Diary of a Raid
By Roopinder Singh

WHAT is it that would make a comfortably ensconced person take to a road less travelled by? What makes hundreds of people push themselves and their machines to the very limit and a bit beyond? What is it that makes a father leave his little daughter at home while he careens across steep curves? What is it that makes two mothers trade their home and hearth for the pleasure of negotiating up mountain tracks? Why, it's the spirit of adventure, of course, and in order to share it with our readers, we share with you a rally diary of the recently held Raid de Himalayas.

Wednesday

Up bright and early for the drive from Chandigarh to Shimla. Reach Himachal Holiday Home at Shimla by 10 a.m. and find out that other scribes have come in from Delhi. Poor chaps, they had to spend two hours before the Capital would let them out of its grip! They were caught in a traffic jam just on the outskirts of Delhi when they started from there on October 5 evening.

This is the day for the scrutiny. Dozens of cars and bikes are lined up at the venue awaiting inspection by rally officials. Is the roll cage up to the specifications? Show the 4-point seat belts, helmets, fire extinguisher etc. Where is the first-aid kit? The persons scrutinising the vehicles, both cars and bikes have been rallyists themselves and know various tricks of the trade.

There are the yellow Esteems from JK that have top-seeded Satkiran Hara and P.S. Pruthi as drivers, looking cool and composed. There is the black and red Gypsy of Sanjay Sikand. Another two-toned vehicle, sporting similar colours is of the ladies team comprising Mona Desai and Rajni Nagu.

Bikes attract a lot of feminine attention. The bikers are resplendent in their chest, knee and elbow guards that are fixed atop their riding suits. They will have a tough time facing the elements.

There are two teams from Chandigarh also. Atul Mandhar in a Gypsy and Viney Kumar in a Zen. Will the latter be able to take the rough terrain?

This is a Himalayan event in ways more than one. It will take the competitors 1,300-km along a tough hill terrain, from the verdant deodar greens to barren rocks, across mighty passes, past icy mountaintops. Rallying is returning to the Himalayas with a vengeance. They were the original host of the Himalayan Rally and the Great Desert-Himalaya.

One car stands out amongst the rest, a red Volkswagen Beetle. It belongs to Vijay Parmar, president of the Himalayan Motorsport Association, who, along with two other rallyists, Atul Handa and Manjeev Bhalla, is credited with putting the Raid de Himalaya together. What has also attracted much attention from the motoring community is the combination of the highest cash prizes and low entrance fees.

How is a Raid different from a rally, one scribe asks. In a rally there are many limitations whereas in a Raid there are few. A Raid is more gruelling and tests the man and machine much more, she is told.

After a quick bite media teams are split up into various groups and assigned different vehicles. I head out in a Sumo for Shoja so as to be in position at the Time Control (TC) point at the end of the first competitive stage. It is a beautiful drive on NH 22 through Kufri, Fagu, Theog, and Narkanda. We meet up with others at Narkanda and Kingle where we leave the national highway and head towards Luhri, Ani and Khanag. Shoja has a guesthouse, which we reach by about 10 p.m. There is no food available and the only thing on our mind is to get some sleep. We crash out, after a bit of a snack organised by Sunny Jind, scion of the Jind family.

Thursday

Early to rise, we get to see a beautiful sunrise. A short drive takes us to Ghayagi, where Leg 2 of Day 1 will end. The TC is at a point just before a bridge. We get a sumptuous breakfast at the local dhaba while we wait for the rallyists. As usual the road is blocked to all traffic which leads to some heated exchanges. Hear election results on the radio and see busloads of BJP revellers celebrating the party's victory.

We are told that the Raid has been flagged off as scheduled from Shilon Resorts after which the rallyists drove across the Ridge on to the 99.38-km competitive of Leg 1 from Guma to Nogli. This is a beautiful, though taxing, drive that we had covered the day earlier. The second competitive leg started at Ani after which the competitors had to cross the Jalori Jot at 10, 280 feet above sea level. The route to the Jalori Pass is a tough one, with a steep slope and a broken-down road. Once you cross the pass, the passage is even steeper, downhill.

The first bikes reach Ghyagi in the afternoon. Bitto Sondhi is the first vehicle in at the TC. He has recently been blessed with a baby girl, but that hasn't kept him from biking.

He has had a good ride. It was only yesterday that this rider was recalling that his parents and his wife had asked him to take it easy. "Of course when you go back after winning, they all tend to forgive you," says this veteran of many a rally. Following him are other bikes, including a rider who did the last bit on a flat tyre. The first car in is of Satkiran Hara, followed by Sanjay Sikand.

As evening approaches, it is time to worry about filling the day's despatch. A rushed ride to Kulu, where a cyber café is to be found. The sole computer is being monopolised by a tourist who is an excruciatingly slow typist. Once he leaves, it takes a short while to punch in the despatch and e-mail it to Chandigarh and get a confirmation.

We go on to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute at Manali to meet the rallyists. After dinner, we decide to go on towards Rohtang in order to be able to catch the rally the first thing in the morning. We get reservations slips for the Rest House to Marhi, 12 km from the Rohtang Pass. On reaching the PWD guesthouse at Marhi we find no trace of the chowkidar. Spend the night in the Gypsy, not so gently rocked to sleep by icy-cold winds. Thank God for sleeping bags.

