Facing North East

The second season of the Great India Drive takes us to the unexplored paradise of India, that is the North East

- Rishabh Bhaskar

There’s something about experiences that make you who and what you are, isn’t it? Until and unless you don’t experience something firsthand, all you have is just a picture formed in your head. Reading about the North East in books, newspapers and other forms of digital mass media, I had formed a notion about this part of the country. So when Bert asked me to participate in Hyundai’s second season of the Great India Drive with the all-new Tucson, I didn’t even bat an eyelid before agreeing to it. Who in their right mind would decline the opportunity to drive across the seven north-eastern states — Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

While the first edition of the Great India Drive, in the Hyundai Creta, was a Team OD-only affair, this time around we thought of taking a contestant along with us for the drive. After a simple lucky draw, Binil Varghese from Bengaluru was the one to accompany us. At he was a bit sceptical about the call he received informing him about the win. “I thought it’s a prank by one of my friends,” he said. However, an email confirmation later he was all set, of course after getting the required permission from his employer and newly wedded wife!

The plan was to begin from Siliguri, West Bengal, on April 3. But as is the case with most plans, they never really turn out as thought. There was a delay due to unforeseeable circumstances which put us a day behind schedule, and I was worried that we may not have enough time to cover all states. Nevertheless, after plonking our luggage into the cavernous boot of the Tucson, we finally began our journey. Since the drive to Shillong would take us over 12 hours, we decided to stop for the night in Guwahati, Assam.