BCIM 2013: The Epic journey to Kunming...

It was last week of January 13 when I was busy in an internal meeting and Mr. Sachin Sawhney called me in his office. As I rushed to his office thinking what it could be, I saw Mr. Rajiv Madhavan sitting in his office. Clueless, I entered the office thinking about some initiative/ CFT on Accessories business, Mr. Sawhney asked me would you like to participate in BCIM 13 Rally? As I was following BCIM forum for some time, I was happy to understand that they are organizing such rally. Immediately all images of off-road driving, roads full of dust, Cars leaving balloons of dust behind them, cars skidding with panic braking and engines making loud noise came to my mind. Excited, I immediately accepted the idea and gave necessary details of my driving license and passport to Mr. Madhvan. When reached home little late in the evening, still thinking about the rally, my wife Rupali could instantly judge that I am happier than other daysWhen I told her about the rally, first thing she asked is when I have to go. I told her that nd st rally is starting from Calcutta on 22 Feb 13 and I will have to reach Calcutta on 21 Feb early morning to complete formalities like registration & briefing etc. Immediately next question came up...Do you remember something special st about 21 Feb? Again clueless, I scratched my head trying to figure out if its her or kids birthday (As I was sure its st not mine)without giving me much time she said, Its our Marriage Anniversary on 21 . I thought OMG, and started to think how to reply. In hurry, I made another mistake and wished her happy anniversary. Blunder after blunder & situation totally out of hand. I never wanted to miss the rally as its a life time opportunity but at that time it was equally important to handle the situation at hand and handle it nicely. Thankfully & as usual after some discussions, she compromised & agreed to celebrate the occasion in advance. So, quite an eventful day much before the rally...

Introduction to Rally:
The BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India, and Myanmar) Car Rally was an exercise undertaken by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) with support from Autocar. The rally has significance as this route which is part of the Lower Silk Route was traversed for the first time after World War II, particularly with respect to the Chinese and Indian ingress. Also with respect to Chinese and Indian cars on this route and entry into each others country for the first time. The level of difficulty in coordinating this rally can be understood with the fact that it has taken almost 7 years to organize this rally.

Purpose of the Rally:

Building Bonds and Fostering Friendship between four countries. To promote trade, commerce, investment, people to people contact between four countries. To symbolically herald the regional connectivity by land and also emphasize the benefits and importance of the region.

Some Statistics about Rally:

Started on 22nd Feb13 at Kolkata & culminates on 5th March in Kunming Convoy of 20 Cars drive through India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China 10 Tata Vehicles (Storme - 5; Aria - 4; Xenon 1) & 10 Chinese left hand Drive Vehicles (All SUVs) participated. App. 3300 kms covered from Kolkata to Kunming. 80 people from the four countries participate in it. They included delegates, government officials, businessmen, doctors, media personnel, officers of Tata Motors including our M.D. Mr. Karl Slym.

Rally Route Map:

Pre-Rally preparations:
All Twenty Cars were prepared the ITC Sonar, Kolkata. Cars were properly checked, cleaned and put up with Rally Stickers. Each car was fitted with a CB Radio for communication. Inside the hotel, there was a counter for registering the participants' names. After registration, participants were briefed by Bloomberg Autocar Show editor and presenter, Renuka Kirpalani. She was also the Chief Marshal for the event. This was followed by a photograph session with dignitaries, drinks and a grand dinner where we acquainted ourselves with the other participants.

Flag Off:
All the cars were driven in the morning to the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata and lined up in numerical order 1 - 20. After speeches from the dignitaries on the dias, notably the Honorable Chief Minister of West Bengal, Ms. Mamta Banerjee and the President of the CII, Mr. Adi Godrej, Rally was flagged off by Ms. Mamta Banerjee.

