Women Beyond Boundaries undertook the first-of-its-kind road journey from New Delhi to London connecting 2 continents, covering 23,800kms, traversing 17 countries, in a single car without a backup and that too driven by just one woman!
Such journeys are not everyday to say the least. Founded by Nidhi Tiwari and Smita Rajaram, Women Beyond Boundaries, is a platform for women drivers with a social vision. Their maiden voyage was successfully completed on October 27, 2015 when Nidhi Tiwari, accompanied by Soumya Goyal and Rashmi Koppar reached London.
Being a driver at heart and having driven the entire distance on her own, Nidhi says it had been her dream for a long time. For many watching her, it has once again reinforced that a dream can become a reality when it is coupled with hard work and sheer passion.
Venkatesh Raghavendra spoke with Nidhi Tiwari recently to unpack the highlights of this remarkable journey.
Question: 23800 kms, 17 countries, 95 days on the road. A journey of this magnitude must have taken a lot of preparation. What did it involve?
Answer: Yes it did. Took 6 months of relentless work; I had to start with finding sponsors. But the odds were against me. Firstly I was a woman, who claimed to be a ‘good’ driver, and felt competent with the machine, and had planned to undertake this journey alone. Secondly, this had never been attempted before by a either a woman driver or an all women crew. Thirdly, the safety aspect (though exaggerated) is the first thing people will throw at you when such an idea is mooted. But I guess dreams are not fulfilled if one were to buckle down. I knocked on hundreds of doors and finally the first people to give me a chance was Mahindra First Choice Wheels.
I shared this idea with two of my friends who I had traveled with previously. Soumya Goyal and Rashmi Koppar - they jumped and wished to be a part of this journey. And so we were a team of three.
Then the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India came in tacit support; they recognized the expedition, which was a big thing for any sponsor. This was a huge boost.
Question: What about paperwork and the vehicle itself?
Answer: The second most tedious aspect was the paperwork. Some countries required road permits (Myanmar and China), others needed just visas. But as you might know, visas for land entry and exit are far tougher to get. But the Ministry of External Affairs, GOI, pitched in and helped with the visas, this made it slightly easier.
I was given a 2013 model Scorpio which has already run 68,500kms by Mahindra First Choice Wheels. So I spent a couple of weeks, evaluating every part and replacing a few, getting the vehicle expedition ready. And before I realized, we were flagged off on 23rd July 2015.
Question: But, why this journey? What made you undertake this?
Answer: Well, this has been a dream for many years to undertake a transcontinental drive. I am basically just a driver at heart and the quest to explore new lands and push perceived limits has been quite intrinsic. About 12 years ago, is when I started jeeping. It began with a crazy urge to test self (in terms of driving skills) and the machine (a Mahindra Classic Jeep that I had built along with a friend of mine). We would go off-roading with a group of jeepers and I was totally in awe of how much you can achieve and how far you can push yourself and the vehicle.
Early this year, I started putting my thoughts together. While it has been my desire to empower and encourage women to occupy the off-road driving space, my close friend Smita Mazumdar Rajaram is my soul buddy to have conversations about women and women empowerment. I told her about the dream drive I had in mind (Delhi to London). And she suggested that the idea deserves a large platform. So we created a community called Women Beyond Boundaries (WBB) – which is a platform for women drivers to build skills and push their limits.
The Delhi to London journey was WBB’s maiden journey. It has provided a huge affirmation that women can take on drives of such scale and magnitude independently and succeed.
Question: Support systems in terms of family and friends like you mentioned are critical at such times. Tell us more about your family and people who helped make this happen?
Answer: Yes, I agree. I am truly fortunate to have an extremely supportive family. I have two boys (10 and 12 year old), my husband is in the Army, currently posted in a field area. All three have been super encouraging from day 1. The kids have been so proud. For during the time I was to be away, my parents flew in from Bangalore to help; things would have gotten quite chaotic otherwise. Overall I am blessed to have a very supportive family.
From family, to friends, to work – it makes a huge difference when there is a blanket of positivity and support. It makes the task so much more enjoyable and satisfying. I have been very fortunate on this account.
Question: Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, France and UK. Any particular reason to choose this route?
