Common Muse: The Tingling Medicine

Common Muse: The Tingling Medicine

Common Muse: Umbi-Jumping

Common Muse: Umbi-Jumping

Common Muse: The Chinese Aggression

Common Muse: The Chinese Aggression

Common Muse: The Common Muse

Common Muse: The Common Muse

Ten commandments : Tips for Driving in the Desert

Rally description - Rally Desert Storm 2007 NAV version:
Now that you have been brave and taken a plunge in to world of TSD rallying we would like to share a few thought with you to help you come out a winner. While making the course of NAV rally we have increased the order of "toughness" progressively from day to day. On the first day all you have to do is cross a unmanned rail line and less than couple of kilometers of rough / sandy track. Day two will increase the hazard only slightly but it is a long day. Those who survive day two will face almost 40 kilometers of off-road drive but one that is easily passable by alert driver and crew. Some sandy stretches and increased difficulty of navigation make this intersting challange and will give you a lot to talk about. Day four will take you through further sandy stretches and then invite you on to endless salt plains of Sambhar Lake where the smoothe surface is inteerspread with bumps and ruts waiting to catch out the unwary.

Tips and tricks:
First rule for driving on sandy tracks is to try to keep maximum forward momentum. This will carry you through drifts of light sand which cover the road for stretches. Road book keeps mentioning this but you can plan to expect un-expected drifts of sand as wind re-surfaces the desert on daily basis.
Second watch out for the height of central hump! It is likely that the hump has been made by a passing camel cart with huge clerance. Your ca does not have that and if you keep your wheels in the ruts you are likely to get struck. Try to keep one wheel on the hump and the other on the side bank.
Third it is better to use the side-wall of your tyres as well. Try to drive so that the tyre wall touches the side of ruts. You need all the surface traction! Gently rock the wheel side to side while keeping the highest possible momentum. Do not climb the sand wall / side of ruts but hit them and then drift back.
Fourth keep power applied gently and consistently. Too much power / Low gears are of no use as sand does not give you traction!!
Fifth rule is not to venture off the track. The deceptively smooth surface of sand is extremely soft and can quickly embrace your vehicle to stop.
Sixth point is that you will not get sand drifts continuously as there are soft and hard patches. Use hard patch to build momentum and get through the next sand drift. If you have to stop and get a feel of track ahead, stop on firm surfaces.
Number seven is to go fast over the “crests”. Do not even think of stopping or slowing down on steep slope before the crest! If you do chances are that you will not only get stuck you will not be able to back up either.
Eighth point is stopping with care and apply brakes very very gently. Hard braking dig the front wheels in to sand making it impossible to go forward or backwards.
Ninth rule is back up whenever you feel the vehicle not able to make it to the crest or through the sand drift let it gently roll to stop. Then gently and without applying un-necessary power backup till you are on to firm ground. Do not be obstinate and just press on accelerator as if that is the solution, believe us it is not! If you are struck then powering your way is not going to get you anywhere. Stop, think and then act.
Finally if you do get stuck, dig out the sand in front and back of all the tyres to get a gentle slope. Your kit comes in hand here. Use dry bramble bushes ( you will find them every where) to pave the surface of sand and then gently try to roll out with least power while co-driver (and if you are lucky .. bystanders!) push. Sometimes trying to roll out your vehicle in third / fourth gear is better idea, as this prevents application of too much power all of sudden which will only result in digging in further -talk about digging your own grave!! Some times it helps to shut off engine and the just using starter with vehicle in gear can take you out! Remember you came here on your own to measure up to a challenge and not to keep you hands and clothes free from sand.
DO NOT PANIC!
Organisers will eventually arrive and help you get to nearest village where you can organise a tractor to pull your vehice out. All stages are closed by sweep vehicle to give you help. Use the communication signs in your road book to inform controls with help of competitors. Keep enough water (Plan what you can drink and then double the amount) and stay out of sun while you wait and enjoy watching others struggle through!
Happy storming!!!

Trapped and beyond reach!!!

