[SS-Traveller]

A bit of history first

In 2006, my wife sold her Zen and wanted an upgrade. Her brief to me: a reliable car with an AC that works really well. She was very inclined towards a Santro Xing, which checked all the boxes for her, but with an Accent Viva CRDi at home (Accent Viva CRDi Dec '04 - Bid Adieu After 106,063 km.) (Accent Viva CRDi Dec '04 - Bid Adieu After 106,063 km.), I wasn't too keen on another Hyundai.

A friend was selling out his almost-new crystal gold January-2006-registered Maruti Swift ZXi, which was a far better option than the Santro. And the car has been with us since then (end of 2006). It has always been a very trustworthy car, barring the little rattles from various panels that first-generation Swifts have always been famous for. Used mostly for short-distance city runs, school and shopping trips, the petrol car was never our option for outstation trips, for which the Accent Viva (and later the Scorpio (Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) with a tail - Scorpio mHawk 4WD)) were extremely competent.

Fast forward to 2016, my work profile changed, and the need to commute 140-150km daily, stopped. Our daughter went abroad, and we started working from home. From over 5000 km each month between the two cars, our combined monthly driving dropped to 500-800 km. To add to that, we brought home a Thar (The Red One | My Thar'd... err...Third Car) (The Red One | My Thar'd... err...Third Car) in August 2017.

Delhi-NCR is obviously no place for old cars, however well-maintained they may be. Drive a smoke-belching 2-year-old car in this city, and no one penalises you as long as you have a valid PUC certificate. OTOH, the National Green Tribunal and the government want you to send any car that is 15 years old (and 10 years if it is a diesel) to the scrapyard. I watched in horror over the last year and more, as folks known to me reported being unable to sell or transfer their cars which had exceeded 15 years. I still had time to sell my cars, but I didn't want them to sell them to someone who would end up scrapping years of careful labour in a couple of years. Yet, with 3 cars at home, very little driving, and parking space at a premium, I continued to look for someone who would buy and appreciate my cars.

[SS-Traveller]

A deal, and a drive

As mentioned, I had been occasionally searching for a buyer for the Swift (as well as the Scorpio) for some time now, and Distinguished BHPian Leoshashi connected me to BHPian chiranjitp from Guwahati, who was interested in a first-generation Swift, as an upgrade from his Zen MPFi. I shared photos and videos, we talked on the phone, agreed on a price and closed the deal. I promised him a car that would be delivered in mechanically sound and very roadworthy condition, and he could collect the car at Delhi when he came visiting in mid-October. But there was the small issue of how he would transport the car to Guwahati. He wasn't confident of driving 2000 km, and his parents did not agree to do it either. Transporting the car on a truck was turning out to be a very expensive option; vehicle carriers out of Delhi do not carry used vehicles along with new ones any more due to GST issues, and booking a full truck to transport the car was the only method, with the added risk of dents and scratches in the process of loading & unloading.

My wife solved the issue. Let's drive, she said. She had wanted to visit the Kamakhya temple at Guwahati for some years now, and we could go to deliver the car as well as visit the temple. As for me, there's nothing better to make me happy than a very long drive, and we had not travelled on any new routes in a long time. I told Chiranjit that I would deliver the car to him at Guwahati at my risk, and that it would be an acid test of the roadworthiness of the vehicle. He agreed.

Thus began preparations for the drive, at rather short notice. I hate to get my hands dirty due to car problems while travelling, and I try my utmost to prep the car to last the distance and a lot more. To that end, the front suspension and subframe were taken apart, new bushes and link rods went in, everything was tightened, new drive belts and idler pulley installed, air filter changed, oils checked (the engine oil was less than 2000 km old), wheel alignment and wheel balancing done, radiator and condenser pressure-washed, and a host of other little things attended to. Also applied for NOC online, and deposited the documents at the Sheikh Sarai RTO on 5 October.

Kamakshya was calling, and Navratri was in 3 days' time. So, on 7th October at 10 pm, we topped up the tank, and the little Swift waved goodbye to Delhi-NCR whose populace had lately been hostile towards it, threatening to turn it into scrap metal soon.