Answer: Well yes and no. To travel to Europe, one has to reach central Asia. To get there, you can either go through China or through Pakistan and Afghanistan. The latter was ruled out. So, to reach China, one could either go through Nepal or through Myanmar (these being road routes open to civilian traffic). Initially I had planned to do Nepal and cross over at Zhangmu. But the earthquake in April 2015 changed that. Nepal was ruled out. So Myanmar became the only exit, and then China followed. Once in Central Asia, you could cross from Kyrgyztan to Kazakhstan directly avoiding Uzbekistan, but from the time I’ve been in school, I had read so much about Babur’s ancestral lands, the Kushan dynasty..I had to go there. So Uzbekistan was included. Once we reached Russia, the choice was to drive straight to Latvia and further proceed to Lithuania. But having driven so far, one felt that the Arctic circle (Finland) was so close! Just another 1000kms. And so we headed upto Rovaniemi, Finland. From there, came back to Helsinki and followed the only possible route through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuaina, Poland, Czech, Germany, Belgium, France and UK. Crossed over from Caleigh to Dover by ferry.
Question: I gather from various sources that this is a first of its kind in many ways. Can you elaborate?
Answer: You are right. It’s the first time that a woman driver has attempted such a transcontinental route without any back up vehicle. It also the first time that such a journey has been undertaken by an all women crew. This route had been attempted by 2-3 vehicles before us. The end points and start points were quite different though. But for a woman, driving the entire distance alone, on this trans-continental route, this is a first.
Question: Which leg of the journey has emerged your favourite on this route and why?
Answer: I loved Finland. Loved the fact that there weren’t too many people. The landscape was so pretty, coniferous trees, meadows – was just so pretty. The sunsets were gorgeous..out of the world. Loved the drive – hardly any traffic on the road, also very self-regulated, no corrupt cops lurking around the corner. People were also very friendly. This will remain the best for me. Very pleasant memories.
Question: Journeys of this scale would surely come with their share of challenges. What were some of the challenges and how did you overcome them?
Answer: Yes of course - there were many. Language for example. In most places, English was not a language people understood. So we used the google translator on the phone to communicate. It was hilarious at times. Imagine the scene, when we were stopped by cops somewhere in Uzbekistan, both don’t understand each other. So they have 1 phone with a translator, and we have one. So he (the cop) types a sentence to explain why he has stopped me and I type a response on my phone and show him. It was so funny. But we managed.
The highway patrol police, especially in central Asian states and Russia were a challenge. It almost seemed like their only goal was to intimidate and extract money without even bothering to look at documents closely or understand the purpose of the trip.
Question: Like you say, Women Beyond Boundaries - did this journey involve pushing your boundaries as a person and a driver?
Answer: Oh yes, no doubt it did. My first realization was that whenever you travel long-distance like this, a team of 2 or 4 or 6 helps (which is basically even numbers). A team of 3 was not the best thing. It would have helped to have a 4th person. Practically living in the car, for 3 months, with 2 other women and being a loner by nature, I was out-of-comfort zone many times. But that’s the learning I guess, and it is in these times, that you realize aspects about yourself that you wouldn’t have known about otherwise.
Question: All of us dream about many things we want to do. But very few manage to actually realise their dreams and you are one of them. What does it take?
Answer: I think it takes a huge amount of self-belief. There are so many times when people will try and tell you why it’s not possible and every single time, only you can tell yourself, why it is possible. Tremendous amount of belief in yourself, your idea – is the start point I feel.
Question: Now that you are back, any plans for the future?
Answer: I think the next task will be to reach out to women drivers who may be interested and willing to undertake journeys of this nature. I would like to have as many women join me on such missions. So, let’s see, we are thinking of a few..may be Nepal or the north east. Nothing finalized yet. Do watch out on our FB page – Women Beyond Boundaries for updates.
Question: Any message to all the women out there?
Answer: I guess it’s very easy to get sucked into the daily rigmarole of family, kids, work etc. and forget who we are. But I have realized that’s its extremely important to take time out for ourselves. For me it’s been driving..I find it therapeutic and liberating. I am sure each of us have our interests. So without delay, do take that time out for just yourself. It’s very very important.
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