Journalism of Courage
Converting a pick-up truck into a mobile studio apartment,caravaneer Daulat Deshmukh always gets a room with a view
To say Daulat Deshmukh enjoys travelling would be a massive understatement. Travelling is quite literally Deshmukh’s life,who likes nothing better than to take off for months together,travelling to places like Ladakh,Rajasthan,Goa and everywhere else in the country.
Watching his Tata TL 4×4,a compact mini pick-up truck,convert into a mobile studio apartment just at the touch of a button is nothing less than amazing. The roof rises to a height of about seven feet and three inches. There are double beds,large enough to accommodate four people; a working-cum-dining table; a cooking range and platform; a refrigerator; an LCD TV screen; and most importantly,a portable toilet. This toilet can be taken out and placed in a little tent that comes with the camper van. The tent functions as a private toilet and also comes with attached water supply for bathing.
For the pleasures of star gazing or watching the sun go down,there’s an awning that opens out on the caravan’s side to form a verandah. The experience of sleeping under the stars in Mulbekh and Uletopko (Leh Ladakh area) was wonderful. I have never seen stars like that, he says.
Among his best travel experiences are trips to Maharashtrian beaches Hedvi,Bhate and Ambolgad. All hotels called Hillview promise you a great view but never get you one. I choose my own view. People stop to take pictures at a scenic spot. I stop there to spend the night, he says,who goes on frequent week-long vacations with his family apart from wandering on his own for anywhere between one to three months.
Recalling the time he drove to Agonda beach in Goa,ahead of Christmas,Deshmukh says the beach was dotted with caravans belonging to foreign tourists. Among the people he met was a French family that had been on the road for five years,driving down from Europe.
If caravans are primarily a European concept,Deshmukh hopes to change this by commercially launching more caravans like his under the label,Freedom. India is the perfect place to holiday. We have the hills for summers and beaches for the rest of the year. With a caravan,you can go everywhere, he says.
