WHEN KAILASH MONGIA heard that Audi Club India had organised a Getaway from Bengaluru to Kabini, he signed on right away. Never mind that he lived in Pune and would have to drive 850km to Bengaluru, or the fact that he was 65 and his wife would not be sharing driving duty with him. He was not the only one. Vishwanath and Ravi live in Goa, had put their work on hold to join the drive. Madhusadan Reddy, although told that his A6’s underbody might take a beating on some very bad stretches of road, signed on. He was confident of his car’s capabilities despite the doomsday warnings. They were amongst the select Audi owners who were lucky enough to book their slots for the second edition of the Audi Club India Getaways before they were filled up in record time. The inaugural edition of the Audi Club India Getaways, held in June this year, a run from Delhi to Jim Corbett National Park, had already whetted the members’ appetite for driving holidays. So it was an eager bunch of people that were flagged off from the Ritz Carlton in Bengaluru, on November 22, 2014 at 0930 hrs for the 230km drive to the Orange County Resort in Kabini.
ROAD TO HEAVEN AND HELL
To head to Kabini, we take the highway towards Mysuru. Don’t scratch your head, wondering where Mysuru is. It was formerly Mysore. Like Bangalore is now Bengaluru and Mangalore is Mangaluru. On November 1 earlier this year, the names of these cities, along with nine other cities in Karnataka were changed to reflect their Kannadiga roots. But let’s get back to the point, or rather the SH17 connecting Bengaluru to Mysuru. There is a fair bit of traffic on this road as the convoy snakes its way out of the city. Three Audi cars driven by Autocar India act as control cars shepherding the customer cars along the road. Trailing the convoy is an Audi Service Mobile along with an ambulance for any emergency. In spite of the heavy traffic, the cars make good speed, unleashing their ample horses any time they find a clear stretch of road. There are plans to widen this road to an eight-lane highway and also build flyovers to ease the traffic congestion. After two hours behind the wheel, it’s time to make a pit stop. It’s an incredible sight as the cars line up and neatly slot themselves into their allotted places. Now, if only other drivers on our roads were as disciplined as these Audi drivers, our roads would be so much more pleasant to drive on.
The brunch at Empire Hotel in Somanahalli is simple but tasty. It’s also an opportunity to connect with the Club members whom we are going to share the next two days with.
Post brunch, the drive gets into its groove, making good time to the Mysuru by-pass. The drive is marred by what are clearly illegal speed breakers along the route. The road deteriorates after about 200km, and is a test for the Audi A4 and A6 in the convoy. At places, the road seems to have been viciously attacked and feasted upon by a pack of hungry Tyrannosaurus Rexes. While it is not a problem for the Audi SUVs, the lower slung sedans have to be cautious while negotiating these stretches, carefully placing wheel on the highest ground to create the maximum clearance. And kudos to the drivers, who manage the worst of the roads without scraping their underbody once.
