What I write now is about a trip that I undertook nearly two decades back, but even now the thrill of travel of that trip reads like a legend. That was the time when I was posted at Shillong, the Headquarters of the Eastern Air Command. I received transfer orders to proceed for the staff course at the Defense Services Staff College at Wellington, close to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
I examined the map and saw that I would have to traverse from the far east of India to the Deep South. It was an exciting thought and I thought it best to drive down. Accordingly, I got my driver ready and we were on our way. The car was a Fiat 1100 and it stood the rigors of the drive very well.
We left Shillong in the early hours of the morning and drove down the hills to Gauhati. The drive down from 6000' to the plains is wonderful. On the way you cross Barapani, a wondrous lake with thick virgin forests all around. From Gauhati I headed for New Bongiagaon where there is the oil refinery. I hit the place by night and stayed at the refinery guest house. The road was good and traffic minimal and one could make good speed.
After a hearty breakfast the next day, we set course towards Calcutta. Our aim was to reach the Farakkha Barrage on the Ganga River as early as possible. On the way we crossed Hashimara the air base and had a short sojourn there meeting friends. This is forest land and one marvels at the natural beauty of India. There is also the Jaldapara game reserve there and one can witness elephant's herds as they roam this part of India. Another days drive and we reached Farakkha. It is a beautiful sight as we witnessed the Ganga in full sway. The river flows into Bangla desh and this barrage on the river has been a bone of contention between the two nations. We spent time at the rest house of the Border Security force and proceeded towards Calcutta.
The drive to Calcutta on the national highway is smooth. There is heavy traffic, but the road is excellent. We spent a day at Calcutta at a hotel near the Airport and then set course on the next leg to Bhubaneswar, another 450km from Calcutta. I covered the distance in one day and by nightfall we were at Bhubneshwar. As you leave Calcutta a degree of affluence is replaced by poverty. We crossed scores of tribal's on the way. Almost all of them were scantily dressed with the women covering their torso with the pallu of the sari.
All along there are no roadside cafes as well and one must carry his eatables with him. The road also, then was in poor shape and at a number of places we crossed wooden bridges over the rivulets. However the scenic beauty is wonderful. But what surprised us was the lack of development in Orissa.
We spent time in the NCC officers mess at Bhubneshwar, the capital of Orissa. The one thing I do recollect is the thousands of bicycles on the roads and paucity of cars. Perhaps that was a pointer to the economic state of the region. From Bhubaneswar, I set course towards Gopalpur- on- Sea, a resort with the famed Oberai hotel on the beach. The road now was excellent as we headed towards Gopalpur-on-sea. We covered the distance of about 400 km in a day and the Fiat handled very well. Again there were no road side hotels and the entire stretch was devoid of development. I spent a day at the Oberai and it was a wonderful sojourn. The hotel is a five star and one can plan a separate holiday there. Situated on the Bay of Bengal the Hotel also has a private beach.
From Gopalpur, I moved towards Vijyawada in Andhra Pradesh. There the roads are excellent and roadside hotels are available including car repair shops. We continued and bypassed Vijyawada and reached a small town Elluru. Stayed the night in an excellent hotel. In fact Andhra along the coastal belt is a far cry from Orissa and it is certainly more developed. But remember to polish your shoes yourself, as the staffs do not do this work in the hotels.
From Eluru I headed toward Gudur and on to Madras. Madras is a big city and I could put up at the Naval officers mess on Mount Road. Excellent roads are on the anvil, but the people understand no Hindi, hence communication is a problem. The drive from Madras to Coimbatore another 450km is smooth. This is a developed state and the road good. Reaching Coimbatore I headed for the Air Force Admin College and the Mess. All in all it was an educative and pleasurable trip something that can never be forgotten, as we covered a distance of 4600km.
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