Master of Ceremonies

Cyrus Dadachanji & Mohit Midha
19^th March, 2007

To say that we made an early start this morning would be an understatement. We were up at 4 a.m., had a quick bath, grabbed a cup of tea to warm us up and rolled out of Hotel Sinclair in Chalsa. But not before sleep deprivation made people do silly things like trying to open their room doors with their car keys.

Over the next two hours we drove through the misty Dooars forests, which are home to wildlife including elephants, bison and leopards. After the forests, we passed mile upon mile of tea estates kissed with morning dew. Two hours later we pulled in to Jaigaon, the town on the Indian border from where we shall be flagged off to Bhutan.

The entire town had come out to welcome us. By now we are getting used to this kind of adulation. But it's a great feeling all the same. Parents, children, scouts and students waving the Indian flag kept chanting 'India India' as Ajay Khanna, our team leader handed over a SAARC flag to Mr. Manohar Tirkia, PWD Minister of Bengal.

Our flag off from India and cross over to Bhutan was so seamless that we did not even realize it. The costumes, features and flags held by the school children changed, but the welcome was as overwhelming as ever. A kilometer long stretch of flag waving boys and girls wearing the traditional gho and kira respectively lead us towards their Youth Service Centre. The mini stadium was packed to capacity with hysterical children who welcomed us like rock stars. They brought out the child in each one of us as we waved our country flags and exhorted them to chant even louder. Over the next hour, we were treated to a display of folk culture, as children from various schools gracefully danced in formation, the songs echoed sentiments of love, friendship and unity in keeping with the spirit of the rally. We were blessed with kind word by the Chief Guest and the crowd, and we were off again.

Bhutan is really beautiful. Over the next two hours, we ascended through winding mountain roads and steep hairpin bends to the office of the Tala Hydroelectric project. It's amazing to know that power is one of Bhutan's largest exports and the country produces a third of the power generated by India! In fact almost 30% of Bhutan’s power is exported to India. We had a quick lunch here, spent a few minutes understanding the logistics involved in operating a power plant of this magnitude and retreated to our vehicles.

The roads in Bhutan are narrow and wind around the hills like serpents. The temperature dropped as we climbed higher into the hills. We had to proceed with extreme caution as the road was washed away in some sections. In other places we had oncoming traffic around a turn, making it imperative to slow down to a crawl. But it was an exhilarating drive all the same. Most of the drivers enjoyed the feeling of driving in the hills, after spending a thousand kilometers in the plains. After two hours of winding roads, speeding down one hill and up around another we stopped at the small town of Gedu. The local populace had set up a small reception area for us in the grounds of a Government Guest house. We had a much needed 'refreshing' break, laced with steaming cheese Momos, piping hot coffee and a world of warmth.

Now that most of us were charged up, we switched drivers on the last leg. The new drivers enjoyed a chance at the wheel, taking on the mountain roads with a vengeance. From Gedu, we followed the river Wongchu right up to Thimpu, around 65 kms away. Bhutan will be celebrating 100 years of monarchy next year, and the road in this region will be transformed into three lane expressways by then. But for now, it was slow going all the way.

Thimpu is a small city with a big heart. It ahs only 60, 000 people and it seemed as though most of them had lined the streets and packed the area around the central Clock Tower square to greet us. The entire square was transformed into an amphitheatre with a stage and we were the star performers. It started with us handing over a SAARC Rally 2007 flag to the Minister for Home & Cultural Affairs. To a stupendous round of applause, each one of us was called on stage to receive a traditional silk white scarf called a 'Tashi Khadar'. The evening ended with a round of speeches, dances, songs and a fine dinner hosted by the Bhutanese. It had been a long, long day, and we were dying to get some rest. The number of ceremonies and felicitations we had been though in one day could easily earn us a title of 'Master of ceremonies'. But then again, there will be more tomorrow, and the day after......

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