Road to Ranikhet: return of the "Raptas"

Just to satiate your curiosity, I’ll define a ‘Rapta’ and its history first. This is a word that used to prop up a lot during the senior generation’s conversations. My father, my mother, my uncles, aunts and even my grandfather- have a story or two on this. I have to admit, my ancestors were definitely a lot more adventurous than me on the road.

A rapta was quite a predominant feature in the alluvial plains of North India. Back in those times- when bridges were still a luxury, roads often passed through flowing rivers or small tributaries. This area of loose rock with water flowing is what’s called a ‘rapta’. Picture my uncles, aunties, my mummy & party in a Fiat struggling through a river and suddenly the engine stalls as water creeps in. An army truck comes to the rescue and ties and pulls them out just before the current begun to pick up strength. Am not sure if there’s a word in the English dictionary for this as this phenomenon remains pretty much localized. The first time I experienced the wrath of this was at the Dhikala camp in the Corbett national park. I still wonder how we got through those angry waters of Ramganga river. That too with the worst possible fleet- a Daewoo Cielo and a Maruti 800. Eventually, the Daewoo had to be pulled out by a helpful 4X4 Gypsy.

The road through Jim Corbett national park

Jumping to the present: My road hungry family decided to head to Ranikhet on the Holi day. The drive was a pleasant one till Ramnagar and the peripheral resorts of Jim Corbett national park. We were quite happy with our pace. 250 Kms in 4.5 hours- on the roads of UP and Uttarakhand. Our distance was just 90 Kms away and we had a lot of the morning hours left. Then they started: raptas- ample and propping out of nowhere. Some were dry and some featured flowing water. The climb was steep and the road was miserably narrow. However, papa had just switched to Bridgestone Turanzas recently- steel plated, dry tubeless. The highly angular grooves put up a good show: both in looks as well as handling. The new tyres were a boon and coupled with the Honda engine and the ample ground clearance, we made it through all with just one undercarriage thud and a couple of pebble rumbles. I can vouch for the Bridgestones, the grip was substantial and the advantage is noticeable when you tread mixed terrains. You still wish you had a 4X4 to take on the raptas but thanks to the Turanzas, such thoughts were kept at bay. The ascent took around 3 hours and the car operated in gear 2,1 and 3 most of the time (in that order). The low end torque of the engine kept shifting to the minimum (U need to do a lot of quick shifts if you’r driving mid range power delivery cars- Accents, Ikons or Marutis). The final mileage was 14.4 KM/Litre: wonderful for such a terrain:

One of the 'Raptas'

We also came across a lot of Holi hooligans, we were caught and bore the onslaught of colors twice, escaped twice and avoided 2 drunks who wanted to kill themselves in front of our car.

Anyway, reaching the place was a reward in itself and the hotel turned out to be the icing on the cake. A heritage hotel, the Chevron Rosemond has retained most of its British era features and early 19^th century feel. Though we were truly awed by the place, there was more to come the next day.

We visited the army golf grounds (definitely one of the highest), temples and spent rest of the time walking. I recommend that this be your prime activity at such places: exploring trails and the unknown peaks.

PS:

I noticed that what used to be Uttar Pradesh, was declared as the new state of ‘Uttaranchal’ and finally rechristened ‘Uttarakhand’. Also, a cursory glance at the number plates of the vehicles got my brain running in the usual direction. Cars were identified as: UK 07-xxx or UK 01-yyy. Hence I immediately messaged /called up my dear friends:

CALL:

Shubham: Hey, I’ve reached UK and am doing fine.. gotta run now, will call you later..

A: ???!! (SLAM- phone disconnected from my end)

K: How? But you wer.. (SLAM- phone disconnected)

SMS:

Shubham: Happy Holi, just reached UK. Roaming is killing me.

The subsequent responses:

SidV: cool! Becoming total globetrekker!

Bugga: hehe (this guy is smart)

Gogo: --- (I’ll post the response when I get one; Gogo takes a couple of days to notice a message and some more to reply)

Dash: what?!! Awesome yaar. Angrezo pe balloons mariyo J happy holi

Contact the senior generation for more exciting stories featuring the young, the old, chevys, fiats, Ambassadors and army convoys stuck in raptas..

