Currency note drive across India in my Mahindra XUV500

After much thought, I decided to take this massive challenge alone - a 10,000 km road trip covering a major chunk of the country.

BHPian kushgandhi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Introduction

As a kid, I was always fascinated by an English chapter in our curriculum about the road less travelled. It stuck to me and I always wondered can it really be possible to go out of the ordinary and do something no one has ever done. This curiosity as a kid took me to places I could not think of. Even before I started driving, I started travelling in ways the majority do, planes, buses and trains, I travelled to the places which were familiar to everyone, yet found areas within them that were unfamiliar to many. In college, I travelled solo in strange countries where even basic communication was a challenge. Spending time alone in Kazakstan, Russia and Turkey taught me how to travel, communicate, budget and plan travels at a very young age.

Then I was fortunate enough, at the age of 21, to have my own set of wheels. The limits of my travel just broke and I now had the whole country a drive away. For me, my first long trip was from Delhi to Karnal, a mere 125 km, but that was just the beginning over the years I covered many places in Himachal, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and other neighbouring places. This passion grew and with friends sharing the same passion to travel I was fortunate to visit many places.

Like every other adventure driver, I did Ladakh and Spiti the gold standards of driving pleasures in India. But this was not enough.

When in 2016 demonetisation happened it changed the country but most importantly the notes had a new interesting design. I went to the Red fort and clicked a picture with the 500 rupee note just for fun. The idea then stuck to my head, what if I embark on an all India road trip covering all of the destinations on the back of the currency notes. Back then it seemed like an idea I would joke about with family and friends whenever they asked me about my next big adventure. But after 2 years of joking, I wanted to make it a reality.

The Plan

Every cloud has a silver lining, this held true for me in these dark COVID times. I, like many others, was not working to my full capacity and was free for the majority of the year. After a few things which were due at work, I was free for a month. I started planning my All India Trip. Since most of my friends were busy with their respective jobs I was out of options as far as the company was concerned. After much thought, I decided to take this massive challenge alone. A 10,000 KM trip covering a major chunk of the country.

I looked at all the notes and these were the following places to cover.

• Rs. 10 - Konark Sun temple, Konark, Odisha
• Rs. 20 - Ellora Caves, Aurangabad, Maharashtra
• Rs. 50 - Hampi Chariot, Hampi, Karnataka
• Rs. 100 - Rani Ki Vav, Patan, Gujarat
• Rs. 200 - Monuments at Sanchi, Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh
• Rs. 500 - Red Fort, Delhi

The plan revolved around these destinations but since I planned to travel for 3 weeks I wanted to cover as many places on my bucket list as possible.

These included Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram, Coimbatore, Goa and Bangalore. Some of these places were added just for the value they hold for road travellers i.e Kanyakumari as the tip of India and Rameshwaram for the drive towards Ram Setu, whereas others were added to meet old friends and have a good time with them i.e Bangalore and Goa.

After planning the itinerary and getting all the necessary checks done for the car it was time to leave.

The only partner I had in this whole trip was my trusted car Mahindra XUV 500 which was always a solid companion in numerous Himachal, Rajasthan, Ladakh and many other trips.

I tried to vlog this trip. Here is the trailer to the vlog.

Day 1 Delhi to Bihar

The day started pretty early at 4 AM. After packing the car a night earlier and fuelling up the tank to the brim I was ready to leave. A major concern of mine was tackling the early morning fog infamous on the Yamuna expressway heading towards Agra. I also experimented with one carpooling service by the name of BlaBla car which allows users to find people travelling on the same routes to join. I was skeptical about it in the beginning but ended up taking the people on my journey. Overall the experience with the service was fairly positive. Coming back to the drive. My first target was to cover as much distance as possible without straining myself too much physically.

