Rovers’ Return
Athunderstorm lashed the tiny town of Maneybhanjang near Darjeeling in West Bengal. But fevered anticipation, not Sturm und Drang, was the reason for my sleepless night. In the morning, we were set to drive a piece of history.
To celebrate its 70th anniversary, erstwhile British brand Land Rover had organised a stunning mountain scramble in the country it now calls home—in a remote part of Bengal where the iconic 1954 Series 1 Land Rover has never gone out of service.
Local traders once used ponies, horses and mules to traverse our route—Maneybhanjang to the 3,636 m Sandakphu pass on the Nepal border. The four-wheel-drive Land Rover, when it arrived, allowed them six trips a day, even hauling 500 kg of goods per journey, according to local lore. Before long, everybody had to have one. Some of those early models have been running on this and other routes around Darjeeling ever since. We clambered onto one such Land Rover owned by Chandra Das for the past 40 years. Recently restored, the off-roader’s aluminium body had got a fresh coat of the green paint for which it’s famous, and the petrol engine had been spruced up at a Siliguri marketplace.
The old Landie was in stark contrast to the new generation Land Rover Discovery that served as our support vehicle. The Discovery was loaded with electronic goodies to take care of every obstacle. The Landie depended completely on the driver’s ability and brute force. The 31 km route required plenty of both. Loaded with steep gradients and tight turns, it took constant fiddling to keep the Landie going. The large steering wheel was helping matters and the sure torque from the age-old motor was incredible. Sure, there was a steady flow of fumes entering the cabin. But the Landie felt right at home on this pony track, and its character kept a smile on my face until it was parked at the top of the pass—caked in mud but otherwise no worse for the wear. The drive back in the Discovery was no less engaging. With the adjustable suspension at the highest setting, the ride was brilliant. The drive assist system and plethora of cameras made it easy to squeeze through, even when the roads were narrower than the car itself. And the engine had plenty of pull for the steepest inclines. But in one way, at least, the old classic was a better choice for this route. Thanks to the Discovery’s huge size, some tight bends required a two-point turn while the old Landie just whisked around.
However well suited to the terrain they may be, the Land Rovers of Maneybhanjang are disappearing fast as owners are eager to sell them to collectors offering hefty sums. Thankfully, though, some diehards remain, vowing never to sell—though for a small fee, you, too, can drive one of Maneybhanjang’s Landies.