Friday

An early morning start towards Rohtang at 14,000 ft. Leave Marrhi at 4 am. There is a beautiful dhaba at Gramphoo soon after you cross the Rohtang Pass. We meet the Route Opener and other rally officials. It's a beautiful morning and once you see the sun kiss the mountaintops, your day is made. Desolate, stony granite rocks, formidable terrain, simply beautiful.

We proceed cautiously along the Chandra river towards Chhatru. The road is badly broken at places, and the moonscape provides a rich contrast to the verdant greens of deodar-lined forests yesterday.

A Sumo carrying the other media party breaks down and we take in two fellow journalists towards Chhatru. We all re-group near Chhatru and attack the dhabha, an interesting place that offers you Maggi noodles along with traditional fare. Illumination is provided by a solar lantern, cooking fuel by dung cakes.

We know we can't go further because of the breakdown of the Sumo. The organisers are facing a shortage of accommodation at Kaza because two rest houses on the way have been dismantled, and the first priority is given to drivers and officials.

This is a long competitive stage of 134 km of tough terrain from Gramphoo to Kaza via the Kunzam Pass (15,800-ft). As usual the first vehicles in are the bikes. The first bike has a lead of almost half-an-hour! This leaves us with enough time to contemplate on the might of Nature that has carved out such mountains and gorges. The Chandra flows just past us, green and icy.

The rally streams through the area. There have been no significant mishaps so far, though a couple of vehicles have dropped out due to mechanical problems. Darshan Kaila, SDM, Kaza is travelling in the wrong direction. Just as the event is headed to his territory, he has to rush to Manali to personally hand over the election-related documents!

By the evening it is time for us to head back. We cross the Rohtang Pass at twilight and head back towards Manali, past cannibalised trucks and tourist-oriented eateries with blaring music, quite in contrast to the homely dhabas that we have been frequenting lately.

On to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, the rally headquarters in Manali, and then to the Himachal Tourism log huts. A roof over our heads, a hot bath, a good Tibetan dinner with Momos, after last night at Marhi, we have learnt how to appreciate the good things in life!

Saturday

The rally is headed back here from Kaza. Time to get a film developed. We have photographs but no scanner to send them to Chandigarh. A scanner is found after hours of searching, but the person who can do the job is not there! He is with the Raid!

We get back to the rally headquarters to find that an Army truck near Rohtang Pass rolled back and banged Kultar Nutt's Opel Astra. Both the side windows have been broken and the 'B' pillar damaged, though the rest of the car is untouched. It is one of the freak accidents that happen. Kultar is an old rallyist who is now an official of the Raid. He knew what he was doing when he brought his car to the Raid. Jagwant Gill, a Himalayan Rally veteran, has also brought in his Ford Escort to the Raid and both these cars took the punishing drive well.

This has been a day of problems for the Raid. Manoj Khan's car turned on its side shortly after he started from Kaza in the morning.

The competitors following him stopped to help set the car back on its wheels, only to see it roll of the cliff. Bittoo Sondhi also took a toss on an icy patch, but he is back on the job again.

The Zen has dropped out from the rally, though the other Chandigarh team is doing quite well. Atul Mandhar does not have much rally experience, but he is taking on the veterans.

Sunday

An early morning start. We leave Manali at 4 am. After crossing Kulu we head towards Mandi at break-neck speed. We want to beat the competitors to Basantpur, the final TC of the Raid. We race along the national highway and then branch on to the state highway. We are making good time when we have a puncture. A bamboo shoot has driven through a brand new tyre! A quick change, an intense prayer, since we can't get the puncture fixed anywhere nearby and we carry on.

We manage to reach the TC by 1 p.m. barely 20 minutes before the first vehicle races in. We have done eight hours of continuous driving, and we are the only three media persons at the final TC.

The bikers are the first to stream in, followed by Sanjay Sikand in his Gypsy. Intense competition is followed by hugs of relief as soon as the TC is crossed. It has been a hard, gruelling Raid. The ladies team has done well, making steady progress.

The competitors regroup at Naldera, where there is a crowd of college girls from Shimla milling around. The regrouping takes place here and on to the Shilon Resorts, there the Raid de Himalaya officially ends. Rally Steward Tutu Dhawan is gung-ho about the rally. He should know, he has seen many, many of them, both has a participant and as an official. Dinner is the time for bonhomie, and exchanging stories. Did you hear about fishermen's stories? You haven't heard bikers yet! "Sir, I was down to three spokes on my rear wheel."

Monday

The day of the results. The provisional results are posted, and of course there are objections! Final results are announced by noon.

Sanjay Sikand gets the overall trophy for the Raid de Himalayas. Surhid Sharma is declared the champion biker. Bitto Sondhi is second, though he takes home the first prize in his category too. The Chandigarh team also does well with Atul Mandhar being the first runner-up in the 13,000 Gypsy category, Group N.

The Coup de Dames Trophy goes to Mona Desai and Rajni Nagu. As the latter tells her son: "Now you can show it (the photograph of them getting the trophy) to the boys in Sanawar who said your mother would never make it."

The Chief Minister, along with his Cabinet colleagues comes in to give away the prizes.

Hey! It is a tradition to pop Champagne at such events! The management of Shilon Resorts manages to come up with the politically correct alternative, non-alcoholic apple bubbly!

The speeches are, thankfully, short, the trophies are beautiful, and the cash prizes substantial. It has been quite an adventure, just as promised.