The Hindu : National : Adventure on the road

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 26, 2005

National

National

Adventure on the road

Susan Muthalaly

An expedition across the subcontinent over 50 days and 17,000 km

THE MEN, THE MACHINE: Tony Velasquez (left) and Angel Bajares in Chennai. — Photo: Vino John

CHENNAI: "Hello! I'm Tony Velasquez." It is a charming South American accent. He is the leader of the Hummer India Expedition, over 50 days and 17,000 km across India.

It is an admiring, all-male audience that gathers around the cross between a recreational sports utility vehicle and a military tank, parked outside a star hotel. The vehicle, originally built for the U.S. Army by AM General Corporation, is equipped with most things you would possibly need — from refrigerator to truck-like tyres whose pressure can be adjusted from inside the vehicle, depending on the terrain. It has global positioning system equipment and internal communication facilities. It serves as an outdoor broadcasting (OB) van and has high ground clearance: 18 inches from floor to engine. Tony says the tyres have now seen 47,000 km..

This monster is part of a team that has done extreme expeditions in different parts of the world. The Hummer India Expedition, carried out with Goodyear India and the India Tourism Department, set off on September 10 in Chennai and ended here 50 days later after covering places such as Kanyakumari ("three seas meet, incredible!), Alappuzha, Goa (full of tourists), Mumbai, Surat ("worst traffic jams"), Jaisalmer ("our favourite"), Rishikesh, Kathmandu and Kolkata.

Tony and photographer Angel Bajares, the two members present from Team Hummer, were accompanied by Enrique Suarez, the navigator, and Pedro Castro Amare, till Kolkata. Angel will use footage he shot to make a documentary on the trip.

The idea is to spread awareness about the country and about Hummer Expeditions. They have advice to give. They were appalled by the roads and frightened by the way the truck drivers drove. But the trip has served his purpose. Angel and Tony are in raptures about "your incredible country." And India has been Hummered, most definitely.

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