Superdrive – the final few days…

It has been an eventful last 22 days for the Tata Nano Superdrive team on the White Route.

We have clocked 5, 200 Kms so far….stamped our presence in nine states…survived some of the hottest places in India…loved the diverse cultures and cuisines in the various states and are still going strong.

In our final leg of the trip,  we will visit Aurangabad in Maharashtra tomorrow, before culminating the pan-India road trip in Mumbai on the 28th of this month.

Pit Stop at Godavari River Bridge, Andhra Pradesh

The NH 5 in Andhra Pradesh is a great four lane highway and the Superdrive Nanos were zipping on these roads till they stopped at the Godavari River Bridge to admire the vast expanse of water.


The Godavari River Bridge is the longest river bridge in Andhra Pradesh and one of the longest in the country. Actually, there are 2 bridges and cover a total distance of five kilometres.


The amount of water that this river carries during the monsoons is said to send shivers down the spines of the people, but today, it was not that bad, but enough water to make it look picturesque.


In essence, a great refreshing break for the team and for the three Superdrive beauties.

Nano Superdrive reaches Vishakhapatnam

After spending a couple of days in the “Land of the Kalingas”, the Nano Superdrive has reached Vishakhapatnam in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The drive from Bhubaneshwar to Vishakhapatnam was a breeze on the golden quadrilateral roads except for some minor traffic hiccups in Orissa.

Highlights of the drive today:
Driving parallel to Chilika Lake in Orissa for more than 20 kilometres. (Chilika Lake is the largest salt water lake in India).

Our first rains during this road trip. We have been on the road for the last 18 days.

Splendid views of delightfully green and mist covered Eastern Ghats on both sides of the NH 5 highway as we approached Vishakhapatnam.

Stats for the day:
Odometer reading crossed 4,000 kms today.

Arrived at our 9th state on this road trip.

Watch out for the Superdrive Nanos if you happen to be at Vizag tomorrow!

Schedule for June 21, 2010 (Monday):
11 am: Submarine Museum
12 noon: Kailash Green Park
1 pm: Kalimata Temple

Day 11: Ranchi to Patna

Highlight of the day
Drive through the extremely green Eastern Ghats with its winding roads in Jharkhand.

Moment in Motion
When the trip meter reading crossed 2,500 kms.

Shock of the day
30 km Garbage dump on both sides of the national highway just before Patna.

Surprise of the day
The 30 km garbage dump and heavy traffic on the national highway led to clean and large 4 lane city roads in Patna city.

Stat Meter
Nano Superdrive reaches its sixth state on the white route. States covered so far include Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar.

Pitstop: Hairpin turn in the Chhattisgarh!

The Nano Superdrive team had to pass through various winding roads and ghats before entering the state of Jharkhand.


It was at one of these ghats and on a hairpin turn that the team decided to take a break.


Near our pit stop location was also a view point from where we could get a panoramic view of the entire green valley below. It was truly a picturesque sight!

Of steel plants, power plants, single lane roads and speed breakers!

It was a long drive for the Nano Superdrive team from Raigarh to Ranchi. We nearly covered 400 kms yesterday.

The drive was extremely beautiful as the world around us was dressed in green. Some prior rains had led to blossoming of new leaves.

The entire drive was dotted with innumerable steel plants and power plants. Jindal and Ispat to name a few. We got winding roads most of the way and the roads, which were initially 2 lanes turned into a single lane for most of our drive. But, the highlight of the day was the number of speed breakers on our way. I personally counted more than 100 before giving up.

Gaurav Path – A different side of Raipur!

Raipur is a man-made dust bowl! It looks like cleanliness is the last thing on the minds of the Raipur city development officials.


And to make it worse is the umpteen amount of raw and waste materials from various construction sites around the city that keep keep bellowing dust all sides.


But, within this dust bowl, is a place, which the people of Raipur can proudly call Paradise.


That place is Gaurav Path!! Straight and wide roads and no dust in the air!! The peripheries are dotted by beautifully kept gardens!!


But the icing on the cake are the brilliant sculptures and carvings of animals and mother nature that catch your attention.

The bullock carts, so symbolic with most of India is a real treat. The lions symbolize pride and power and the bull’s head symbolizes strength.

It is indeed extremely refreshing just to sit here and admire these crafts even if it is for a short while.

Smart way to escape sun burn!!

All those people who have been following this blog would know that the Superdrive team on the White Route has been traversing through the hottest belts of India viz. Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.


And it was during this hot drive that I noticed a huge number of people, males and females alike, covered from top to bottom, sans just their eyes to escape from the oppressive heat. Initially, it looked absurd as I felt it would make them feel more uncomfortable. But once I saw my extremely dark skin turning darker by the day, I understood that the locals know best and their technique is the right way to escape sun burn in these unbelievably hot places.