My first BlaBla car ride was till Lucknow so I planned to cover Delhi to Lucknow as soon as possible. With just a single stop to freshen up on the amazing expressway, in my opinion, the best road in India, and the good visibility I got on the road the distance was covered fairly quickly. I reached Lucknow well before my scheduled time at 11 AM. As I was going inside the city to drop my ride I decided to visit the chowk area for lunch. Famous for its kebab and nihari the area is full of legendary outlets like Tunday Kebabi and Rahim hotel. I ended up trying both of these eateries. Satisfied to the core I left the chowk area after trying the famous Makhan malai. The chowk area is accessible fairly well via road considering it's the old part of the city. Ample parking space available at multi-story parking near imam bada.

After having the amazing lunch and only noontime I planned to move towards Varanasi. I got another set of passengers for this trip. Leaving Lucknow at 12:30 PM I was confident and fresh enough to continue the ride. The highway is smooth with a mix of divided and undivided roads. Followed google maps to the teeth and I reached Varanasi in the evening at 8 after just a single tea break before the sunset.

I bid farewell to my fellow passengers and had to decide whether to stay for the night or move forward. I decided to carry forward with my drive despite my resolution of not driving at night on unknown roads.

I left Varanasi and the roads are smooth with truck traffic, which is expected given the time and the route, but things get difficult as soon as I enter Bihar. The 4-lane divided road is suddenly gone and it's now a 2 lane undivided road.

There was a patch where construction was going on, so the whole highway was full of diversions. Traffic was crazy and the constant high beam from the opposite side was too tiring. I stopped at a small dhaba with amazing staff, had my dinner and crashed in a room available there.

It was not how I expected my day to end but never the less I crossed the construction patch of the Original GT Road.

Day 2 Bihar to Cuttack

The highway started smoothly and as the sunrise was upon me the roads kept on getting better and better. Truck traffic remained on the roads all along. The roads became even better as soon as I crossed the Bihar border to enter Jharkhand. The roads became windy and the tarmac was smoother than ever. The lush greenery in Jharkhand made the ride even better.

The happiness didn't last long as I headed towards Jamshedpur bypass. The whole road is under expansion work and the diversions and bad roads come in body aching frequency. This nightmare lasted for quite some time before I finally entered Orissa.

You can see the beauty of our Great country when you travel. This is always what makes me travel further and further in India. As I entered Orissa the language of all the signs and boards changed. It was a pleasant feeling as I left the Hindi heartland and I sensed for the first time that I am too far from home now.

The joy was again short-lived as the roads in Orissa were also pretty bad, and the icing on the cake was there still were frequent toll taxes on the way.

After a long grilling day of driving alone and not getting any rides in BlaBla cars, I finally reached Cuttack. It's a very beautiful town filled with water bodies. I had a hearty thali. Containing Orissa style mutton and fish with rice.

Post that meal I headed for my accommodation of the day and simply crashed.

Day 3 Bhubaneswar to Konark to Unknown

This was a magical day indeed. I started early as usual and headed straight for Konark. Konark sun temple is one of the oldest and the richest temples in India. The history of the temple goes back to the 13 century. The temple is based on a chariot style with horses moving the temple. A cyclone destroyed the main temple building which would have been a big glow for the eyes back in those days. But the remaining temple is still an amazing attraction for sure.

After visiting this amazing site I headed south on the east coast of India towards Visakhapatnam. It is one of the biggest bases for the Indian navy. The drive to Vizag is an amazing one you are literally driving next to the endless beaches of the Bay of Bengal.

The next stop of one of the Char Dham Jaganath puri. This temple is huge and also famous for Rath Yatra. After a quick prayer was back on the road.

The day passed by as I was on the not so good highway of Odisha. Suddenly the car lost balance at a speed of 85 kmph. Thanks to the many sensors of the Xuv. I saw the TPMS showed a tyre pressure warning.
As I got down I saw the tire of my car had a big hole. Big enough that any sort of repair was out of the question. Thanks to Mahindra roadside assist they came to rescue me and after removing one of the stubborn bolts I changed to my spare wheel and took rest for the night at the nearest dhaba on the highway.

