TIME CAPSULE

We head back in time with an iconic brand to return with intriguing memories

-  Janak Sorap

Located in the Darjeeling subdistrict of West Bengal, Maney Bhanjang is a small transit town that you’ve probably never heard of. Even I never had, but when Land Rover decided to bring us here to celebrate its 70th anniversary, there had to be something significant about this place. It is said that Maney Bhanjang is home to the largest Land Rover Taxi Association in South East Asia. And these Land Rover taxis have been in service for over 50 years now! These Land Rovers — Series 1, Series II and Series III models — have been ferrying people and transporting goods on a route that is banned for two-wheelers and impossible for normal front-wheel-drive vehicles to climb. Locals swear by them because these Landies were the only vehicles that could overcome the steep route which was accessible only on pony trails before. All these years, it has only been Land Rovers that could climb on this treacherous section of road on the Indo-Nepal border doing not just one, but at times, seven trips in a day carrying a payload of 600 kg.