Tags:
Journalism of Courage
There are thrills in an underpaid journalist8217;s life too. Here I was behind the wheel, riding a BMW on a runway made for the super-rich to fly down their private jets. The metallic-grey 6-Series, at 120 kmph, was flying off the face off the earth when the person sitting next to me asked me to slam the brakes. The man egging me on to such recklessness in breathtaking Aamby Valley, Lonavala, was not a psychopath with a gun at my head but a BMW expert.
When we8212;a bunch of other journalists and I8212;had driven up the serene, tree-lined incline to Aamby Valley for BMW8217;s two-day driving camp, it didn8217;t seem we8217;d run into such adventure. Forty-eight hours at the weekend getaway for crorepatis, was, I thought, about drooling at German beauties the Beemers please and taking them for a spin8212;not a crash course in well, crashing a BMW.
For the camp, BMW had converted the runway into a test drive track. There they stood, the entire range of BMWs, in a gleaming line from the airport gate to the runway. This was a car-lover8217;s jannat indeed. Now, for the camp. The experts began with the basics8212;the correct way to hold a steering wheel and the position the arm should be in when negotiating a turn. It wasn8217;t simple. Driving on Indian roads is a freewheeling exercise that chips away at your respect for rules. And changing your driving style can be challenging to say the least. The more resourceful among us even tried to wriggle their way out by saying the cars on Indian roads didn8217;t have the same sort of steering wheel. But there was no escape. Two parallel lessons we learnt: old habits die hard and that Indians aren8217;t the best drivers in the world. The boot camp was divided into three stages: the scenic drive, driver training and X-drive. Each group drove a set of BMW vehicles and then swapped them for other models. I guess you could say each of us has driven every BMW available in India.
We hit the first stage in the BMW entry-level 3-Series sedan, zipping through the township, passing houses owned by Indian cricketers Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, past picturesque timber chalets and cobbled paths before zooming off past the cantilevered Sail Bridge. With all cars fitted with automatic gear shift, driving was oh so smooth. We drove down to Lonavla along the winding roads, past the breathtaking landscape of the Sahyadri range. After changing over to arguably the world8217;s best mid-size sedan, the 5-Series, driving uphill was like driving along the Autobahn. The car can knock anyone8217;s socks off. Imagine taking a turn8212;without missing a breath8212;at 70 kmph!nbsp;
Back at the airstrip, there was the slam-dunk lined up. This was a test of the brakes of the curvaceous machines. The BMW expert cajoled us to press the accelerator to 120 kmph and then slam the brakes. I must confess most of us didn8217;t go beyond 100 kmph. Sacrilege, to drive a BMW so recklessly.
We then headed for the X-drive, the adventure trial. BMW had fashioned a dirt track in the township8217;s made-for-adventure terrain to showcase the ability of their Sports Activity Vehicles, the X3 and X5. The German company is the only automobile manufacturer that has installed computer sensors in the four wheels to optimise power. For instance, if the vehicle8217;s rear tyre is stuck in a ditch, the front wheels will stop spinning and all the power will be channelled to the rear to help the wheel climb out. Technology at its best.
With the trip coming to an end, one last glance at Aamby Valley before heading back to reality home and office. With just 250 of the 7,000 homes built, this lap of luxury has the feel of an abandoned Hollywood set. There is an 18-hole golf course set amid the Western Ghats, designed and remodelled by PGA DC of Great Britain and Ireland. If you can tear yourself away from the wonderful mountain vista around you, you could go boating or fishing at the three man-made lakes and 11 natural water bodies in the township. And as you walk around, your camera tempted by the beauty surrounding you, you feel like royalty8212;your reverie disturbed perhaps only by an idiot somewhere slamming the brakes on his car at 120 kmph.
