Ever fancied driving from London to Delhi? Tushar Agarwal, author of Road Affair and co-founder of driving expeditions firm Adventures Overland, did just that and more. In a conversation with Ritwik Sharma, he talks about his book and his passion to hit the road that earned him a place in the record books. Excerpts:
When did you plan to write a book about your road trips?
When I started driving from London to Delhi, I decided to start writing a blog simply to capture my experiences and emotions on the road. I thought it would be fun to read about my journey 30-40 years later. I knew the journey would offer some incredible experiences. I got a lot of positive response from people who started following my blog. Once I had enough material over three years, I thought it was a good time to compile my journeys and experiences into a book. Road Affair is a unique travelogue which contains stories spanning across 25 countries, the highest motorable road in the world, driving non-stop through the entire Himalayan range and driving through nine countries with a police escort throughout.
Did you have your eyes on the series of records you set?
I conceived the idea of London to Delhi and most of my journeys only out of my love and passion for travel. However, when I realised that the kind of journeys that we are planning and embarking on could get into the record books, it motivated me to go ahead and take every journey as a challenge.
Any inspiration for travel writing?
Anyone can write a travelogue. Anyone who goes on a road trip is bound to come back with one’s own experiences and stories to share with people. It is the unplanned and unexpected things that happen on a road trip that you will always remember. I write same way I would describe an incident to a friend. In a very candid way.
How challenging is it to write about experiences in numerous countries in a single book?
When you are on the road driving for long hours through tough terrain, it is possible to procrastinate. There were many situations where I felt sick, tired, exhausted or simply got bored. However, I kept myself motivated by reminding that the situations and the moments that I experience are unique and if I don’t push myself to write about them soon, the emotions I felt may fade away.
Your opinion on driving expeditions in India? Is it growing?
Driving expeditions in India are becoming increasingly popular. Indians are getting more and more interested in road trips now. I think India has some of the best destinations. Places like Ladakh, Rann of Kutch, Spiti Valley, northeast have fantastic roads for driving. Indians are also now willing to pay extra for unique experiences in their own country. We receive lots of inquiries from people wanting to drive in remote terrains within India.
What are you planning to write next?
My next book is titled The Great Indian World Trip. In September 2013, our team will start the biggest journey ever. We will drive 70,000km through 50 countries in six continents.