DesiTraveller

  Chitteswamy, our Nexon EV turns just about one in a few days, and with about 8k kms under the hood, has been a delight, barring a few solid hiccups in the beginning which probably had more to do with individual arrogances and retaliatory moves therein. All said and done, once we got used to figuring out stuff on maintenance and usage from a range of other users,  it was smooth sailing. Lessons learnt - DO NOT use the disconnect 12v battery trick unless absolutely imperative. DO NOT be under the impression that a 200mm ground clearance will take you over anything and everything, for example, one wheel in a pothole means your ground clearance is drastically reduced. DO NOT neglect re-gen level 2 or 3 in city driving, it could save your life and someone else's also. DO NOT get too perturbed if the wing mirrors get damaged, this will keep happening in cities, and you can use good strong double sided tape to good effect. DO NOT buy replacement alloy wheels from the after-market. ...

  The last few months have seen sufficient reportage about the impact of climate change and heavy rains in many parts of India, especially the hilly areas, with huge loss of life, limb and property. The impact on tourism, especially for hill tourism that depends a lot on road connectivity, is not fully understood as yet - but it certainly has some fallout on travel within, to and from these hill tourism locations. At the same time, domestic tourism is not going to simply abandon parts of the country which suffer the burden of climate change more than others, it is just that we shall as tourists need to make our own decisions and take our own judgement calls on where and when to go and how. Travel is education, and education will need to continue, especially pilgrimage. To start with, the first rule that I have started following over the last few decades, is to use local transport for local movements. Even assuming that self-drive till destination has been the mode of transport, the...

  So, we are completing almost a year with our Tata Nexon EV, and no contest, this is the best city car at this price point going today from the parameters of safety, comfort and cost of operation. Actually, let me correct that - if your usage is typically between home / office / factory / farm, especially if these movements are in rural India, then nothing works better than an EV. You can add 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and micro-mini trucks to the ensemble. The biggest benefit in my experience of driving going to more than half a century in years is NO MORE FEAR OF ADULTERATED FUEL. This is even more important with the forthcoming onset of ethanol mixed with liquid fuels. To be truthful, my heart used to palpitate when I had to re-fuel at unknown filling stations, and that's about as real as it gets. The second biggest benefit is the quality of the ride, in as much as there are no gears, and the acceleration as well as re-gen braking is like an extension of your mind and eyes transmit...

  “These Indians in India are getting too big for their boots lately. Something needs to be done, and soon!” “I know! Let’s make a movie about remote forests, elephants, tigers, poor people, and throw in the usual binaries?” “Good idea, I know just the book, and just the right people.” “Great, thanks, would be wonderful if you could throw in some awards too? Will help ticket sales at those award functions.” And thus was - probably - born THE ELEPHANT WHISPERERS. The yellow food-grade plastic tank on top of the cement platform at the side of the elephant’s night shelter sets the trend for much of the rest of the movie. Even the Foreign Correspondents Club in Delhi, tasked mostly with taking photos of the naked mendicants sort, could not have done this better. Brilliant wildlife shots, it’s the selective choice of human habitats selected for their poverty, which make this documentary a dual play. Get the Euro-Atlantic crowd in for the exotica and the perception building of In...