Day 4 Bharmpur to Vizag

After a very scary night of unfortunate events, I saw the nearest big city. Today's priority was to get a new set of tyres. Although I changed my Bridgestone Duellers a couple of years back. And they had plenty of life left, I realised something big and sharp came under these tyres. One of them was completely damaged but two other tyres developed cracks as well. I decided to reach Bhrampur a city closest to me with official tyre sellers of all the brands.

After a slow and steady drive, I reached the city. Due to the lockdown, I was not able to find a set of 4 duellers h/t for my car. I then decided to for an All-Terrain tyre as I was planning to do a Ladakh trip soon and had no idea what lies ahead in my trip.

I went for apollo apterra A/T 2 I had heard good reviews about this tyre and got a good deal for a set of 4. Surprisingly Bhrampur had a great selection of Food. I had a great Biryani while my tyres were getting changed.

After spending more than half a day finding and getting my tyres replaced I finally continued my drive to Vizag, and after a long drive, I reached the beautiful coastal city.

Day 5 A day of relaxing

The last couple of days full of misfortunes took a toll on me and I decided to spend an extra day just walking near the beach relax and trying the great food the city had to offer. And that's exactly what I did for a couple of days.

Day 6 Vizag to Hyderabad

After recharging and spending 2 days in Vizag I was again ready for my drive to Hyderabad. The drive is very uncomfortable due to the patch from Vizag to Vijaywada being under construction.

I had a target in mind though.

Breakfast in Vizag, lunch in Vijaywada and dinner in Hyderabad.

The most scenic part of this route was the endless farmlands I came across. This really showed me why we are a country of farmers. It felt really great to connect and see it with my own eyes as the next BlaBla passengers were farmers near Vijaywada.

It was great to talk to them with the little English and Hindi they knew.

I am a driver who takes little brakes and I managed to reach Hyderabad just after sunset. The roads post-Vijaywada are good. And once you enter the ring road of Hyderabad you realise why every major city should have a road like that.

The day ended with dinner at one of my favourite places in Hyderabad for biryani old city Hotel Shadab. The biryani there is amazing. Then headed to my sister's place to crash for the night.

Day 7 Hyderabad to Bangalore

After leaving Lucknow, I was craving good roads and because my new tyres had run in enough I wanted to stretch them too. NH 44 also known as the Kashmir to Kanyakumari highway connects the whole country north to south. After leaving Agra I was finally back on the highway in Hyderabad. The highway is a six-lane buttery smooth tarmac. I had co-passengers traveling with me on this route and the journey was silky smooth.

The new tyres were performing brilliantly at high speeds. I was getting good mileage and low road noise was a feature of the A/T 2.

I finally reached my next major stop of the trip where I would spend the next 3 days with my friends.

Bangalore is an amazing city I was visiting for the first time. It has great food and a great brewery scene. I loved the vibe of the city and it was great catching up with my college friends after many many years.

Day 10 Bangalore to Coimbatore

I am not a very spiritual person but I like my dose of spirituality every now and then. I wanted to reach Kanyakumari but I also wanted to see something I had on my list. Adiyogi at the Isha Foundation. It is the yogic form of shiva that focuses on peace, concentration, focus and calmness.

I left Bangalore with the company of my father who reached Bangalore by flight. As he too wanted to see Adiyogi and wanted to go to Rameswaram. Also, my college friend Ankit joined me.

The roads from now on were just amazing NH 44 till Kanyakumari. Surrounded by coconut trees. The thing I noticed is that the concept of highways all over India is the same. Surrounded by farms and dhabas, the only difference is in the language the food and the crops growing.

The drive till Coimbatore is not very long and we reached there in time. Checked in to our hotel, changed and headed straight out.

The feeling at Isha Foundation cannot be described. It's an energy everyone should experience on their own. The place has a concept of no religion and believes yoga and meditation is the way to attain peace and focus. The concept is called inner engineering. Meditating in the Dhyanlinga Hall in complete silence does change you for good.