Day 1: Drive from Kolkata to Jessore via Petropole Border - February 22, 2013:
After flag off, Convoy started with lots of cheers up and enthusiasm. I was in the lead Safari Storme #1, which was driven by Autocar India editor, Hormazdd Sorabjee. We had been assigned a police escort. Most of the traffic was stopped so that the convoy could pass without any hindrance. We were three passengers in Car #1; third gentleman was Mr. Sunil Misra, Director of CII. Within a few moments we were chatting and laughing like we had been friends since ages. Most of the talk was about what each of us does and our families. Lunch was on the move. The packets provided at the start came in handy. Due to police escort, we glided through towns which would normally be clogged with traffic. Our Chinese participants were not well-versed in English and since they all had Left Hand Drive cars, they did have some trouble keeping up. Occasionally, the convoy would halt and regroup. In another incident an errant driver of a small commercial vehicle grazed the front right door of car #2 which Renuka was driving. Other than that, it was smooth sailing. Aria & Storme, which were loaded with people and luggage, gobbled up the miles with no trouble. As we crossed railway lines many times and drove towards the Bangladesh border, members keep enlightened me about the people of the region, the trees and even on the history of the road. The 80kms to Petropole, which is the border town, was a breeze. What was touching was the rousing welcome we got. School

children lined up along the road, showered us with flowers and shook our hands. I never felt so important or welcome on the road in my life so far. I was very happy and digested the feeling cheerfully without knowing that much bigger welcomes/ receptions are waiting for the rally ahead. We reached Bangladesh border and received grand welcome with lots of music, flowers and sweets. Our backup Car (Indigo) with 2 technicians from Nitol Motors also joined as at the border. It was with us throughout the Bangladesh stretch. Crossed the border was a formality without efforts as CII & Autocar had made all the arrangements. It was little dark now and Hormazdd instructed to switch on the Head light to all the convoy through Radio. This CB Radio is a very interesting and useful application which was used by us intensively though out the rally for passing on the instructions, to understand where about of the rest of the convoy, singing and updating notes about the current location. Anyway we reached Jessore by app. 9:00 pm in the night and straight away headed for the cultural events. It was heartening to know that the artists were waiting for us from noon to perform. After enjoying the cultural program we headed to our Hotel and enjoyed dinner after check in. Before closing the day we headed to fuel pump for topping up the fuel tanks to avoid delays in the morning.

Day 2: Drive from Jessore to Dhaka - February 23, 2013:

Day started early, at 6:00 am all participants were at the parking, for drive to Dhaka. We discovered that one of the Chinese cars is leaking fuel. Upon investigation it was discovered that the there is a crack at the fuel tank neck of the return line. As there were no parts available for Chinese Cars, we arrested the leak through our local Jugad and decided to attend the Car in the night for proper repairs. Participants who were looking at the Jugad were happily surprised and thank us for resolving issue of even Chinese cars. Anyway after a while convoy started. Participants were asked to shuffle cars so that we know each other better. I was driving Car# 13 on Day 2 with new mates Shivam from Skarma, Subrata from Times of India and Tapan from PTI.

It was a nice drive with beautiful scenery. Throughout the drive team Bangladesh was informing us about importance of various places we were passing by.

After a while Hormazd announced that we need to take jetty drive for app. 40 mins. We were just discussing how exciting it would be take the Cars on the deck and sail along with them for 40 mins. Anyway, we were heading for our lifetime experience.

On the jetty some good refreshment was arranged. We really enjoyed the food and the jetty experience.

After jetty drive we reached Dhaka in app. 2 hrs. Roads were surprisingly good and we were again headed by police patrol cars to ease out traffic and smooth ride. After we reach Dhaka, we also visited few historical monuments in Bangladesh.

We received really grand welcome at Dhaka ICC hall and were presented by small souvenir of the rally followed by cultural event.

After above grand welcome, we checked in at 5 star Hotel of Dhaka Ruposhi Bangla. After few initial problems while parking the Cars in congested parking slots, all were looking forward to good food and sound sleep in the night. But unlike other participants, before I can take some rest, I and technician from Bangladesh resolved issue of petrol leak on the Chinese car, did normal maintenance on our cars and also arranged a good wash to all participating Cars.