Delhi to Lucknow is a super-smooth 6-hour run, strictly keeping to speed limits, on the Yamuna Expressway (YEW) > Inner Ring Road-Agra > Agra-Lucknow Expressway (ALE), with a total toll of Rs.1035 (415 + 35 + 585). I was a little apprehensive of the safety of ALE at night, and whether there are any refuelling and rest stops on the whole stretch. However, my fears were unfounded - there are two huge rest and refuelling stops, at the 100-km and 217-km marks, the latter having a Reliance fuel station.

There are some broken patches of road as one gets off the ALE and enters Lucknow, which would be expected to be crowded in the daytime. We sailed through the city at 4 am without any stops or interruptions...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H7CLG2hXu8

...and were soon on the NH27 heading east towards Gorakhpur, as the sun rose gently directly ahead of us.

With the rising sun, came the need for a quick tea break, and we stopped at a dhaba just after Gorakhpur.

- Doodh toh khatam ho gaya, chai nahin milegi. (There's no milk, I can't serve you tea.)

This was the newest, latest, wildest thing we'd ever heard - a dhaba in the heart of cow country does not have enough milk to make tea at 7:30 in the morning, when every single customer that would stop at his place would want tea! Oh, well... Not everyone has a highly organized wife like mine. She pulled out a flask of hot water, poured out a cup of steaming hot water, put in a spoonful of Robert Timms, and voila, I had my almost-perfect cup of long black!

Never mind tea...

[SS-Traveller]

And the drive continued...

When an engine has lived its entire life in the city, hardly ever exceeding the speed limit of 50 kmph, it feels lethargic on the highway. The Swift had never crossed the borders of Delhi-NCR in the last two-and-a-half years, and before that too, the furthest it had ever travelled was to Dehradun, once, about 10 years ago. I'd used it once a week for my work commutes, but that too had stopped. So the car didn't feel as peppy as it used to earlier, and I was a little worried initially. At the first fuel top-up stop at Agra, the car returned 15.1 kmpl, while travelling steadily at 100 kmph.

By daybreak, after over 500 km of driving, the engine was beginning to feel much better. It was running quieter, and the peppiness was back. Our second top-up returned 16.4 kmpl, under the same driving conditions. By the time we reached Siliguri, the average had climbed to 16.9 kmpl (perhaps aided by a tankful of petrol from a Reliance bunk).

Quite commendable for the roads that Bihar sometimes threw at the little car's wheels. This was extended Italian tuning!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqK3q_uN9TQ

There was this one time when the roads in Bihar scared me. That was when crossing the Kosi river. My drives have taken me across many a bridge over rivers, short ones and long ones. One of the longest is over the Sone River on NH19, and I've seen it in much worse condition back in pre-Golden-Quadrilateral times, than it is now. But this bridge we crossed appeared to be in quite poor condition, and the swaying as we stopped on the bridge, was far more intense than I've felt on any other bridge before. Maybe it really is in a bad condition (which would be surprising, considering the thousands of crores the government is spending on modernizing India's highway infrastructure), or maybe it was a bit on psychology playing on me, after having recently read about multiple bridges and flyovers collapsing in various parts of the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4_HCdzY4ps

Be that as it may, we made it safely across...

[SS-Traveller]

The road is blocked

We were doing good time, with Google Maps predicting our arrival at Jalpaiguri around 10 pm. The plan that evolved on the way was to take a night halt there, and continue on to Guwahati the next morning. The original plan was to stop at Purnea overnight and say hello to Distinguished BHPian Sheel. Given that we were covering ground much better than originally anticipated, the proposal of stopping at Purnea was changed in telephonic consultation with Distinguished BHPian Sutripta.

But that was not to be. Even GMaps failed to detect or predict this road blockade, and about 20 km before Darbhanga, we crawled into one massive traffic jam as GMaps suddenly changed the stretch ahead to a deep shade of red. There we were, at the back of a queue of a humongous number of vehicles of all sorts, with lots of people loitering in the middle of the road. Bus passengers. Asking them revealed that they had been waiting for the road to clear since the past 2 hours.

Did we have a choice of an alternate route? Not really, according to GMaps. But the local drivers knew a shortcut to another road, that would take us to the other side of the blockade, further down the highway. Or so they thought. So, here we go, following a few other cars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq5GmX1rKWk

A little nervous, because I've lost confidence in my ability to handle a low-GC hatchback on rough roads (I wouldn't have thought twice about going in here with the Scorpio or Thar).

