you ask a resident, it never takes more than fifteen minutes to get anywhere in the city and given the way my weekend turned out, it is more or less true. Rush hour traffic runs five cars deep at the traffic signal and is a bit of a laugh for us Mumbai folk, although it seems to have the locals worried. However, I particularly like this city because it’s a gateway to the most beloved mountains and consequently has easy access to plenty of trails in the foothills. This is also possibly the reason they seem to produce excellent off-road and rally drivers as a matter of routine. Reigning APRC champion, Gaurav Gill, who had a perfect season last year, calls this city home as does the current Rainforest Challenge (RFC) winner, Gurmeet Virdi.