Day 3: Drive from Dhaka to Sylhet- February 24, 2013:

Day started with the sad news that due to strike we cannot leave Dhaka till situation improves. After some time it was decided that we will start at app. 4:00 pm for Sylhet and try to cover the journey in 5 hrs. Though we were missing the road but it also gave us some opportunity to take rest after some hectic schedule. Finally, we could start at app. 4:30 and crossed through rough traffic of Dhaka. We were wondering that if during strike traffic is so bad, what it would be during normal working day? All the bus and auto drivers were driving rash and would definitively give you that strange look as if they only know driving? Any way road after Dhaka was quite, and as it was dark already, convoy drove carefully and enjoyed lots of games/ singing over radio. Passengers of the other cars in the convoy had resorted to singing on through CB Radio. A lady from Myanmar even sang a Bollywood song. It was relatively an easy day.

Day 4: Drive from Sylhet to Silchar- February 25, 2013:

Day started rather interestingly. Autocar requested if I can travel to Sutarkandi border along with their delegates and oversee immigration and custom formalities for all the participants. Purpose was that by time convoy reach border, we can have all the formalities done. I gladly accepted their request, as would have been a wonderful experience to deal with immigration officials while you are on such rally. All the participants had submitted their passports along with filled up forms. On Bangladesh side, processing took long time as the officials were trying to find out some or other way to hold the rally, but we could convince and sorted out the matter with long reasoning and discussion. On India side for entry, it was rather easy and fast. Any way it was quite an experience to handle all 80 passports together and getting them stamped for exit and entry of 2 countries within few min. Though I was enjoying the process, others who accompanied were really tens about carrying all passports.

Anyway, around 11.30am, the convoy rolled back into India. A function was arranged at the customs office at Sutarkandi to welcome the participants. The lunch, which was arranged by the army, was delicious and filling. Following this was a cultural programme which incorporated dances from not just Assam, but various parts of the country. It was so entertaining and lively, that many of the rallyists (mostly ladies) started dancing on the stage with the performers. The atmosphere was electric and enjoyed by one and all.

Cultural programme was over, after saying goodbye and thanking the people who had assembled to greet us, we made our way towards Silchar. The drive as such was uneventful, but, the number of people who had turned up and lined the entire length of the road to Silchar was simply astonishing! Most of the time, I had to keep my right hand free for waving to the crowds. We received nothing less than heroic welcome here, we were literally going through human tunnel. The road was not too bad and the speed was low, so this was not too difficult. My passengers, who were by now well and truly in their element, were cheering with the crowds, waving out and even shooting proceedings with a camcorder. When we reached Silchar there was still an hour or so of daylight left. Parking for the cars was arranged at a stadium. Once again, there was a grand reception at the stadium for us. Speeches from local dignitaries and a few dances followed. It had been a tiring day for everyone, and as next day drive from Silchar to Imphal was known to be off road driving, we retired to our hotel rooms quickly.

Day 4: Drive from Silchar to Imphal - February 26, 2013:

At 7am, all the participants were at the stadium to start what would turn out to be the most grueling day of the Rally. After a few speeches and a cultural event, the convoy set off from Silchar and headed towards Imphal, which is in Manipur.

Ahead of us lay 260kms of extremely poor roads. The loose and uneven surface can be a nightmare for inexperienced drivers. Add to that, the road runs along the faces of mountains. The drops are sheer and there are no railings to stop a vehicle going over and as with most mountain roads in our country, landslides can occur at any time too. Even then, cheered by locals, and led by a military Gypsy, off we went. We entered the state of Manipur and at the town of Jiribam; we were given another absolutely fabulous reception.

Things looked good. The scenery was nothing short of stunning, but, as the miles went by, the road went from fairly smooth tarmac, to broken surface to lose surface. A lot of dust was being kicked up by the cars and visibility was poor. We had to maintain a big gap between each car so that no mishap occurred. On loose surfaces, keeping up the momentum was the key to not getting bogged down. On harder surfaces, care had to be taken to see to it that the undercarriage would not scrape.