But, in the end, it was all for nought. We got stuck in that little village road, instead of out on the highway. Unluckily. Or maybe, very luckily. Because, right behind our car was stuck a VIP convoy, with a Safari, a Scorpio and a Fortuner containing men in white, led by a Bolero police escort.

[SS-Traveller]

The road is cleared

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgPUYN83Mzs

It took the armed bodyguard cops a little over half an hour to clear out the mess inside the narrow village road, and we were back on the highway soon after that. This was when GMaps informed us that the revised arrival time at Jalpaiguri would be about 11:05 pm. The time kept going upwards, till it was showing 11:30 pm an hour later. It would not be a great idea to try to reach Jalpaiguri, and over another phone consult with Sutripta-da, it was decided that we would revise our destination to Siliguri.

Now, there are two routes one can take to Siliguri. One is to keep following the NH27 southwards to Purnea, then turn back north and head to Siliguri...

...the other option being to continue heading north-eastwards on the SH7, now designated the NH327E, to go directly to Siliguri.

The difference in distance, as shown on GMaps, is about 70 km, but the difference in travel time then was about 1 hour 30 minutes - predicted arrival time at the WBTDCL Mainak Tourist Lodge was 10 pm if we took NH327E, and 11:30 pm if we went via Purnea. The choice was obvious. After all, with the new designation of an NH for the road, how bad could it be?

How wrong we were, we would find out soon...

But before that, a quick stop at the Raju Dhaba (they don't usually call them dhabas in Bihar, highway eateries are called Line Hotels) for some food. This would be our first hot food in 18 hours. Not interested in the rice & fish/egg/chicken curry options they offered (none of them looked appealing enough), we settled for omelettes and tea. The omelettes were very tasty, but far more expensive than we expected. However, there's no toilet, and Swachh Bharat does not look like it had any impact on the folks here. Oh, well...

[SS-Traveller]

Driving over broken roads - the NH327E

It was around 6:45 pm as we headed from Araria towards the NH327E, and onwards to Siliguri. The road was pockmarked with craters, bumps, ongoing concretization work and - most shockingly - a broken bridge without barricading or marked diversions. I almost drove off the edge, but managed to come to a stop with 100 metres to spare. Turned around and backtracked to the diversion about 500m behind us, which we had failed to notice in the dark on the deserted road. Unfortunately, that video isn't available, but here's a short clip of the general condition of the road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGTkuTFMTR0

Over a few short stretches, the road was nice and smooth, and well-marked. And here, the MoRTH in all its wisdom has set up toll booths (a bit like putting the cart before the horse, IMO). Mercifully, these are not yet operational, but I would not have been surprised if we were made to pay for using such a road!

The Swift developed some disconcerting rattles on this stretch, but I wasn't about to stop here on the dark, deserted road. As long as it was driving and steering fine, noises could be addressed tomorrow.

After 24 continuous hours on the road, we reached the WBTDCL Mainak Tourist Lodge at Siliguri, and drove in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiTFEo6Rfx8

The experience here was really good, the room was large, clean and VFM for Rs.1600 + taxes with a basic breakfast included. They got us some rotis and a (rather too spicy) chicken curry for our dinner, and then it was lights out time.

[SS-Traveller]

Off to Guwahati today...

We planned to leave early, by 8 am, to let us reach Guwahati by early evening. However, there was a rattle from from the front end of the Swift, that had developed since traversing the NH327E last night, and I had to find out what was causing it. I spent some time tracking down the noise, but a lack of tools made my task quite impossible. I usually carry a full complement of tools and spares that would allow me to carry out emergency checks and repairs on my own, anywhere. But we were travelling light, and all I had was a set of flat wrenches and a couple of screwdrivers, plus a tyre repair kit & foot pump. What would have been worrisome, was that I had forgotten to take the original toolkit of the car, with the wheel spanner, jack handle and tow ring in it - but mercifully, I would only find out about it at Guwahati!

The culprit that stayed back home - to be handed over later to chiranjitp when he visited Delhi a week later

Anyway, a thorough inspection by self and a quick visit to a local mechanic made sure everything was nice and tight - except the bonnet, that now kept making a drumming sound over rough roads. Not so bad that a couple of bits from an Amazon packing box could not sort out to about 20% of the original. By this time, it was past 10 am.

