The good humour and camaraderie is infectious. There is laughter and jokes accompanying the spinach cheese cigars we are eating. These are people from The Social Address and Hope Factory, a brand consulting & training company. The team is made up of bosses, employees, and friends — Senthil Nallasamy and his wife Sathiya, Niresh Gunasekaran, Sam Adolf, Priyanka Dharmakumar, Karthikeyen Subramaniam, Karthi Duraisamy and his wife Kanchana — who have just returned from a trip across India. “A bite of Bebinca, the Goan dessert, and a photograph of me wearing a turban in Jaipur are the only two misses,” says Senthil Nallasamy, the leader of the pack. Nallasamy quit his job with Infosys and started his own company to ‘explore thousand other things’. One of them is travel.
Priyanka, a content writer, says it was the travel adventures of Senthil and Niresh that got the rest hooked. “ What started off as a casual chat ended in a travel plan that covers The Sunderbans (East), The Rann of Kutch (West), Srinagar (North) and Kanyakumari (South). We kept the Northeast for a separate trip later.”
A team of eight set out in a Ford Endeavour and a Chevrolet Captiva that they called Freedom and Independence. And covered 17 states, three Union Territories, and over 11000 km. It took them 240 hours of driving over 29 days. “We told our clients three months in advance and ensured that we finished their work before we took off,” says Senthil.
Kolkata
During the first leg, they stopped at Ellora Caves in Maharashtra and they just can’t stop talking about the beauty of Kailasanatha temple there.
“There are 36 caves. The monolithic sculpture, chiselled from top to bottom in Cave number 10, was breathtaking. It took 200 years to build it. There are several caves dedicated to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism,” says Priyanka. The Dhanushkodi beach — Ram Sethu view point (Arichal Munai) — during sunset was awe-inspiring, they say.
There were night safaris in the Thar Desert and an entire day at the Mehboob Gardens. There was the glorious Taj covered in mist at dawn. They were at the Golden Temple on Guru Poornima. They tweaked their plan to spend an additional day to watch the Beating the Retreat ceremony at the Wagah Border. “The parade was stunning. It was a proud moment. A visit to the Jalianwala Bagh museum was an emotional experience,” recalls Senthil.
On the highway
Sam Adolf talks about the 16-hour drive from Amritsar to Manali on the Supermoon day.
“We were on the highway basking in moonlight. From Manali, we went up to Rohtang Pass. The expanse of the terrain was scary but beautiful. People talk about going to the Alps, have they ever stopped by to stare at the beauty of Manali?” he asks. Karthikeyen Subramaniam, who did most of the driving along with Sam, says he enjoyed zipping across the sturdy roads on the highway in the south. “The Pune-Mumbai highway was great too. We also got to visit the iconic Eden Garden grounds in Kolkata,” says Karthikeyen, a cricket buff.
The team posted live updates on their Facebook page that they call The Epic Indian Trip. “The idea is to inspire people to travel,” says Priyanka.
Pandava cave
Caves, and a spring
Priyanka describes the Pandava Cave en route to the Panna Tiger Reserve as serendipity. “We lost our way but Google maps guided us there. A spring flows from the caves and no one knows its source. It is called ‘love water’ and couples who drink it are believed to flourish in their relationship. We visited the Draupadi Cave too.” . The meals they had on their return journey was memorable too, laughs Priyanka.
They stopped by at a small house and the host willingly whipped up aloo parathas, samosas, dal-khicidi, spiced butter milk, and tea made with buffalo milk. Another memorable meal was a platter of rice, dal, fish, chicken, and baingan which they had while on a boat at Sunderbans exploring the mangrove forests. And, the Malwani platter en route Goa to Mumbai, served with fish and pink butter milk! It was yummy is what they say.
A foodie himself, Senthil, took to the food gullies in Punjab, Maharashtra and Goa and had his fill of kebabs, vada paav, lassi and vindaloo among others.
Full of surpirses
The drive also covered the Khajuraho-Varanasi-Kasi Vishwanath temple belt. “We reached at eight in the evening and were lucky to avoid the crowds. The night boat ride at the Ganga is unforgettable,” adds Priyanka.
The team members
The drive along the Konkan coast was out of the world too.
We planned as we went along and that made all the difference to the quality of the trip says Senthil. “We took quick decisions and revelled in the surprise discoveries,” says Sathiya, Senthil’s wife.
“After soaking in the beauty of nature, people, and relishing so many different cuisines, we just fell in love with India. We could see the changing face of India into a developed country,” he adds.
More than anything else, says every member of the team, it was a great team building exercise.
“Now, I even know their personal tastes and whether they love Ilaiyaraaja or A.R. Rahman more,” laughs Senthil, their boss.