The Aria & Storme which was probably weighing just under 3 tones with the load it was carrying managed without any issues. Though our SUVs are known for dust entry, but so far both Aria and Storme resisted the dirt road well without any dust entry.

Far from feeling frightened, I was enjoying the drive. However, a couple of Chinese Cars were not so lucky. The fine dust had taken a toll on the transmission of car #10 which was driven by the Chinese team. It would just not move. All

efforts to get it going were in vain. It was finally pushed onto a truck with great difficulty. Far ahead, the rest of the convoy was waiting. Here we discovered that car #16, driven by the Myanmar team had developed an oil leak, probably after taking a hit on the undercarriage. After a lot of discussions, we again tried our Jugad, first we used little soap but as it did not worked, and then we used sealant on duct tape in cross and applied on the leak point. Length of duct tape was kept so long that it was sticking on the other dry side of the sump. The trick worked and the leak was now brought under control. We were carrying a lot of spare oil cans with us. This meant that car #16 could continue after a topping up.

After the Car#16 was repaired, no one was ready to drive that Car. As Hormazd was looking helpless, I offered to take control of that sick Car. Hormazd was happy though he warned me of very dangerous track ahead. Though I took the responsibility but I never told Hormazd that this is the first time I was trying my hands on a left hand drive car. We had been stationary for well over an hour now and longing to move. So we did. Progress was slow. Many bridges along this road permit just one vehicle to cross at a time and the road winding through the mountains was dangerous. Soon, I realized that on roads which follow Right Hand traffic rule, driving a left hand drive Car is confusing. You have to be extra careful while overtaking as you cannot see traffic from opposite side and here your navigator comes handy. After few Kms I got accustomed to left hand driving and found it to be fun and ok. I was really excited as the track was really tricky and I was able to win over it even with a left hand drive car. All this, coupled with regular halts to regroup and check the damaged car meant that we were running way behind schedule. A little way up the road, we took another halt at an army camp where they brewed us some fresh tea. In the next town, Nungba, lunch had been arranged for us, but since it was well into the evening and we were running late, we decided to excuse ourselves and skip it. Driving on those roads after nightfall would be very tricky and everyone knew that. So while there was daylight, we decided to cover as much ground as possible. But our efforts were in vain as nightfall beat us comfortably. Meanwhile, in Aria #4, the Bangladeshi patriotic music had made way for some Asha Bhosle classics - a welcome change. With regular halts to regroup, we made our way into Imphal at 10.30pm. The roads were closed to the public, but I was moved by the number of people who had stayed up and come out on the streets to welcome the convoy. The authorities had very kindly arranged a cultural programme and a traditional Manipuri style dinner for us. This was slightly difficult for me as it had been a very long time since I had had any meals sitting down with my legs crossed. The food however, was delicious. By the time we parked the cars and called it a day, it was past 1.30am.

Day 5: Flag off from Imphal - February 27, 2013:

Even though the previous day had been tiring and we had had just a few hours of sleep, we were up and ready by 6:00 am. We took the cars for a wash, had them refueled and lined them up inside Kangla Fort. Once again, we had car #16 topped up with oil to prevent any problems. The Government of Manipur felicitated the participants and presented them with mementos. It was here that I had the pleasure of meeting our M.D. Mr. Karl Slym. He joined the rally and drove car #1 from this point till Mandalay.

Its here, I bade goodbye to all the participants of the convoy and promised to keep in touch. To conclude, it was not the fastest, but longest and toughest drive in my life and it was the most special. Surely, my driving and management skills were immensely satisfied during the rally. It's how many smiling faces I saw and all the friends I made that made it more than worthwhile. I feel lucky that I got the opportunity to participate in the first historical BCIM rally and contribute towards successful completion of the same. ============ ==============