The road via the plains, to Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, was shorter, but GMaps wanted us to go via the Sevoke Road, Coronation Bridge, Mallbazar and then to Alipurduar, the time difference being about an hour. Sutripta-da advised us too that the latter road would be better surface-wise. So off we went, to enjoy some very beautiful roads...

https://youtu.be/gHXDJoDJFr4

...which could well be a little dangerous too.

https://youtu.be/8C6BNsaMIFs

But just because there may be loitering cows (and perhaps the occasional loitering elephant)...

...certainly does not merit the ridiculous posted speed limits on National Highways in West Bengal. The limits range from 30-50 kmph, and are never followed by the local cabbies as a default.

I had been warned by multiple folks that speed cameras operate on the highways all over WB, and I was being very careful. Yet, after the turnoff towards Bhutan, the road was suddenly bereft of traffic, and it was immensely boring to drive at 40 and 50 kmph on a perfectly surfaced road - the heat of the afternoon sun through the glass and the cold air from the AC (a brand-new compressor made sure it was really chilled inside the car) were combining to make me a little drowsy, and I took too long to slow down at a 40 kmph board. 200 metres down the road, at a place called Poro, I was stopped for doing 51 kmph in a 40 kmph zone.

https://youtu.be/iLP9Y0eUFNY

The policeman handing out the challan and impounding the driving licenses turned out to be a reasonable fellow. According to rules, I am supposed to deposit the penalty amount online, take a printout of the receipt and go back to him at the police station to collect my license. I told him that would be impossible for me to do, since I was travelling long distance, and did not live nearby to drop in and collect my DL at a later date. He did a double-take when he learnt we are driving from Delhi to Guwahati, and agreed to let me keep my DL, if I, apart from the Rs.400 penalty amount, agreed to pay Rs.20 to one of the Civic Volunteer boys to deposit the amount on my behalf at the bank. So I happily paid him Rs.420, a significant number!

But then, I had a few questions for the policeman.

- Why do you keep the speed limit so low on such an excellent highway?
Because there are elephants crossing the highway at all times, he said. Wouldn't want want drivers to run over elephants, so it is for your own safety.

- So at 40 kmph, it will take me till tomorrow afternoon to reach Guwahati. What do you suggest I do?
- Well, you can stay overnight at Bongaigaon.

- But that will mean I'll lose my payment towards booking at the Guwahati hotel!

He stared at me for a few moments, unable to resolve the perplexing problem. I asked him: How many more speed checks are there between here and the Assam border? This was a question he had a ready answer for - there will be no other speed traps till the border!

- Perfect! I'll watch out for the elephants!

What a relief to to get back to cruising at 100 kmph, on a perfectly empty and smooth highway.

https://youtu.be/vH_4F0Jbv6Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezZRAqTAui0

I had been assured earlier by chiranjitp that Assam highways are free of speed checks, and it was a reasonably smooth drive all the way to Guwahati, where we checked into the Hotel Atithi (arranged for by Sutripta-da) a little after 8 pm. The timing was lucky, since the hotel is located in the heart of Paltan Bazar, and navigating through the dense traffic would have been far tougher - the shops close at 8 pm.

Soon after, chiranjitp arrived, we had a good dinner, and he left with the car and paperwork.

Tomorrow we visit the Kamakhya temple...

[SS-Traveller]

Visiting the Kamakhya Temple

It was the beginning of Navratri, and the Kamakhya Temple was gloriously decorated with flowers and garlands (we were told that the lighting at night is even more attractive).

Navratri attracts humongous crowds of devotees to temples all over the country, and Kamakhya is no exception.

The measures to control the crowd at Kamakhya are interesting. One starts at a waiting hall at a distance from the temple.

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Then there is a serpentine corridor with locked exits, that guides the devotees towards the temple over a distance of almost a kilometre. Devotees get to sit down while the queue is not moving, but I wonder how they answer nature's call when required.

https://youtu.be/k4oNOsIP98Y

Queues start forming from 3 am, and devotees are not even allowed into the garbha griha for a darshan.

As for us, we had the privilege of a free VIP darshan, thanks to a friend with contacts. Pujaris / pandas receive special free passes from the office of the Doloi (head priest) on the temple premises, for admitting their close associates or VIPs.

On that day, there were quite many VIPs, accompanied by gun-toting police bodyguards, visiting the temple.

