After drive across globe, adventurers shocked by Kolkata traffic
Subhro Niyogi | TNN 10.11.11
Kolkata: In the past 48 days, the 30 adventure seekers from Europe have encountered some of the toughest terrains and bumped into gruelling challenges. The last 48 hours though, have been the most difficult. For ever since they entered into Kolkata, two days ago, the firsthand experience of driving through the chaotic traffic and deafening honking has rattled them.
“I have driven a bit around the world. But believe you me, nothing beats the experience of driving in Kolkata,” said 81-year-old Manfred. Labelled as the one who ‘drives like a devil’ by fellow adventurer and Mercedes-Benz Offroad executive Martin Breuninger, one better take the assessment seriously.
Martin and Manfred are among the score-and-a-half men and women who have been travelling for the past month and a half, making their way through cities, towns, mountains and deserts in 15 Mercedes-Benz G-wagons, considered the most rugged and versatile 4×4 production vehicle in the world. The “low” point during the journey was when the vehicle passed through an area in China that was 98 metres below sea level. The “high” points were many, as they crossed six passes of over 5,000 metres. But the summit was when they reached the Everest base camp at 5,380 metres.
The robust suspension came into good use during their drive along crater-riddled NH-34 from Siliguri to Kolkata. Clearly, it was one of the worst highways that they had negotiated. And they have driven quite a bit, burning rubber across 16,800 km as the vehicles journeyed from Berlin to Kolkata across the Himalayas and Ural mountains, the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts.
On entering the city on Monday, the sheer volume of traffic and the wild manner in which it moved, unnerved even Karlheinz Alber, the Mercedes-Benz G-class technical specialist who has done dozens of adventure trails in the past 15 years. During the present one, he and the rest had driven through cities and towns in Germany, Poland, Latvia, Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. The worst was clearly reserved for the last.
“Before the driving event, I did a pre-tour mapping of the route, three months ago. At the time, I had realized that the traffic was somewhat unruly and one couldn’t make one’s way without honking. On returning, I asked everyone to equip themselves with the loudest horn they could get for driving in Kolkata. But those were not loud enough and got drowned in the cacophony,” said Martin.
In the service vehicle that Martin and Karlheinz drive, they have installed a horn button in the centre of the dashboard so that either can use it to one’s convenience. “During the previous visit, my thumb had gone sore. I had to resort to holding the steering wheel in a manner that enabled me to honk with my elbows. This time, we were better equipped. But even that didn’t help,” Martin said in exasperation.
After the first encounter with Kolkata traffic, the 30 adventurers appeared to have lost the appetite for the unexpected. So, instead of making the most use of the two days in the city, the couples, a father-son duo and the two Merc executives stayed ensconced in their hotel rooms and away from the madness on the streets. Even Claudeo, the youngest in the group at 18, preferred the quiet and solitude.
“The traffic is chaotic in Cairo too. But there, drivers show more sense than they do in Kolkata. Here, they are outright reckless. Even when a driver sees it is futile to rush ahead and makes sense to wait, his action defies logic. I saw a city bus taking a turn at a round about. There was no way a truck approaching from the opposite direction could also wedge through. But it still muscled in and stopped the flow. It was only when a traffic cop arrived 15 minutes later that the needless snarl could be untangled,” Martin pointed out.
There was one redeeming factor though. After sputtering its way through China and gasping in Nepal, the engines were back to normal rev in Bengal. The high sulphate content in diesel retailed in China was so bad that the particle filters got choked every 200 km. “The fuel is definitely a lot better in India,” said Karlheinz.
Next year, he will be back in Kolkata alongside Martin as they steer yet another group of G-wagon owners to an adventure of a lifetime. Mercedes-Benz generally undertakes one mega-drive a year and it’s always a different one. This is the first time the company will do a repeat, given the overwhelming response of G-wagon owners. “Given the trans-Himalayan journey, the Berlin-Himalayas-Kolkata adventure trail has many attractions. And adventure-seekers are prepared for most of them. The one they don’t have a clue about is the big bang experience when they enter Kolkata. It is a loud secret,” winked Martin.
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