So many times I have read real life stories of people who get lost and trapped in desserts and survived to tell the tale. It is easy to sit in an armchair and read but when it happens to you the urgency of survival hits and panic looms large.
Simply put "I survived last Sunday"
The Sambar lake, as it is popularly known in India, is about 25 kilometer long and 15 kilometers wide, which does not seems to be very much when you are used to driving on highways at speeds of 100 kmph. As it is a flat pan you can see hills and other feature beyond the periphery, swimming in mirage, so you are really never "lost". Being on fringes of the Great Indian Thar Desert it is dusty and hot place. And of course no populance, trees, shrubs or water.
A drive on salt pan is some thing else. You see a wide expanse of flatness and can turn any which way. Power, both of your car and of your nerve, determines the speed of travel. At the same time you have to watch out for tracks and undulations which can make your vehicle jump off or you to loose control.
Me and my wife, went driving through "Sambar" salt pan. What we did not realize that there had been a bit of rain a few days earlier and the apparently dry looking surface was at places hiding slush underneath. Just four kilometers, covered very comfortably with in less than that many minutes, in side the salt pan our car got bogged down. With my experience of desert driving I was confident that with slow and patient effort I would be able to back out to dry ground.
Both of us got out and after looking at the tyres which were barely dug in the slush felt even more confident. Walking in that slush of salt and mud was in itself a feat as your feet tended to slide out. Try as we might the car would only move a few feet forward and backward and at the same time slide sideways where it was more slushy. After fifteen minutes of trying all we achieved was a further dug in vehicle, a very sweaty pair - us, zilch progress and one of the two water bottles finished off.
It is then that panic hit "So how are we going to get out?" No one knew we were there. No one would come looking for us. Only way out was to walk out and reach the track which skirts the "lake" and infrequently used by tractors and motocycles. All advice of staying with the vehicle seemed useless.
By then it was middle of the day and sun was right over head. So picking up the remaining bottle of water we set out walking back. Walking in itself was not a problem once we were beyond the slush patch. Four kilometers is not a long way but in middle of the day with bright sun burning your skin it is a killer.
The second kilometer showed a ray of hope when we saw a tractor slowly going across but our waving did not attract his attention. Now the walk was becoming a drudgery. When you are used to driving one kilometer seems just nothing. On foot we could appreciate what one kilometer means on sandy and salty bed.
By the time we were in the third kilometer all wanted was to lie down in some shade. Unfortunately this was no where available. Thoughts, firmly pushed back earlier, of what further we will have to do once we reach the track began to surface again. Except for one tractor, long gone, we had not seen any thing else. Walking was now just a matter of forcing one foot forward at a time. Not looking up at horizon as the distance never seemed to reduce.

Courtesy

Driving in India, especially north India, is a constant game of who will blink first. Every one has only one objective, irrespective of even traffic lights, "let me get through.....to hell with everything else". Running down pedestrians is fast becoming a satisfying goal for majority of vehicle drivers. Honking for least cause is de-riguer. You can define micro-second by the time elapsed between lights changing green to hearing the honk from the guy behind you!!!
It was therefore a pleasant surprise when I saw a motorist screech to a stop at zebra crossing to let a pedestrian walk across first. As I was following in the same lane I also stopped. So far so good. Just when I was thanking the gods that some courtesy is back on roads the car in the slower lane came from behind and almost took off the poor walker from zebra strip to kingdom beyond where zebra's actually live. I admire the courtesy of the first motorist and wish the second one also learns some pronto.

Second to none

Course of my work took me to a lower division court house today and for those who have not been to courts in India it is an experience. Add to that a lower division court in India !!! Teeming with humanity, is what some would call it but it was a slow day today, only a couple of thousands jostling for space to get their work done.
I came across a person who was distributing "Prasad" (Blessed sweets) to all he came across. He would dig out a handful from his big "jhola" (handbag) and with a smile pass on small portions to all with a beaming and content face. Who was he? Where did he come from? Why he was doing this? What did he do for living? I do not know but I admit that I could see his contentment in doing just what he was doing and getting pleasure form the simple act.
I admired his self confidence and approach to life - at least for that brief period - offering Prasad, without any apparent motive, to all without thought of any discrimination or priority. Life like that can be lived only when you are strong within.