We have a convert. Petrol-heads, that unyielding faction of climate change deniers, finally received conclusive proof that fossil fuels are, in fact, heating up the planet. And it came through the mouth of none other than their self-appointed high priest — Jeremy Clarkson. The erstwhile motoring show host made the astute observation when confronted with severe water shortage while on a boat trip in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Elementary, my dear Clarkson. Spend a week in Delhi right now, and you’ll never drive an oil-burning guzzler again. And that underlines the seemingly impossible dilemma facing the Capital’s hapless denizens planning a road trip to escape the smog-choked gas chamber that Delhi became at the onset of winter this year.
Being an auto hack has its privileges: and so it came to pass that a gleaming hybrid Lexus NX 300h—a compact SUV—emerged from the sooty black void that is squatting like a toad on a large tract of north India. Leaving the plains behind on NH 24, before the world woke up and went about its mercantile business, this bewilderingly silent vehicle rapidly ascended up the Kumaon hills in Uttarakhand.
The Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary — 400 odd kilometres from Delhi — usually doesn’t make it to the weekend drive list of probables from the Capital. With a meagre five resorts and guesthouses within the reserve forest, this verdant glade in upper Kumaon is popular with bird-watchers and travellers who’re not strapped for time. We had only three days; or rather, all of three days.
Timing is critical if you’re driving from Delhi to Binsar: the trip can take as little as eight hours if you leave Delhi at 4 am and sneak through Uttar Pradesh under the cover of darkness. We had no such plans: just as well because the NX — while perfectly capable of high speeds, encourages you to drive well, elegantly. With a singular focus on safety and clean tech the NX assumes you’re more interested in reducing carbon footprints, not lap times. It’s an acquired taste, admittedly, for puerile drivers like this writer, but there’s no denying the quiet satisfaction of watching the heads-up-display show the batteries charging with every touch of the brake pedal, or when you take your foot off the gas. Drive the NX like a human being, and this car runs on little more than love and fresh air.
There’s plenty of the latter in Uttarakhand’s Lake District. Locals will give you a disapproving look when asked for directions to Kasar Devi: the ‘hippy town’s’ reputation is unnecessarily severe. The small size of this little hamlet belies its significance in pop culture; once known as ‘Crank’s Ridge,’ Kasar has hosted beat poets, writers and musicians including the likes of John Steinbeck and Bob Dylan. For those interested, there’s a fascinating museum with pictures from the heydays of the 1960s.
It’s difficult to find a resort in these parts which does not have a flurry of hoardings pointing out directions from 50 kilometres before you reach it. Bucking that trend, the Mary Budden Estate is deliciously low-key. The unmarked dirt track inside the Sanctuary has been made slushy and slippery by recent rains. Without much ado and unshakeable poise the NX deposited us at the end of an unmarked dirt-path that peels left just short of the KMVN Guesthouse at Binsar, where a small wrought iron gate leads down to the Mary Budden Estate.
On a lovely sunny day, the estate’s two cottages appear like a hidden retreat in the middle of a dense forest. Mary Budden’s charm is as old world as it gets. It’s clean and yet there’s an unkempt air to the porch, strewn with yellowing leaves. It looks like a place you’d discover while trekking in the hills, except that it’s no ruin. Far from it in fact: the two large cottages, can accommodate 12 people in six bedrooms where they can ward off the cold with fancy lightweight duvets, devour gourmet food, and, broadcast, if they must, images of their splendid isolation via multiple Wi-Fi connections.
At night the forest really comes alive and the stars seem frighteningly close. As the fire crackles and hisses in the hearth time seems to stand still in Binsar. There are no spooky stories associated with the estate which is a bit of a pity because it lends itself perfectly towards that nature of narration: the atrium has dull white metal chairs; faded red petals on the wrought-iron table; the lights are just that little bit dimmer; the silver sugar spoon is an antique as the ash tray that lies on the wooden bench outside facing some old gnarled pine trees. And to think the good nun Mary Budden lived here close to two centuries back.
As taken with the estate as you’re likely to be, nothing quite prepares you for the stunning vista of snow-covered peaks which appears at dawn right across the bay windows of the room of the cottage ( all rooms in both cottages have a view of the Himalayas). Even though, the whole idea was to drive around, another day at Mary Budden wouldn’t have hurt.
Perfectly content in lounging about, reading a book, and enjoying lovely traditional Kumaoni repasts in the Estate’s grounds, we need some convincing to put our hiking boots on. Which turns out well— a hike around the sanctuary, that takes you past the lofty views of the Himalayas at Zero Point, and a picnic down at the lovely hamlet at Dalar is well worth the effort and makes up the highlight reel of our trip.
Masks relegated to the boot, and no longer looking like characters in some post-apocalyptic flick, we find ourselves camping next to a river that doesn’t froth, and staring up, gobsmacked, at a sky that’s slid back the sunroof to reveal millions of stars. There’s plenty of Mahseer here, but its no longer the legendary game fish that anglers love to grapple with, you’re informed. Apparently climate change has depleted oxygen levels in the river even here, leaving the Mahseer a bit woozy in the head. For once, you know exactly how that feels.
Two days later, back in the Capital and the grind of work, poring over pictures, the weekend gone by seems like a parallel universe. In retrospect, even though we drove close to 900 kilometres, the laidback nature of the NX, and the splendid isolation of Mary Budden Estate shifted the entire paradigm of ‘trying to get somewhere,’ or ‘do as much as you can.’ Time slows down when you have the luxury of taking your time…You just go along for the ride
THE RIDE
The all-new Lexus NX is available in three variants—Exquisite, Luxury, and F-Sport. The NX appeals to a mature driver, concerned as much about refinement, and quality of ride as pure luxury. Lexus’ hybrid tech is the most advanced in the world and the NX has the ability to do short distances on just the electric motor that never needs to be externally charged making it exceptionally frugal to drive. But the most compelling virtue of the NX, given the lack of road safety in India, has to be the cutting-edge safety tech that’s always working in the background, providing a fail-safe against driver errors.
STAY HERE
It’s certainly not a find: the Mary Budden Estate has been an open secret amongst luxury fiends in the Capital for a while now. Although there are a number of plush stays in the Kumaon hills, this estate’s combination of luxury, unfettered privacy and gourmet food set within a milieu of one of the region’s densest forests, is pretty hard to beat.