In a world where the open road beckons with
promises of adventure and discovery, some souls find their true calling behind
the wheel. Join us as we delve into the enthralling journey of a dedicated traveler Mani Raj Singh, who turned his dreams into reality, embarking on an
extraordinary expedition across the tapestry of India On Road. In this
exclusive interaction, we sit down with the mind and spirit behind "Driven
Dreams: A Car Traveler's India On Road," a blog that chronicles an
epic road trip that spans the length and breadth of this captivating nation.
Through the eyes and experiences of our intrepid traveler, we unravel the
stories of winding highways, hidden hamlets, and cultural encounters that
together paint a vivid picture of an Indian odyssey unlike any other. So fasten
your seatbelt, as we set out on a virtual journey that captures the essence of
wanderlust, the thrill of exploration, and the unbreakable bond between a travelers and their cherished set of wheels.
India On Road- Can you tell us about your
road trip across the country?
Mani Raj: I
have completed the India tour (28 states with their capitals and 6 UT) only in
42 days by India’s smallest car, the Maruti Alto. This journey was very
memorable for me.
Doing an India tour with a 2015 model alto car is
a challenging task but I have accepted this challenge and planned to complete
this journey. I had started my journey for India tour on 1st march 2023 and
started travelling all capitals lying in states and UT. Travelling to difficult
terrains of Meghalaya, north east and LEH LADAKH - The Land of Euphoric Mountains & Valleys with a simple Alto 800 car
without power steering and 4*4 capabilities is a big challenge for me, but I
completed all the difficult routes and mountains with my extreme driving skills
and abilities.
Earlier only one or two people have done this in India but I am the first person who completes this India tour in 42 days only. Also, I am the youngest man to complete the India tour by car. We also got everyone's support all over India. Police, Public, Army etc.
India On Road- What inspired you to embark
on this road trip adventure? Any specific themes you opted for your travels?
Mani Raj: Actually,
YouTube is a very big platform, I had searched on YouTube, how many people have
done the India tour by car? I did not see any single person who came out of the
house and entered his house after completing the India tour. But on Google I
had seen 2 people; one of them had completed the India tour by car (Honda City)
in 101 days and the other one completed this tour in 74 days by car (Skoda
Fabia). Then I also dreamed that I will do the same and that too in the
shortest time and with India's smallest car, the Maruti Alto 800 cc. I had to
come on top of YouTube. If anyone searches for - India tour by car or the
youngest man to complete the India tour, then I am at the top. My dream was my theme.
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India On Road- What is your profession? and
How are you managing funds for your travel?
Mani Raj: Professionally I am working as an
Assistant manager in a real estate group housing project named Krishnabhumi
Vrindavan (Mathura). I started planning for my entire trip a month before the
start of the trip. According to this complete planning, I had to do the entire
India tour in 54 days. Which was about to become a new record in India. I
estimated the entire fund for 54 days which is around 4 lakh to 4.5 lakh. I
prepared some funds for this trip from my savings and some was given to me by
my mother.
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India On Road- What were the biggest
challenges you faced during your road trip? How did you overcome them?
Mani Raj: We
didn't face any major problem on the entire India tour. I am a pure vegetarian,
so I just had a little problem in the North East region regarding my food. I
had to take full care of my health, so it was very important for me to eat
healthy and eat on time. That's why I prefer to eat only dal and roti for
dinner. We didn't face any problem with the rest of our car. My car was fully
fit and well maintained.
At some places we had to face a problem regarding
the road condition. The condition of some roads in the North East was very bad,
due to which we were not able to do late driving. The condition of the road
going from Jammu to Leh was also not very good. The road leading to Leh was not
completely open. One day used to go up and one day used to come back from Leh.
Because of this I had to take an extra stay for a day in Sonmarg. The car was
also skidding due to accumulation of black ice on the road, but my driving
skills played a role well there. While doing this, we travelled all over India.
India On Road- Did you have a planned
itinerary for your journey, or was it more spontaneous? How did you balance the
two?
Mani Raj: As
I said, I started planning for the entire trip a month in advance. It took a
whole month to plan the trip. In which I decide which clothes to carry in the
car for winters and summers as well, what eatables to keep in the car, what
gadgets to keep for videos and what gadgets to keep, and prepare the entire car
with stickers for the trip. And there were small preparations that I planned
before starting the trip.
India On Road- How did you manage your time
during India On Road Trip?
Mani Raj: I
had made some rules regarding time during the journey. In which the first rule
was that we will ignore late driving. We used to leave till the last 6 and 7 in
the morning and used to explore some famous places inside the city, after that
we would have left for the next state. If for some reason we could not reach
the target place and were late, then we would have stayed in the hotel but used
to ignore night driving. This is a good point for my whole journey. After
reaching the hotel, we used to give some time to our video editing, because
daily we had to upload our videos on our YouTube channel- A2Z The braj. Everything
went well exactly as I had planned. Because for this whole journey every single
minute was very important for me. That's why I didn't waste my time anywhere. And
keeping all this in mind, I completed the planning of the entire 54 days tour
in 42 days only.