The rest of the day was just very slow and relaxed due to the vibes we witnessed.

Day 11 Coimbatore to Kanyakumari

The drive was again on NH 44 which was now surrounded by windmills. I found that Tamil Nadu is one of the biggest producers of wind energy and the government's vision to be carbon neutral in 20 years time was taking shape in this state. It was a proud sight to see.

Coimbatore to Kanyakumari is a traffic-less, 430 kms of smooth tarmac. It was really an easy drive. We reached there by lunchtime.

This drive also took my car to a special milestone of 1,00,000 Kms.

Kanyakumari is a small town that is the southernmost tip of mainland India. I got really emotional reaching the last point of the road in India. All the troubles were worth it. We had a great time watching the sunset and sunrise from the same beach which is something unique. And had great biryani at Zam Zam one of the best restaurants in the city.

Day 12 Kanyakumari to Rameswaram

I again joined the east coast road from Kanyakumari driving all the way to Rameswaram. It's a city whose economy is solely based on the Rameswaram temple, one of the Char Dham and the second Dham of my trip. This temple was closed due to COVID but thankfully my dad had a friend who is the head priest there.

We were lucky to go inside the temple and pray at our pace without any other visitors something that the priest told us had not happened in 1000 years.

Then we headed towards Dhanushkodi. This is the bridge created by Lord Ram to reach Sri Lanka. This was also submerged in a cyclone making India and Sri Lanka not connect via land.

This road is a driver's paradise many many people visit it every year for the fantastic scenes of the sea on both the sides and an arrow-straight road going towards nowhere. It's a pleasure for the eyes.

Day 13 Rameswaram to Hampi

Had to say goodbye to my friend Ankit he got back to Bangalore. Now it was me and my dad heading for the next destination, the Rs. 50 note in Hampi. This was another chariot interestingly.

The roads to Hampi and great till you hit the state highway. The state highway is really bad.

Hampi is a mysterious city, regarded as a world heritage city by UNESCO. It is full of history and rich with culture.

The city is surrounded by stone mountains which you should trek. It's a city with monuments on every corner.

When India was called “ Sone ki Chidiya’’ Hampi was the crown of that, the capital city of the Vijayanagara empire. The city has many temples to visit as well. This city is best to explore on foot and you need many days to explore it fully. I drove across the main sites but then parked my car and explored it on foot and trekking on mountains to find ruins and small temples.

Day 14 Hampi to Goa

Goa is my favourite place in India. The food, the vibe and the beaches call me every year. Usually, I have travelled there by flight but this time I was entering Goa from Karnataka on road. The roads are terrible from Hampi when entering Goa.

Not kidding Ladakh had better roads on some passes. The road was confirmed by the locals to be the only one and all traffic was there. The roads are fully under construction and you have to cross mud roads and craters to reach Goa.

But once you enter Goa it's all good.

Goa was my break again took a 4-day break in Goa and booked the best hotel of my trip. My friends from Delhi flew in for the same dates and we had a blast. The Xuv as well got a well-deserved shower.

Day 18 Goa to Pune

After the crazy time in Goa, I was ready to start again. My dad left for Delhi from Goa and I headed for Pune. The drive is simple and comprises good roads. This is one of the most iconic roads trips for the people of Mumbai and I got a great vibe covering western ghats and the great highways of Maharastra.

Don't forget to stop at a roadside dhaba for a Marathi style mutton. It's something I craved for many days to come.

Day 19 Pune to Ellora to Nandurbar

The day started before sunrise for me and after crashing at a friends house I left for Ellora.

Ellora caves are one of the most popular caves in India and probably the most visited destination on the notes. This is on the Rs. 20 note. The caves are made from carving down a mountain in a time when sophisticated machinery didn't exist. The caves are a collection of many caves.

I would advise seeing each and every one carefully as they have some intricate details, also explore the complex by following not only the official paths but trails leading to sights that give a different view from the top of the caves not many people take these paths.