Lucky winners on the Nano Superdrive

Dr. Mujumdar, a pathologist by profession and Mr. Pankaj, from the construction business were the lucky ones to test drive the Nano Superdrive from Nagpur city to 100 kms out on the highway.


Both of them had a great time driving their respective Nano cars on the highway and were visibly elated with their experience, though a bit tired by the oppressive heat.


To etch their name and faces in history, they posed with the Superdrive nanos and the Tata Motors team at the end of their 100 kilometre long test drive.

Driving through the hottest belts of India!!

This drive has really been very special for me personally! In a different way though!

The temperatures faced while we traversed the terrain so far has been climbing by the day. We started with 40 degree celsius in Ahmedabad and moved to 43 in Indore to 45 in Bhopal to 48 in Nagpur.

I sincerely hope that the rain gods show some mercy on us poor souls and assist in cooling down our over-heated spirits.

Get, Set, Go to Raipur!!

It was a bright and warm morning at Nagpur! The time had arrived for us to set march towards Raipur, the capital of Chhatisgarh state.


Mr. Karthik from Jaika Motors did the honours of flagging off the Superdrive bandwagon from Nagpur.

Superdrive Nanos stand at the Centre of India!!

Today in the afternoon and under the blazing sun, we were at the Centre of India. This place is called the “Zero Mile” and is an important landmark of Nagpur and India as a whole.


Coz, this is the geographical centre of India and all corners of India are equidistant from this point.


And it was at this point today that the Superdrive Nanos of the White Route signalled their presence!!

91.1 Radio City FM and its lucky listeners test drive the Nano at Diksha Bhoomi, Nagpur!

Once our photo shoot at Diksha Bhoomi was complete, we were joined by 91.1 City FM RJ Raj and a troop of his lucky listeners. Some of them including the RJ got to test drive Laali!! And boy,  were they mightily impressed.


As soon as they got into the car, the RJ exclaimed, “Who said that the Nano is a small car?”!! Once the test drives were complete, the RJ and these lucky listeners got on air to share their Nano feedback with their FM listeners.

Pinki, Chaandi and Laali pose at Diksha Bhoomi, Nagpur

Pinki, Chaandi and Laali pose at Diksha Bhoomi

The sweltering Nagpur heat did not deter them from posing for a long while…

Pinki sneaks a peek at Diksha Bhoomi

Nano Photo Shoot: Line up in front of Futala Lake, Nagpur!

Superdrive Nanos pose in front of Futala Lake

Mukul, the Territory Manager for Nagpur poses in front of Pinki

The dart board look on Laali’s top!!

The Superdrive Bunch is all smiles at Futala Lake!!

Nano Photo shoot at Kasturchand Park, Nagpur!!

The Superdrive Nanos began their drive through the city of oranges by visiting Kasturchand Park.


Kasturchand park is a fairly large place and an important landmark in Nagpur.


A lot of press photographers and media personnel were eagerly waiting to see Pinki, Chaandi and Laali in their best colours.



And these beautiful ladies did not disappoint them and happily posed for their barrage of photographs. A couple of media personnel even took them out on a short test drive!

Nanos get christened at the City of Oranges!!

Currently, we are at Nagpur, the city of Oranges and this is where we decided to conduct the christening ceremony of our Nanos!


Until today, we were referring to them as Nanos! But, then we realized that they were more than just simple Nanos to us. After all, they are an integral part of our epic road trip around India.


With this, I introduce you to Pinki, Chaandi and Laali, in their order of formation in the troop. Pinki, the cynosure of all eyes is the leader of the pack. I am sure you can guess who is who by just looking at their pretty faces in the pictures.

Nano zooms and vrooms on the Superdrive…

After a long stretch of bad roads in Madhya Pradesh, the Superdrive Nanos got a chance to stretch their limbs on the highways of Maharashtra.


The above is a shot of the Nano that was in front of me and was zooming past the countryside.

A smiling Nano and a heavily loaded truck – A Contrast of Sorts!!

I captured this during our evening tea stop somewhere on the Madhya Pradesh – Maharashtra border.


All I could admire is the contrast of sorts between the two vehicles in the picture!

Nano’s Eye View of the Narmada River Bridge near Itarsi in Madhya Pradesh!!

After being stuck in traffic for more than an hour, we somehow managed to find clear roads and stopped soon after to allow the rest of the Superdrive troop to join us.


The pit stop location was picturesque with the pristine looking Narmada River and its long railway and road bridges giving us company!!