India On Road- Did you travel alone or with
a group? How did you handle the dynamics of traveling companions, if any?
Mani Raj: For
this whole journey, I just needed a partner, who could make my videos for my YouTube
channel. For which I prepared a friend of mine, whose only job was that he
would wake up every morning to clean the car and make my videos. Because I
wanted my car to not look dirty during the whole journey. Due to less boot
space in the car, we kept all the luggages on the back seat and he used the
left side front seat and I used to stay in the driving seat. I didn't need
anyone to drive my car, because it was my dream to drive my car by myself. And
I don't even trust anyone's driving.
India On Road- What were some of the most
memorable experiences or encounters you had during your journey?
Mani Raj: Our
whole trip was a memorable one. But what we liked in the whole journey was the
love of the police at every place. Everywhere our car was stopped for checking,
but when he came to know that we were touring India, he did not even check the
car and with respect, we were sent off by shaking hands. While driving on the
highway, some people used to make videos of our car because it was the first
Alto car in India which was going to make a record in India. When we used to
stop at any hotel to eat food or something and while coming back, we used to
see that a crowd had gathered near our car.
Whenever petrol was poured at the petrol pump, all
the people at the pump used to keep looking at our car and by searching our
YouTube channel (A2Z The braj), they used to subscribe to it in front of us. These
were small moments which were very important in our entire journey. I will not
be able to forget all this in my whole life. I LOVE MY INDIA & EVERY
INDIAN.
India On Road- Were there any instances
where you had to step out of your comfort zone? How did you adapt to new and
unfamiliar environments?
Mani Raj: I
am an Indian and I was going to explore India on my own, so I did not feel
uncomforted anywhere. Going away from my home was the most difficult time for
me. Because I have never been away from my house for a maximum of 7 days and
now I had to go away for 54 days. I also have a small child of 2 years; he
cannot live without me for a single day and now he is going to stay away from
me for 54 days. This was the condition in which I did not sleep for two days
before the starting date of my journey. There has been full support of my
family in this entire journey. It was not possible without family support. But
I was determined that I must fulfil this dream. Struggle was for me as well and
on one hand it was also for my family, to stay away from me. Even before
leaving the house, I did not think that I am going to an unfamiliar
environment. I am a son of Mother India and I was going for a walk in the lap
of my Mother India. That's why I didn't feel like I was out of my house during
the whole journey.
We completed the whole journey with a lot of fun.
India On Road- In what ways has this road
trip influenced your perspective on life or personal development?
Mani Raj: As
my India is called a golden bird, my India is still a golden bird. I did not
feel unsafe or uncomfortable anywhere in the whole of India. If I talk about
development, we have seen a lot of development in general, especially in terms
of road connectivity. Seeing the condition of the road, it was much better,
many new highways were found. Even after coming on the wrong road, we did not
feel that we were driving on the wrong road. We seriously liked the culture and
infrastructure everywhere. Even our Holi celebration happened in Assam, which
was a memorable moment in our life.
India On Road- How do you think your
experiences during the road trip could be applicable to the job or profession?
Mani Raj: Actually I am not able to understand this
question, what should I say in its context. Road trip is a different
experience; it cannot be related to job and profession. Some people's
profession is to do road trips, some people's job too. But this road trip was a
dream for me which I fulfilled. But I want that people should do this, they
should also dream and fulfill them.
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India On Road- Your Message Tips and
Guidelines to people who aspiring to take similar kind of travel?
Mani Raj: Yes, I want someone to break my record in India too. Seeing my achievement, many people commented on how it was possible, how much it cost, how it was planned and all. Even before me at the start, many people said that he has gone mad. My answer used to be that: I have gone mad. To do anything big, you need passion and madness and both of them have come inside me. When there is hope of doing something big in the mind, then all the roads open automatically and I also practically felt this in this journey. People think, plan and then remain thinking. First of all a person has to understand his own mind, then the family and everyone else. Unless you make your own mind firm, you will not be able to achieve anything. In the beginning, everyone forbade me to do this and today when everyone sees my records, they feel proud of me.
- Records of Mani Raj Singh
- Asia Book of Records.
- India Book of Records.
- Worldwide Book of Records.
- International Book of Records.
- India’s World Record.
- World Record Certification.
- Rashtriya Pratistha Purushkar 2023.
- Dreams Iconic Award 2023.
And now I want that whoever has the passion for car driving in India should do some of their own activities and achievements and make records in the name of India in India & world also.
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the traveler
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