Route map:

One way distance to destination: 330 Kms

A true buddy...

Honda City ZX- The first word that comes into my mind is boring. Not a very impressive start eh? But read on to know why I respect the car so much.

 

Allow me to justify the 'b' word. For starters (literally) this car is way too silent. First timers are known to give the starter crank even though the engine is running. Take it up to 5000rpm in a busy street and the engine sound will easily drown in the surrounding traffic. There are times when you want to scare off some mortals off the road by revving up your engine, you miss that opportunity here. However the engine sound fails to effect my adrenaline levels.

 

With all that said, it surprises many (including myself) that it commands the highest degree of respect amongst the sedans of India. For that money, the kind of quality and 'Honda engineering' you get is unbeatable. Perhaps Verna comes close when I say value for money. You expect issues to start popping up with age. This car defies that very arrogantly. The engine sounds just as smooth as it was on day 1. With this car, you can dare to just pick it up and head for any road trip. Plans, preparations, service schedules can wait. Only a Honda motor inspires that kind of confidence. Though the power band is not very exciting, you would give anything for that kind of assurance. I agree, this comes with time. You may read quite a few articles where the young blood journo's rubbish this car for the lack of performance. But as I have come to understand, it takes a certain level of maturity to understand the car. It took me years to comprehend the good things the seasoned critics stated. Numbers (bhp, torque, top speed, 0-100kmph time) come later. First you need to understand the feel, the purpose and the meaning of a car.

 

There have been instances when I walk towards the car at 12 am or when I turn the key to stop at remote places on our raod trips. At such times, I thank my stars that I have this car's dedicated reliability on my side. Though I crave for more powerful motors, in times of need- I know this is the one I can depend on.

 

The power band is majestic for- as the name suggests- City driving. The torque is spread to lower RPM's mean you can easily glide, overtake and do almost everything from 1700-2500rpm. Sounds boring again?? Wait. This also means a superb mileage and eliminating the need of shifting gears (Indica people- listening?? Nyaaah nyaah na nyaah nyaah..). I can certify for a highway mileage of 19 KM/litre on our road trip to Rajasthan. Driving in the city is comfortable. You can give the clutch and your left foot rest as even the higher gears can pull it through lower speeds.

As for looks, the exterior is quite graceful. But the interiors leave no stone unturned. The dual tone dash and the beige seats (on the GXi variant) are very inviting. The plastic quality is very much acceptable and the cockpit gives a superb look at night. The cabin has loads of space. All of it- headroom, legroom and shoulderroom. One feature I miss is access to the boot from the rear seats through split seats. The boot is enough to hold everything you need (and possibly more) for those road trips.

 

Now lets touch the issues with this car. The most striking (and annoying for me) thing is that you can't see the hood. I have tried jumping, leaning and everything short of standing on the steering. Yet, I have failed time and again. The steep hood enables you to get a full view of the road. I found this pretty irritating initially in traffic jams.

With the main focus on achieving that mileage and efficiency target, Honda has done away with a lot of weight. It's good to be lean but then you miss out on a very important word- 'Substance'. It's quite embarrassing when someone (even a chhotu Esteem) touches your car from the back and your bumper falls off. Though Honda claims it is one of the safest cars built by them with impact bars placed smartly, I still don't like the idea of being too touch me not. The lack of weight added with the high ground clearance means a lot of body roll. The G- forces like scaring you at turns here.

Turning- now that rings another bell. How can I forget the stupid 'A' pillar!! Though I said many nice things about the cockpit, I forgot to warn you that the 'A' pillars (the ones holding the windshield) are a major hazard. It has the potential to blind you at every turn. You need to crane your neck everytime you negotiate a tough right turn.

 

The driving position otherwise is quite comfortable and the steering is very light- again pointing out to its name. The height takes time to be comfortable with but is a boon on Indian roads. Bye bye to those scary crunches or hits to the under-carriage on potholes and hindustaani speed-breakers.

 

Though I started with the word 'boring', I would conclude by saying that this is the most 'complete' car available in the market. Hats off to the "H" on the radiator grill..