Thomas Chacko, the 62 year old Kochi based car lover who started his 25,000 km expedition across all 28 states and the neighbour country Bhutan, has already covered 5,400 km in his Nano and reach Guwahati on 19th May 2012. On May 3, Chacko began his journey from Mumbai. He has so far travelled through Indore, Bhopal, Khajuraho, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Ranchi, Murshidabad, Malda, Jalpaiguri, Gangtok and Darjeeling and finally entered Bhutan.
He reached the Assam border from Thimphu and drove to Shillong from where he moved back to Guwahati. On Sunday, Thomas said in Guwahati, "It is not a joyride but an expedition to explore the country and know the people.”
From Guwahati, Chacko will travel through the other sates of North East. He will reach Kolkata and then drive to South India by the east cost. A company secretary by qualification, Thomas has written two books apart from a historical novel. He also plans to write another book after completing this tour. His book will contain the experience of his journey. Thomas, who is also an avid blogger, said, "I have thought of a title for the book 'Mano on Nano: India to its Farthest Corner.”
When asked how it started, he said, "About two years ago, a friend of mine Suresh Jacob undertook a trip across India in a Swift. I helped him turn his blogs about the journey into a book and that is when the idea came that I should also go on a similar expedition and that also in a Nano."
The trip of Thomas is being sponsored by Tata Motors. He is being provided with an ordinary Nano, which already travelled 3,000 km. There have been no changes in the car. However, a new stereo system has been added. A student from Kolkata, Thomas during the 1970’s was a local bike racing champion. He said that the trip so far has been fun.
Thomas Chacko, said, "In Shillong, I went to a Bengali restaurant and had Hilsa after many years. Besides, in last few days, since entering North East my Bangla has got back some of its old touch.”
Geetha, wife of Thomas, who is also a school teacher, accompanied him till Guwahati. However, his wife is returning home from Guwahati. Thomas said "Many of our friends teased us saying it is second honeymoon for us. While I will be accompanied by somebody or other during most of the trip, it is only I who will drive the car.”
For the rest of the travel though the North East, he will be accompanied by his brother-in-law. In Kolkata, his Malaysia-based daughter will join him. During his journey through Ladakh, he will be joined by his Bangalore based son. He, said,” I try to start early and finish up by around 4 pm and avoid travelling during night-time. On a day, I travel an average of 300 km, though no the first day of the expedition in the Mumbai-Indore segment, I travelled 652 km.”
Till now, Thomas finds the traffic rules of Bhutan, the best, and among India states, Skkim attains the top rank. He will head for Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh from Guwahati. He is also confident that the car will deliver trouble free performance on the hilly roads. Thomas said, "In Darjeeling hills, Sikkim and Bhutan, it ran without any problems.” By late July, he is planning to end his expedition in Mumbai.