And then there are those that pay the pandas to get the VIP passes (Rs.1000 per person, I am told). And finally, there was us, neither VIPs nor paid anything for getting these passes.

[SS-Traveller]

In and around the Kamakhya Temple

Some more photographs:

A mural at the parking lot before the temple.

The bhog is prepared here

Gate number 1

Right beneath the large dome is the underground garbha griha, lit dimly by smoky oil lamps. Photography is not allowed inside the temple, but our VIPs are callous enough to flout such rules. Right next to us, a couple of VIPs pulled out their mobiles and took pictures inside the main temple, to trigger a war of words with an alert guard who made them delete the photos, threatening to take them to the 'Office".

Queue of VIP devoteees

Animal sacrifices are common at Kamakhya, and goats & doves are frequently offered by devotees as sacrifice

This is the platform for breaking coconuts

Lighting the lamp

Devotees tie threads to this tree, for their wishes to come true

On the way back from the temple, we stop at this viewpoint for a panoramic view of Guwahati from the Neelachal Hills

[SS-Traveller]

And the rest of the story...

Paltan Bazar is a great place for folks who love their phuchka aka paanipuri - it is apparently quite popular all over the city. We enjoyed the somewhat different taste, except that we were a little bothered with the chilies in the mix the first time, and had to tell the vendor to absolutely not add any subsequently.

But then, we had no idea how hot chilies can be. A loving gift of this from chiranjitp's mother, which we happily carried home to taste later, turned out to be a repetition of Hiroshima in our mouths (although a couple of other pickles she gifted us were lip-smackingly delicious).

We explored the Nepali Temple next door to our hotel...

...went shopping for a bit...

...and called it a day. Flew back to Delhi the next morning.

I am really glad to know that chiranjitp is taking good care of the car, and I expect it should serve him well for many thousands of kilometres, without any major expenses. It's not one that I would have sold willingly, but draconian rules regarding vehicle ownership in Delhi-NCR made it impossible to keep it with me in the long term.

The Swift getting a loving wash to rid itself of the road grime of 2000 km of travel across the country (pic courtesy chiranjitp)

Inspired by my thread on headlight restoration (DIY: Restoring hazy yellowed headlights with the Rain-X headlight restoration kit) (DIY: Restoring hazy yellowed headlights with the Rain-X headlight restoration kit), chiranjitp set about doing the same to the Swift, with great results! (pic courtesy chiranjitp)

And sadly again, the time has also come to give up ownership of my much-loved Scorpio (Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) with a tail - Scorpio mHawk 4WD). It has been great fun having these cars for the long term, but in retrospect, was it worth spending the time, effort and money that I did, to keep them in perfect mechanical condition? Chiranjitp can tell more about the Swift now. If the Scorpio also finds a loving home, it would have been worth it.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

... I took too long to slow down at a 40 kmph board. 200 metres down the road, at a place called Poro, I was stopped for doing 51 kmph in a 40 kmph zone.

It was wonderful to read this special travelogue of yours!

It's an academic curiosity: did they give you any printout (or at least show you) of the recorded speed in their speed radar? Or was it a verbal declaration by them!
Anyway, I agree that those stretches of the highway in northern Bengal is too enticing.

Thanks,

[tharian]

What a way to part with a car you owned for so many years.

We have a 2005 Swift at home which is similar to the one you had. It doesn't do much running and has run just 55k kms in the last 13 years. It has seen just 4 trips in its lifetime and I have been planning on doing a short day drive on the highway just to get it back to life, but at the same time worried about what will fall apart.

After reading your thread, I think I will do it soon.

How many kms had your car clocked when you reached Guwahati?

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by gmhossain

...did they give you any printout (or at least show you) of the recorded speed in their speed radar? Or was it a verbal declaration by them!

Asking for proof of your speed is a good way of antagonising them. I was aware that the speed would be in that range, so I didn't argue about it. In any case, it was more important to retain my DL and not have them impound it.

Originally Posted by tharian

We have a 2005 Swift at home which is similar to the one you had.
...worried about what will fall apart.

That was the test. The car had better be in good condition to survive the 2000-km almost-non-stop run without breaking down or falling apart.

[saket77]

What a gripping story of your travel...and the car. Wonderful narration made sure I read it in one sitting and happy to know that your car found a caring owner in Chiranjit.

And what a way to see-off your car.

Regards,
Saket