AGE IS TO FOLLOW PASSION.

?My Passion: Driving New Journey, new Experience .

?The below article can be used as a reference by driving enthusiasts who wish to travel to Delhi from Pune or vice versa by road.

Recently, my son shared his wish to go to Delhi. My wife, daughter-in-law,and my small granddaughter were all happy about it. As usual, discussions about how to travel began. We debated about going by car, train, or air for almost 15 to 20 days. At first, I said we should go by car, but my wife raised

concerns about our granddaughter’s ability to sit for 12 to 16 hours in a car, especially since she is prone to vomiting. We then discussed taking the train, but my daughter-in-law pointed out that spending four days on travel to and from Delhi for a 15-day trip was not a good idea. Ultimately, we decided to travel by air.

I then suggested that I could drive the car since we would need transportation around Delhi. However, my son opposed, saying that I had never driven alone before. I received support from my wife, who offered to

come with me. I was driving my younger son’s car, who is currently in London. My elder son asked me to seek permission from my younger son,

but it was understood that he would not say no. Within a minute of my message, my younger son replied, Oh, Papa, it’s your car now, so you decide. My elder son had no choice but to agree, and I was relieved. I was excited to drive for the fifth time.

?On 13th March 2023 my wife and I decided to start at 5:30 a.m. so that we could reach Indore by 6:00 p.m. The roads were much better, although we encountered more speed breakers after Dhule than on our previous trip. This naturally reduced our average speed by 10 to 15 km/h at the end. My brother-in-law also agreed to come, so we had good company to chat with and avoid getting sleepy. Since we were starting early, we decided not to carry home made lunch items like parathas and instead have breakfast outside at Kamath on Nashik Road. Kamath restaurant was an excellent option for brunch. Once we had set dosa and coffee or tea, we didn’t need lunch. We reached Dhule by noon, as we had planned. The weather was a bit hot compared to the morning weather, but there was a cool breeze. The birds were cheering us on, and the trees were smiling like my friend, saying ,we are running beside you. We stopped for tea in Dewas around 3 p.m. and finally reached Indore at 4.30 p.m. Although I didn’t exceed the speed limit of 80 to 100 km/h, we reached early because there was no truck traffic throughout the journey. In total we covered the distance of 630 km from?Pune to Indore with two stops in between. During the journey, we came?across many small places like Belhe, Pabal, Vitthal Rajuri, Tolawale, Chandapuri, Sangamner, Chandvad, Devmone, Sakhad, Hadakheda, Sangvi, Debnadi, Kharampur, Mukundpura, Dhani, Manpur, Khandva?(bypass), Pithampur, etc. I purposely noted most of the places.

A one-day stayed at Indore was inevitable as I had to eat many things at Indore 56 Galli/Sarafa. Indore City is comparatively not so crowded, or maybe Sanchar Nagar area is not that crowded. The next day was relaxing?and since morning, I had Poha, Jalebi, and in the evening, I had only Shikanjee (I love the drink).Its thik Milk with little Curd in it ,Dry fruits and Keshar. Keeping in mind I had to Drive 860 Kms, I didn’t eat more .

On 14th March 2023 We started in the morning at 5.15 a.m as we had to cross Noida and avoid the rush. We had breakfast at Biawra at about 10 a.m, reached Gwalior by 12 noon and then subsequently Agra at around 2PM. The roads were excellent, and I must compliment MP Govt for their work. The journey up toGwalior was really good and comfortable. Once we started the journey onthe Yamuna Expressway, it was bit mundane that the car was running at aconstant speed but no trees to smile at. There were no restaurants around, only toll tax booths. Earlier, on all four trips, I drove through Dewas, Faridabad Palval Gwalior and in the hindsight my preference would be thisroute rather than Yamuna expressway as its more cheerful/lively to drive around the Faridabad route. As I belong to a small village named Wai, I always try ?to find happiness travelling through small villages rather than long stretches of concrete road without any trees/people around.

On the Yamuna Expressway, we found a food court near Delhi. We had coffee there and then continued our journey. Finally, we arrived home around 6:30 p.m. My wife faced little discomfort during the journey especially in the stretch of Agra to Delhi, but overall she enjoyed the journey. Most likely, my wife won’t accompany me on my next trip back to Pune, so I?will be driving alone. If I do drive alone, I might take the route through Jaipur,Udaipur, Ahmedabad, and Pune. I have no problem driving alone. Let us see who accompanies me next time...trees, animals or birds?

?1My advice to youngsters to regularly Exercise for at least half an hour with Pranayam which will give you Stamina.

2 When you are on Highways always keep a watch on one ahead of your Vehicle. Keep a distance of 5 Mtrs at least when you want to overtake any Vehicle. Never go to near the vehicle ahead of you .It will be dangerous one.

3 After 5 hours of Journey take at least 10 Mnts Break so that you will not get hangover and your legs will get some relief.

4 Don’t Drink liquor, but good amount of water .

5 Most Important – kindly get your car checked including Water, Coolant, Oil level apart from Tyres, ?Wheel alignment and Balancing before leaving station. Keep watch on Petrol/Diesel Level.

6 Don’t speed up your car over 100 . Keep a watch on Speed limit boards.

7 Wherever there is Cut on Road between Divider watch if any Dumper or Camel cart is coming all of a sudden on your way from the other side of Road.

?Kindly ignore mistakes if any while writing in flow.