After a magical experience, I left for Gujarat. I was covering state highways so I decided to stop whenever the night draws.

I stopped in an unknown town called Nandurbar, upon looking at the location I found an interesting fact that this Marathi town is on the border of both Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Day 20 Nandurbar to Statue of Unity to Ahmedabad

The next state was Gujarat and I was excited to see something I was delaying for years, The Statue Of Unity. I entered Gujarat with such a positive site. A huge village, not full of people but solar panels, a solar village that powered the entire district.

Traveling not only shows you the great sites but also shows you the ground reality.

And it struck me when after 100 km I entered a village with people who were severely malnourished. This brought tears to my eyes.

Then finally headed to the statue of unity. I am a big fan of history and read as much as I can about all that history has to offer. Hence this place was of great emotion to me as Indian history is something I have read about the most.

The statue of the great leader Sardar Patel Ji was one of the greatest things I have ever seen. It's massive and the gallery view of the Sardar Sarovar dam is amazing. The complex built around the statue teaches you many aspects of the freedom struggle.

A must-visit for every Indian. And a great way to connect with our roots.

After this, I headed for Ahmedabad. The drive is silky smooth covering the Vadodra Ahmedabad expressway. The first expressway of India.

Day 21 Ahmedabad

I took a couple of days off in Ahmedabad as the next note of Rs. 100 was just on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. It was Rani ki Vav, a step well. This might sound underwhelming but it was one of the best step wells I have ever seen. The details were amazing. It was the queen's bath and it was surrounded by beautiful statues of gods and goddesses.

I ended up chatting with the security guard who was a local resident of the village. He told me so much about the place and in the end said a sad line “everyone comes here for a selfie, not to learn about the place.’’

The place should definitely be on your list if you go to Ahmedabad.

After that, I made sure I enjoy the night food of Ahmedabad the butter loaded street food of Ahmedabad is awesome, but only once in a while.

Day 22 Ahmedabad to Sanchi

This was the final leg of my journey and the last destination. I started my 12 hr journey to the heart of India Madhya Pradesh the roads are amazing and this stretch of highways had something that I craved for, proper north Indian food. This highway gave me a dhaba with proper Punjabi food and tandoori roti. The roads are great and I took a shortcut suggested by google maps which saved me some time and gave me a feeling of driving on Mars. Complete silence and brown terrain.

Reaching Sanchi was easy except the pitch dark light on the highways of MP scared me.

Day 23 Sanchi Monuments then home

My body was in a routine to wake up early morning till now so I woke up early in my hostel room and left quietly. This was the first place since I left Bihar I had to take my jacket out as it was cold early morning in January.

I headed for the Buddhist monuments at Sanchi which were a km away from my hostel. The monuments are the oldest monuments I saw on my trip they were made in the 3rd century BC. Just goes to show the richness and history of our nation. On the 200 Rs. note this place was unknown to me these monuments were constructed by Ashoka the great in his quest to spread Buddhism across India.

I visited them just around sunrise and was lucky to be alone while I walked through the complex. It felt amazing to complete the journey finally and it was time to head back. Getting emotional I left Sanchi for Delhi via NH 44 and reached Delhi late at night.

This trip changed my life and my perspective towards our country. I always knew I had to see India more than I had to see the world and this trip made than beliefs stronger. I saw monuments that I never thought I will and some that were always on my list of places. In some places like Hampi and Sanchi I saw more foreigners than Indians. Making me realise how others reach these remote places when we just tend to go to the traditional tourist destinations.

This trip tested my endurance in every way possible but in the end, it was all worth it.

When I travelled to Russia I saw the same people almost the same food and the same language. In India the food changed, people changed, clothes changed, the language changed, the terrain changed and even the weather changed. This made me realise we can have an experience in India, unlike any other country. And that's what was in my heart when I ended.

My ALL INDIA NOTE TRIP

The playlist for all my vlogs is here for all those interested.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.