Brutality: punishing kilometers in monsoon rains

Day 8: August 8, 2008

Bhaktal-Murudeshwar to Panjim, Goa

The most arduous day of the Mumbai Xpress 2008 began promptly with a flag off at 8:30am amid torrential monsoon rains that drenched everything, regardless of any rain gear or the rain flaps attached to the autorickshaws. So dense was the downpour that the limitless view of the ocean on one side and the tropical forests of palm trees and the Western Ghats behind them were completely hidden behind a wall of grey. To make it even more challenging it would also be the longest distance to the flag down, a daunting 208 kilometers.

Within 10 kilometers teams began having problems with rainwater seeping into the fuel tanks and breakdowns became less fun. As mechanics and support vehicles rushed to assist, other teams also stopped to provide assistance –despite the reasonable desire to plod ahead and finish in the much anticipated Goa. Teamwork, gorgeous beaches and tropical scenery provided a great motivating lift to all the teams who kept their spirits, wits and enthusiasm high.

In anything that qualifies as "Expedition" or "Endurance," such as real life (particularly jobs and relationships) the only possibly way to survive is to find nonsensical and harmless ways of amusing yourself. Traveling to India to participate or organize an autorickshaw race might be right up there with inane distractions, only to find yourself in a world so entirely different and mono-cultural, if not monotheistic, that you'll spend days laughing at the Indian-English road signs and the Swiss Restaurant that serves exactly the same food every other hotel/pit stop.

When teams made it to the boarder crossing between Karnataka and Goa, they were in for a surprise. Officials ushered team members into a small office structure and demanded 100 rupees ($2.50usd) to be allowed into the state. Without issuing receipts or notating the transaction, teams were waved in after handing over the money. At dinner that evening some teams were confused, was it a toll or a bribe? After a few laughs from the more experienced organizers and travelers, the bribery heavy culture had made a concrete introduction to all 18 teams.

Soon, the entry into Goa once again changed the landscape with the Portuguese and former military influences felt in the architecture, roads, people and animals lining the route. Every building seemed covered in various shades of green and black fungus that streamed down the windows, corners and cracks of walls and up from the floors, ledges and broken metal wires. It gave the effect of a living malignant predator and a decaying carcass; from which countless families live out their lives. Since the monsoon so totally transforms the world, it seemed plausible that the dry season might banish this invader but I quickly dismissed the thought remembering the relatively placid pacific northwest and looking closely at the permanent decrepitude and wetness the buildings and their cancerous mould. I'd see a lot more of these buildings in Mumbai - a far cry from the desert cities of Tamil Nadu.

Yet the relative whiteness of the Goan architecture style, the supreme gift of the Portuguese who seemed to have screwed the natives in every possible way (barring some delightful culinary tricks), is often sited as a highlight of the region. Having grown up around American military bases it's strangely familiar; as is the relative lack of buildings and population in that unique Indian style of "roadside development." This I find out is due to the fact that Goa, until relatively recently has essentially been a base for the Indian military. This also explains why one of the richest regions, thanks to tourism, has one of the worst most underfunded schools of all the areas we have visited.