DARJEELING: Freewheeling in Land Rover terrain

Brought to Darjeeling in the Fifties by British tea planters, the trusty Land Rover is still going strong. The workhorse can negotiate dizzy mountainous curves with ease and serves as a lifeline in remote areas, report Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey & Deep Gazmer

FROM TIMES OF INDIA

A landrover parked near Darjeeling Railway Station. Photo by Barun Roy

The sharp chill cloaked in mysterious fog, the aroma of freshly brewed tea in dainty china cups, weather-beaten cane chairs on sprawling bungalow verandahs, the fading echoes of the clocktower chimes, the tangy smell of coal that pushes the struggling toy train up the sinuous curves of the misty mountains… in the heady, rarefied atmosphere of Darjeeling, you could be forgiven for thinking that Time itself has come to a standstill.

So, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise when you see Series I Land Rovers rubbing shoulders with more modern counterparts. But it should. Think about it for a minute. First manufactured in the immediate aftermath of World War II by the Rover Motor Company of England as a light agricultural and utility vehicle, the series has long ceased to be in production. Yet, at 2134 metres above mean sea level, it is still a lifeline in the remotest locations treading tortuous paths, the sturdy vehicle has been bringing food and ration on time for more than

60 years now.

For tea connoisseurs all over the world, Darjeeling is a pilgrimage of sorts. But the Queen of the Hills also holds a special place in the hearts of automobile lovers. For them, it is Land Rover country. Nowhere else in the world are Series I and II Land Rovers fully operational, but here, there is a fleet of 50 taxis operating on different routes. The Series I model first hit the roads in 1948, and the Darjeeling vehicles were brought soon after in the Fifties by British tea planters who chose to stay behind after Independence. By the Sixties, the British planters left but the Land Rovers stayed back, ultimately finding their way into the hands of travel operators, who started using them as taxis.

According to information available with the Singalila Land Rovers’ Association (SLRA), that has the largest fleet of Land Rover taxis, Darjeeling has five Land Rover Series I (including 80 inch Series I) vehicles, manufactured between 1948 and 1954, six Series II (including IIa Series 88), and 12 Land Rover 109s. Most of these taxis run between Maneybhanjang and Sandakphu. And this never ceases to amaze car lovers. “To learn that five Land Rover Series I are operating as taxis in Darjeeling is absolutely unbelievable. The owners may not even know that their Land Rovers are today worth their weight in gold, literally!”, reads a blog by Louis Bedford of the London Land Rover Enthusiasts Club.

Even for those who are not enthusiastic enough to visit Maneybhanjang, about 28 km from Darjeeling, for a hike up to Sandakphu, there’s no missing the grand old vehicles at Ghoom, the highest railway station on the toy train route, about 8 km from Darjeeling. The two other routes on which Land Rovers ply from Ghoom are towards Bijonbari and Takdah.

Most of the Land Rovers that are found in Darjeeling were built between 1948 and 1956. But their age hardly shows, mainly because of two reasons: First, there’s no question of paint being scraped off, as the vehicles were not painted in the first place; but, more importantly, the grand old beauties are absolutely doted upon by their present-day owners.

“These cars were built of Birmabright, a lightweight rustproof alloy of aluminium and magnesium. This material was used because of the post-war shortage of steel, while there was a plentiful supply of aircraft aluminium,” says Suresh Periwal, proprietor of Clubside Tours and Travel, that arranges trips on Land Rovers for enthusiasts, especially foreigners. “This metal’s resistance to corrosion was one of the factors that allowed the vehicle to build up a reputation for longevity even in the toughest conditions,” he explained.

For Jiwan Gazmer, who drives his own Land Rover between Ghoom and Darjeeling, it’s a matter of safety. “The reason why people prefer Land Rovers to modern-day SUVs on the Sandakphu route is that the former vehicle is a 4X4 drive, where there is power on the rear wheels too. As a result, chances of skidding are minimal,” he says, adding, “you have to remember that the route is extremely steep and, on large stretches, there are nothing but boulders that go for roads.”

Periwal’s father, Sagar Mal, had started a company in 1953 Associated Agencies which was based in Jorebunglow, about 10 km from Darjeeling. “My father was the agent of Dewar’s Garage of Calcutta, which used to distribute Land Rovers those days. The demand was much higher than supply, as the vehicles were a craze among the affluent and owners of tea estates. It was much later that these vehicles were sold off to tour operators,” Periwal recounts.

But the Land Rovers also have a much more crucial function as well. Villagers in remote Chitrey, Lameydhura, Meghma and Tonglu villages in Sandhakphu (inside India) and Tungling (in Nepal), and the few hotels available to trekkers wholly depend on the faithful Land Rovers to keep the supply of essentials going.

“For years, we have been getting our supplies on Land Rovers. Today, there are a few expensive vehicles on the route ferrying tourists, but you cannot expect such vehicles to carry grocery and poultry! Apart from the fact that getting your supplies on Land Rovers is inexpensive, there’s no denying the fact that they are indestructible and have had a run on these roads for decades,” said Dewika Subba, resident of Lameydhura. “Today’s vehicles can never compare in strength.”

SLRA coordinator Anil Tamang said that each Land Rover taxi follows a weekly routine. “If a grocery store in remote Tonglu expects its poultry supply at a certain hour on a particular day of the week, it will certainly receive it, thanks to the reliable Land Rover that services’ it. There is no failing that routine, because the life of an entire village will collapse otherwise.”

While most of these vehicles have an original exterior, most of the Land Rover taxis that one sees in Darjeeling now are fitted with indigenous innards, cleverly fitted to add power and speed to the vehicle to help it to compete with modern-day vehicles. “We call them hybrid for this reason. The original Land Rover engine had to be discarded because spare parts are not available any more and we couldn’t do with indigenous replacements. So, we replaced it with Mitsubishi truck engines and gear box. It coordinated well with the other parts and added so much speed to the vehicle that a 50-year-old Land Rover runs better than most other SUVs on these roads,” says Gazmer, whose ex-armyman father had bequeathed him his vehicle.

Since Land Rovers of these models are not available in running condition anywhere else in the world, these can easily sell for Rs 20 lakh ($39,000) in the world market, says Land Rover expert Les Roberts in a blog. But strangely, no one is willing to sell them off. “They have been with our families for ages and we look after them as we would our grandfathers. Most of us live an extremely tough life, where some extra money by selling off our Land Rovers can easily help, but how can you sell off a family member?” Gazmer asked.